I've long been on record as someone who doesn't care much about song lyrics. Many people feel that the lyrics MAKE the song, but I was cured of that by the epic works of Yes in the 70's. As much as I liked the music, I just had no idea what Jon Anderson was going on about with that magnificent voice of his. The attitude was further reinforced by Janes's Addiction, who did a couple songs (Ain't No Right, Been Caught Stealing) that had music I liked but lyrics that I totally disagreed with. For me, it's the music, and the vocals are frequently just another instrument.
Of course, to every rule, there is an exception, and one of the biggest exceptions to this rule is the legendary Mose Allison. His lyrics are always worthy of attention, the music is lively and engaging. His songs are like beautiful jewels in a precious setting.
Mose's lyrics matter because they are poignant and truthful on one hand, yet sly and funny on the other. He has a knack of making you consider some of the more serious aspects of life without making anyone's burden heavier. In fact, by giving his songs a humorous bent, he tends to help lighten the load.
Starting out in the 50's,Mose, a native of Tippo, Mississippi, saw his greatest success in England. His cool, silky voice and stylishly aggressive piano was a great influence on much of London's youth, including a young Pete Townshend. This lead to The Who doing two of his songs: Young Man Blues and Eyesight to the Blind. This was just a drop in the bucket of Mose covers, though. There have been dozens, by people from all over the music scene, including Bonnie Raitt (Everybody's Cryin' Mercy) and Hot Tuna (Parchman Farm, a song about life in a prison work camp). Listening to his piano, it is easy to hear how he must have influenced Page McConnell of Phish. It was the Who covers that made me try out one of his discs, though. The second I heard that cool, silky voice singing The Seventh Son, I knew I was hooked for good.
He's still performing today, and his songs are still being done by others. The Pixies have even done a song about him, titled simply "Allison". If you get a chance to see him, do it. I'll be jealous.
This week I have to share two songs, and I had a hell of a time narrowing it down to just two! Both are from his December 4th, 1999 performance at the Rialto Theatre in Tuscon, Az. His fingers are as nimble as ever, and his voice, while perhaps a little less silky, is still VERY cool. The first is one of his most popular and more serious tunes, the second is a more humorous one that everybody can relate to. Let me know what you think of them.
Click here to listen to "Everybody's Cryin' Mercy"
Click here for "Your Mind is On Vacation" (Dedicated to my Eternal Nemesis)
In two weeks: This group was the first, and to my knowledge the only, to have albums in the #1 and #2 American chart slots at the same time.
