![]() On "Can't Stop Worrying, Can't Stop Loving," Mason eschews the solo, 12-string-led arrangement that's been a staple of his shows in favor of a country-inspired reading. Yet, Alone Together Again is at its most interesting when Dave changes things up. In fact, "Sad and Deep As You" is a live recording, a stunning version from an XM Studios session in 2004 with a new guitar part by Jason Roller added on. "Only You Know and I Know" (with guest vocals by Gretchen Rhodes), a fiery "Look At You Look At Me," and an increasingly relevant "Shouldn't Have Took More Than You Gave" are imbued with the excitement of any live show. In short, this experiment works.įans who have seen Dave Mason on the road will be familiar with many of the arrangements. His voice has aged like a fine wine and his playing is as soulful and articulate as ever. ![]() In 2020, he's joined by a band that's been onstage with him for over a decade, along with close friends and collaborators who share his spirit. The whole experience was unfamiliar, and it shows at times. ![]() He was still new to America, and found himself working in one of Hollywood's iconic studios, in a room full of session players who were learning his songs for the first time. In 1970, Mason was 7,000 miles from his first home. For as great as the original album is, you can sense that this was a new world for him. To see the world of changes between Mason in 1970 and Mason in 2020 is something special. "Certain songs, in my mind, came out with better arrangements and my voice had acquired a certain maturity in all the songs on the new album." Each of the tracks was recorded over those intervening ten years, with a majority cut at Lakehouse Studios in Asbury Park in March 2016. "I actually started this as a project for my own amusement some 10 years ago," as an experiment to see what could happen. "I had always been somewhat dissatisfied with my vocals ," Mason reflects. The Second Disc caught up with Dave Mason via email to chat about the project, beginning with how the idea came about to re-record his beloved album. The results are wholly original and fantastic all the way through, down to the reprised marbled CD face and the updated album artwork. Now he's taken these songs into the studio once more.įifty years since the original recording hit shops, Dave Mason today releases Alone Together Again, which sees the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee revisit the entire eight-song album with his touring band and special guests like Jonathan McEuen, Gretchen Rhodes, and John McFee of The Doobie Brothers. Yet, through the years, Mason has honed these songs, never playing them quite the same way twice, adjusting the arrangements and perfecting his delivery all the while. The songs remain indelible, and his debut remains a classic, with its eye-catching, iconic album art and first-of-its-kind marble vinyl. "Only You Know and I Know," "World in Changes," "Look At You, Look At Me," "Shouldn't Have Took More Than You Gave," and "Sad and Deep As You" would all find a place on the ensuing album and remain in Mason's setlist to the present day. He also participated in sessions with The Rolling Stones (playing the Indian instruments on "Street Fighting Man") and Jimi Hendrix (it's Dave's acoustic guitar on Jimi's iconic cover of "All Along the Watchtower.") Following Traffic's split, Mason headed out to California, armed with an acoustic and plenty of top-rate songs. The multi-instrumentalist made a name for himself as part of Traffic, penning some of their best crossover material ("Hole in My Shoe," "Feelin' Alright?"). Though only 24 years old, Mason had plenty of experience under his belt. Magic was in the air in 1970 and it certainly reached Los Angeles' Sunset Sound, where Dave Mason, along with an array of new friends and some of the top session musicians around, recorded Alone Together.
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