The Atomic Mr. Basie (originally called Basie, also known as E=MC2 and reissued in 1994 as The Complete Atomic Basie) is a 1958 album by Count Basie, featuring the song arrangements of Neal Hefti and the Count Basie Orchestra. Allmusic gave it 5 stars, reviewer Bruce Eder saying: "it took Basie's core audience and a lot of other people by surprise, as a bold, forward-looking statement within the context of a big-band recording." It is included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die, Will Fulford-Jones calling it "Basie's last great record." It was voted number 411 in the third edition of Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums (2000).
Reception
The album won Best Jazz Performance, Group and Best Performance by a Dance Band awards at the 1st Annual Grammy Awards.
Track listing
All tracks composed and arranged by Neal Hefti, except where indicated.
Original Release (1958)
| Title |
| 1. |
"Kid from Red Bank" (Basie, Neal Hefti) |
2:38 |
| 2. |
"Duet" |
4:10 |
| 3. |
"After Supper" |
3:22 |
| 4. |
"Flight of the Foo Birds" |
3:21 |
| 5. |
"Double-O" |
2:45 |
| 6. |
"Teddy the Toad" |
3:40 |
| 7. |
"Whirlybird" |
3:46 |
| 8. |
"Midnite Blue" |
4:25 |
| 9. |
"Splanky" |
3:35 |
| 10. |
"Fantail" |
2:50 |
| 11. |
"Li'l Darlin'" |
4:47 |
The Complete Atomic Basie Bonus Tracks (1994)
| Title |
| 12. |
"Silks and Satins" (Jimmy Mundy) |
4:05 |
| 13. |
"Sleepwalker's Serenade (Alternative Take)" |
3:37 |
| 14. |
"Sleepwalker's Serenade" |
3:39 |
| 15. |
"The Late, Late Show" (Roy Alfred, Murray Berlin) |
2:52 |
| 16. |
"The Late, Late Show (Vocal Version)" (Alfred, Berlin) |
3:02 |
Personnel
