Dave Mason - It's Like You Never Left (1973)

Flyfinger posted a great "Traffic"album at MV, and that made me remember having this solo-album of one of Traffic's former members: Dave Mason! Listen to the great ballad "maybe" or the fantastic instrumental "Side tracked". After selling all my LP's in one single sell, about 20 years ago, this was one of the first cd's i bought back!

When Dave Mason released his albums It's Like You Never Left (October 1973) and Dave Mason

(October 1974), his career was in a rebuilding mode. After his on-again, off-again tenure in Traffic, Mason had scored a surprising success with his solo debut album Alone Together (June 1970), which reached number 22 during 25 weeks in the Billboard LP chart, throwing off the singles chart entry "Only You Know and I Know" and eventually going gold. Then, Mason had paired with Cass Elliot in a short-lived duo that produced a modest-selling album. A dispute with his record company, Blue Thumb, next arose, such that he disavowed the label's release of what was intended as his second solo album, Headkeeper (February 1972), and declared bankruptcy to get out of his contract. Columbia Records president Clive Davis then signed him, but by the time It's Like You Never Left was ready, Davis had been fired and his protégés were not being given top priority. That was too bad, because It's Like You Never Left was a worthy if belated follow-up to Alone Together. Mason had called in a few favors: Graham Nash sang harmony vocals on "Baby, Please," "Every Woman," and a new version of "Head Keeper"; Stevie Wonder played harmonica on "The Lonely One"; and "Son of Harry" (George Harrison under a pseudonym for contractual reasons) contributed slide guitar to "If You've Got Love." It was still Mason's show, however, as he came up with another collection of melodic love songs with arrangements dominated by his electric and acoustic guitar work and smooth singing. The songs were not as compelling as those on Alone Together, but they were in the same basic style. Despite Columbia's relative indifference, Mason's touring managed to keep the album in the charts 28 weeks with a peak at number 50.

my cd > flac

label: Repertoire

full scanned booklet

263mb

Personnel includes: 

Dave Mason (vocals, guitar); 

Stevie Wonder, Graham Nash, George Harrison (vocals).  

Jim Krueger (guitar); 

Mike Finnigan (keyboards); 

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                       Tracklisting

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   1. Dave Mason - Baby... Please                             [03:15]

   2. Dave Mason - Every Woman                                [01:39]

   3. Dave Mason - If You've Got Love                         [03:23]

   4. Dave Mason - Maybe                                      [04:02]

   5. Dave Mason - Head Keeper                                [03:35]

   6. Dave Mason - Misty Morning Stranger                     [04:31]

   7. Dave Mason - Silent Partner                             [03:02]

   8. Dave Mason - Side Tracked                               [03:34]

   9. Dave Mason - The Lonely One                             [04:42]

  10. Dave Mason - It's Like You Never Left                   [03:03]

links inside