Search - Dave Mason :: Certified Live

Buyer Beware

atdomer | Aurora, CO United States | 05/07/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Certified Live is one of the more memorable releases I've ever heard. I first heard it on vinyl when it hit the street in the seventies. I had been looking for it on CD for a long while. Like others, I don't understand why it is not being produced by the U.S. label... I didn't have any particular faith that it was going to be (re)released anytime soon, so I decided to buy the import. The 34.99 price seemed high, but I figured what the heck. I received the CD quite promptly. My concern was that I noticed the price on the Japanese label. It reflected 1800 yen. That converts to $16-17 in U.S. currency. It may have been that the seller had to pay a premium to get the import, but somebody is making an awfully large markup."

One of my 2 all-time favorite live 70's rock albums!

PC Lo-Air | New York, New York USA | 05/29/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Certified Live is a perfect throw-back to that special time when concerts were just jammin' music, that never seemed to stop. Remember when bands would kick your ass for 2 hours, take a break, and come back and kick your ass for another hour? This album reminds you of that era. Dave Mason's original work is transcendant, but his covers are great too. "Show me Some Affection" and "Along the Watchtower" nearly drive me off the road, as Mason's bell-like electric guitar work simply soars. There's an outstanding acoustic interlude featuring Mason's rich and absorbing 12 string, as well as his signiture vocal "Growl". "Take it to the Limit" and "Gimme a Reason" are standouts here. A great treat is the 4 part harmony on Sam Cook's "Bring it on Home". And finally, 30 years later, I can't stop "Goin' Down Slow" from popping back into my head all the time. Mike Finnegan takes out the back wall on this blues foundation-shaker.



Mason toured and recorded for several fantastic years with this great band made up of Jim Kreiger on guitar, Mike Finnegan on keybboard, Gerald Johnson on base, and Rick Jaegger on drums. These pros are tight but natural, technically excellent but fluid. In the concerts I saw on that tour, they really seemed to enjoy playing together, and that feeling is captured in Certified Live. It is a must-own for blues-based guitar solo heads from the 70's. I've been playing it since its release and I still keep it in the car to power me down the last leg of my 4 hour trip from Vermont to New York City. Mason just lifts the spirits and fuels the body!



ps My other favorite 70's Live album is Clapton's "Derek and the Dominos, In Concert". You can't have one without the other.



pps We desperately need a new blues-based album from Mason; that guitar just rocks!"

Ditto previous reviewer

jcrustus | maplewood, nj USA | 05/30/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I was introduced to Dave Mason through this disc and I was instantly captivated. This is a very well produced Live album. It one of the best live albums and belongs with the likes of the stones get you ya's ya's out and little feat's waiting for columbus. I am equally irritated as the previous reviewer that it is still out of stock after all these years."