Alone and Together With Dave Mason

I first heard Dave Mason on a Traffic album. His sitar, not his guitar playing was wonderful. It struck a few chords with me because Dave is normally a great guitar player and a very good writer. His stint in Traffic was amazing and his sad, but uneven solo albums make it hard to find a great one. I did though in Alone Together. While re-listening to this album the other day I really found his genius. His songwriting is something that you should pay attention to. Songs like "Feelin Alright" have been covered by a few artist and still to this day I love hearing it to this day. One of my odd favorite Dave Mason songs "Hole In My Shoe" is the ultimate 60's tune.

Dave's time in Traffic made me realize he was one of the best parts of the band. Sure, Steve Winwood was great, but it was Dave also playing a variety of instruments that made it just right. It was also Dave Mason who was friends with Jimi Hendrix played acoustic guitar on Hendrix version of "All Along The Watchtower." Mason played with Eric Clapton, Rolling Stones, Delaney and Bonnie, and George Harrison. He was quite a busy man. Dave Mason was the person I would loved to been in the 60's. He was part of everything that needed to be done. Being a friend of Hendrix was a big plus.



So when I put on Alone Together for the first time in quite a while I really thought I should write about this album. It maybe short by today's standards but at 35 minutes long it sure has a lot to say with eight songs. Each song is full of wonderful and really expressive pieces of music and great song writing. I like each piece because they are like short stories from the past of Dave Mason. I think of Dave as one of those songwriters that had more to say then most because he knew how to say it well. I wish the album was longer, but in the end you realize that these are some of his best writing. Below are the lyrics to one of his best songs;

Shouldn't have took more than you gave
Wouldn't be in this mess today
I know we've all got different ways
But the dues we've got to pay are still the same
Trying to change the script for this old play
Reading and not feeling what you say
You're coming on too strong for me to stay
Interpret what you're seeing anyway
It seems the simple things are hardest to explain
I'm going to come too soon, there's another way
Footprints in the snow will show well things are still the same
Beneath the wall of sound someone helps to live again
Shouldn't have took more than you gave
Wouldn't be in this mess today
I know we've all got different ways
But the dues we've got to pay are still the same



The lyrics still hold true and Dave could not say it any better then most great singer songwriters. If you listen to the song it's got so much to say and the six minute time it takes to say it is the right time. I tell you this because this album is one of the more underrated albums that missed the radar it is an album that makes you really go out there and seriously listen to a classic. I remember when I got first introduced to this album by an old hippie who told me this was the album that we all loved. It was not to mellow, and not to loud. It was just right and made everyone at peace. How true to listen to it today.

If you need to capture the music of a time, this is the album. The guitar playing is amazing just listen to "Look at You, Look at Me." This album really tells you that it is a classic and if you find it like I did on marble vinyl it really is something. It tells you that you are floating above the clouds just like Dave Mason is. Enjoy this wonderful gem from 1970. I think it might be stuck in your Ipod more then you think. Enjoy!