# The Best of Mose Allison

The Best of Mose Allison is a compilation album by Mose Allison. It includes some of the jazz pianist and singer's best-known recordings for Atlantic Records. The album was originally released in 1970 as an LP record with 12 songs. The album was re-issued on a CD in 1988 with an additional eight songs and new sequencing.

## Critical reception

Professional ratings :
| Retrospective reviews ||
| Review scores ||
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic | |
An AllMusic reviewer gave it four and a half out of five stars and called it "a pretty good capsule introduction to one of American music's most idiosyncratic individualists". However, he noted "For a more comprehensive – and well-packaged – overview of most of his career, turn to the double-CD box Allison Wonderland on Rhino/Atlantic."

## Track listing

All songs Written by Mose Allison except as noted. Original LP

### Side one

* "Your Mind Is on Vacation" – 2:35
* "Swingin' Machine" – 2:31
* "Stop This World" – 3:24
* "Seventh Son" (Willie Dixon) – 3:36
* "New Parchman" – 3:04
* "Rollin' Stone" (McKinley Morganfield) – 2:58

### Side two

* "I'm the Wild Man" (Stanley Willis, Don Barksdale) – 1:58
* "If You're Goin' to the City" – 3:49
* "I Don't Worry About a Thing" – 2:17
* "Your Molecular Structure" – 2:05
* "Everybody Cryin' Mercy" – 2:39
* "I Love the Life I Live" (Willie Dixon) – 2:26
1988 CD re-issue
* "I Don't Worry About a Thing" – 2:41
* "Your Mind Is on Vacation" – 2:35
* "It Didn't Turn Out That Way" – 2:41 (bonus track)
* "If You're Goin' to the City" – 3:49
* "Swingin' Machine" – 2:31
* "I Ain't Got Nothin' But the Blues" (Duke Ellington, Don George) – 3:56 (bonus track)
* "Stop This World" – 3:24
* "I'm the Wild Man" (Stanley Willis, Don Barksdale) – 1:58
* "New Parchman" – 3:04
* "Rollin' Stone" (McKinley Morganfield) – 2:58
* "Don't Forget to Smile" – 2:48 (bonus track)
* "Seventh Son" (Willie Dixon) – 2:26
* "I Love the Life I Live" (Willie Dixon) – 2:21
* "What's With You" – 2:55 (bonus track)
* "That's the Stuff You Gotta Watch" (Buddy Johnson) – 2:10 (bonus track)
* "Your Molecular Structure" – 2:05
* "Just Like Livin'" – 1:44 (bonus track)
* "Everybody Cryin' Mercy" – 2:39
* "Night Club" – 2:36 (bonus track)
* "One of These Days" – 4:29 (bonus track)

## Personnel

* Mose Allison – piano, vocals, producer (tracks 16–18)
* Addison Farmer – double bass (1–7)
* Osie Johnson – drums (1–3)
* Jimmy Knepper – trombone (4–7)
* Jimmy Reider – tenor sax (4–7)
* Frankie Dunlop – drums (4–7)
* Ben Tucker – bass (8–11)
* Ron Lundberg – drums (8–11)
* Stan Gilbert – bass (12–13)
* Mel Lee – drums (12–13)
* Earl May – bass (14–15)
* Paul Motian – drums (14–15)
* Red Mitchell – bass (16–18)
* Bill Goodwin – drums (16–18)
* Chuck Rainey – bass guitar (19)
* Billy Cobham – drums (19)
* Al Porcino – trumpet (20)
* David Sanborn – alto sax (20)
* Joe Farrell – tenor sax (20)
* Jack Hannah – bass (20)
* Jerry Granelli – drums (20)
* Nesuhi Ertegün – producer (1–15)
* Arif Mardin – producer (14–15)
* Joel Dorn – producer (19)
* Ilhan Mimaroglu – producer (20)
* Tom Dowd – engineer (1–7)
* Phil Iehle – engineer (1–3, 8–11, 14–15)
* Joe Atkinson – engineer (4–7)
* Wally Heider – engineer (12–13)
* Dave Weichman – engineer (16–18)
* Lewis Hahn – engineer (19)
* Carmen Rubino – engineer (20)