Although the sound of Mose Allison's first studio album in more than a decade, "The Way of the World," has been slightly updated for the occasion (thanks to production by chamber-roots specialist Joe Henry), the 82-year-old singer/pianist's mordant wit retains its vintage charm. In fact, Allison probably could have sung any of these new tunes about aging just as credibly 50 years ago. That even goes for the excellent opener, "My Brain," on which he charts the slow degradation of his noodle over a boogie-woogie groove that starts out perky but keeps slackening bit by bit. Fans of Randy Newman's 2008 album, "Harps and Angels," will appreciate the cheerfully profane "Modest Proposal" ("Let's give God a vacation/ He must be tired of it all") and a laid-back, sax-enriched take on "Everybody Thinks You're an Angel," a wry jazz-country tune by Allison's daughter, Amy. "I'm not the first, I'm not the most, of this town I am not the toast," he sings with an audible shrug in "Ask Me Nice." Happily, "The Way of the World" provides some evidence to the contrary.--Mikael Wood
-
Hot 100
Gotye tops again
-
Billboard 200
Adam Lambert rules
-
Dance/Club Songs
Karmin's 'Brokenhearted' rises
-
Digital Songs
Carly Rae Jepsen scores
-
Soundtracks
The 'Glee' cast rocks it
-
Social 50
Rihanna is social queen
-
Dance/Electronic Albums
Skrillex nabs No. 1
-
Country Albums
Carrie Underwood blows us away
-
Rock Albums
Tenacious D 'Rizes' to the top
-
Rap Albums
Nicki Minaj takes the top spot
Mose Allison, "The Way of the World"
More Features
All features
All of Billboard.com's Great Lists
Billboard chart app
Billboard archives
© Billboard. All rights reserved.
Portions of content provided by Rovi Corporation. © Rovi Corporation.
Thanks For Joining Billboard
Log in to create your profile, speak your mind and connect with listeners like you.
Haven't Joined Yet ?
For the full Billboard experience, you need to be a member. Sign up. It's free.
Forgot your password?
Enter the e-mail address you used to sign up and we will email you the password .
Email Sent !
Your password has been sent to the email address you provided. Please sign in below :
Log In
Action Successful
We'd love to hear your feedback on the new Billboard.com!
Whether it's a feature request or a bug
We want to hear from you. Please use this form to anonymously give us your input.
Up for Discussion