Search - Dave Mason, Cass Elliott :: Dave Mason & Cass Elliot

Classic Mason/Elliot collaboration finally available again

Wayne Klein | My Little Blue Window, USA | 06/27/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"When Dave Mason left Traffic he produced a number of strong albums fresh out of the gate. "Alone Together", "It's Like You Never Left" and "Dave Mason" among many other gems. This terrific album is also part of that set of classic releases. Recorded just after he left Blue Thumb Records over a contract dispute (it would take some years and a bankruptcy to free him from the label). Featuring Cass Elliott on harmony vocals, Mason turns in some of his best material and guitar playing on this terrifc album. Cass appears as lead vocalist on her lone songwriting contribution "Here We Go Again" and its a reminder of what a terrific vocalist she was. She and Mason should have continued on as they generate magic on this terrific album.



The reissue by Rev-Ola sounds quite good although I favor the original issue on MCA (which was released in a no-frills package) as the mastering is better with a crisper, less compressed feel to it. Still, Rev-Ola has done a fine job on this reissue since the original had no liner notes or credits for who played what (for the record session legends Russ Kunkel, Bryan Garofalo and Paul Harris provide drums, bass and keyboards/string arrangments with Mason playing everything else).



This is one of Mason's finest albums and it's interesting to compare this along with his first solo album to the albums by Traffic after he left--they were on somewhat similar roads musically but its quite clear why Mason's vision for the band conflicted with Winwoods with Mason relying much more on traditional song structure vs. more jamming approach of Winwood's efforts with his band."