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Mose Allison’slaconically bluesy recordings from the 1950s and ’60s were more like a drymartini than a shot of whiskey, making them hard to place alongside MuddyWaters. They were also a little too straightforward and matter of fact forjazz. Possibly, the pianist had his greatest influence on the emerging Britishrock scene of the mid-’60s, where careful distinctions mattered little in thesearch for new sounds.
Allison is backafter a long absence from the studio. TheWay of the World isn’t the strongest batch of songs he’s ever recorded, butwith a little help from producer Joe Henry and the aid of some slide guitar, hehas edged his familiar sound in different directions. Vocally, the 82-year-oldAllison sounds scarcely older than when he sang “Young Man Blues,” although histongue-in-cheek lyrics seem preoccupied with aging.
