Eyesight to the Blind

Mose Allison will be playing at Mears Park (St. Paul) Friday evening at 6:45 PM. I know almost nothing about Mr. Allison, other than the fact that he wrote Eyesight to the Blind and Young Man Blues, songs that the greatest rock and roll band of all time, The Who, covered. There's a great exchange between Pete Townsend and Keith Moon during the concert that was released as Live at Leeds (easily the greatest live album of all time, even if you don't think The Who were all that):

Townshend: "We'd like to carry on now, and play a song originally recorded by Mose Allison, who's really a jazz musician 'n' I did read something on one of his record covers which said he was a jazz 'sage.' Quite what that means, I don't know."

Moon: "He'll flavor chicken."

[audience laughs]

Townshend: "And-- [chuckles] 'n' we picked up quite a number of his songs; 'Eyesight to the Bilnd,' which is on the 'Tommy' album, and also this song, which I think 'as gotta be one of his best. It's one of 'is own compositions which he wrote when he was about forty."

Moon: "Teenager!"

Townshend: [chuckles] "Just a mere teenager 'n' he called it 'Young Man Blues.' "

I heard Mose's version of Young Man Blues on the radio this morning, moments before I ran out of gas, and it was great- smooth and swingy piano-driven jazz (as opposed to the blues I would have expected). I'll be at Mears Park tonight- let me know if you're interested. I'll be the guy in the front row yelling out "A Quick One!" all night long.