This was Allison's introductory album, serving notice that here was a unique man of many talents: an earthy intellectual of Faulknerian bent who had imbibed the blues directly from the rural still, and the jazz message from the likes of Armstrong, Basie, and Nat Cole, for openers. At this point in his history, Mose sang on only two selections in the entire album. His performing emphasis was to shift more and more toward the vocal side over the years. Back Country Suite features his piano playing in a trio format, focusing on the ten selections that make up the suite (which could be suitably subtitled "Impressions of the Delta"), but he reveals, in the other selections, his abilities with a diversified range of material.
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