Search - Dave Mason :: Very Best of

Misleading

Pat Kelly | Here, There & Everywhere | 03/25/2003

(2 out of 5 stars)

"Any album that calls itself "The Very Best" of an artist is suspect. This one more than most.It stops at about 1972, and completely ignores Mason's most commercially successful period in the late seventies. Oh, and a little band called Traffic!So there's no We Just Disagree, Let It Flow, So High (Rock Me Baby, Roll Me Away). "Very Best" of Dave Mason? I just disagree.Spend a couple of extra bucks and get the Dave Mason Ultimate Collection."

Just To Set The Record Straight

R. Mix | Milwaukee, Wisconsin | 07/16/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Dear Mr. Kelly, this isn't a Traffic collection. It's a Dave Mason collection. And nowhere on the album's packaging is it stated or implied otherwise.



Furthermore, there ARE two Traffic songs on the disc: "Feelin' Alright" and "Pearly Queen". They're from Traffic's second album, released in 1968. Guess you're quite the fan, eh?



What's more, the Dave Mason songs you list were recorded for an entirely different label (Columbia), and are all from a single album--1977's 'Let It Flow'. Why you would look at a different label's collection for three songs from a single, still-in-print CD is beyond me.



Concerning the 'Very Best Of Dave Mason' itself, it's a solid, budget-line collection for the casual Dave Mason fan.



No, it's not remastered, and there are no liner notes, but you get seven of the eight tracks from his first solo album ('Alone Together'), plus three tracks from his second ('Headkeeper'): the aforementioned Traffic tracks done up live plus that album's title track.



Dave Mason is a fluid, lyrical guitarist, and during the seventies was a deservedly prominent and successful artist. He has a low-key way with a song with arrangements that emphasize melody and texture over hard rock riffage.



The material within is fine, and should the 'Very Best Of Dave Mason' leave you wanting more, any of the first four solo albums ('Alone Together', 'Headkeeper', 'It's Like You Never Left' and 'Dave Mason') are certainly worthy. 'Alone Together' deserves the remastered/expanded treatment accorded many of its 1970 peers.



Of course, Mr. Mason was also a founding member of Traffic, and their first two albums are commonly-acknowledged classics. And in their current remastered and expanded configurations, present tidy little bargains."

Definitely worth the bargain basement price

Yarby | Medina, OH United States | 08/11/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This is early Dave Mason, so no track will be found from "Let It Flow", what I consider his best album. But this CD itself is a treat, and definitely worth the price."