Alone Together (180G/Marble Vinyl/Limited Anniversary Edition)

after 3 albums with the group traffic (starting with their debut album in '67), dave mason was ready to go off on his own. aside from the title tune to their second album 'dear mr. fantasy', traffic wasn't generating any big hits. I believe clashing egos between mason and steve winwood drove the guitarist to pursue a solo career. so in '70, dave walked off and recorded this marvelous debut solo album, while traffic recorded their first album without mason....an album called 'john barleycorn must die' (also a mighty fine album). 'alone together' is just a simple, straight-ahead hippie-rock album. there is no real flash here. as was the style of the times, mason tried real hard to sound intense, poetic and profound in his lyrics. he fell short of that goal, as many people did. still, a heartfelt search-of-self came thru........but lyrics are NOT why you buy this album! the reason is the overall feel of the album. I first bought this album on vinyl (many years ago) in the spring. I was looking for a springtime rock album. i'd heard alone together & figured it would fit the bill. it was the perfect choice! the compositions are not complex....just straight-forward hippie rock delivered through a blend of acoustic & electric guitars, piano, organ, drums and bass with a great spring/summer feel. pleasant, rocking guitar solos grace the album at proper intervals...there's some nice lead piano on 'waiting on you' and the beautiful acoustic guitar/piano duet 'sad and deep as you' (a memorable tune), some impressive lead organ on 'world in changes' and dave hits the wah-wah pedal for his solos on 'shouldn't have took more than you gave'. but the best highlight is the wonderful guitar solo that ends this album on the closing tune (the best tune on the disc). it's not a fast or flashy closing guitar solo, but it's a deep, heartfelt, rocking guitar solo that is one of the best album endings of all time. again, there is nothing complex about this disc.....it has simple, basic hippie rock compositions.....performed well with dave's voice (not the greatest voice, but he feels what he sings and it goes well with the music) bringing it all home in a wonderful package. this is one of the best albums for driving through the country with the top down on your car.....spring or summer.....it just feels right! it's just an old-fashioned rock album that feels right! I played this cd a few times before reviewing it.......and I just have to give it 5 stars because it just feels right!

Dave Mason's debut solo album, Alone Together, is an excellent album from this underrated songwriter. He had already proved quite the craftsman penning "Feelin' Alright" among other songs while with Traffic and that class shines through on Alone Together. The most famous song is the opening "Only You Know and I Know"; a joyous rock song with a memorable lyric and arrangement that still sound great today. Surprisingly, you don't hear this much on classic rock radio unless you have SiriusXM radio, a medium that has a more superior and eclectic mix. "Waitin' on You" continues the good time feeling and is nearly as timeless. Several tracks are more introspective but just as impressive as "Shouldn't Have Took More Than You Gave" is a whimsical ballad that has a lot of tasty guitar during its outro while "Can't Stop Worrying, Can't Stop Loving" and "Just a Song" are beautiful tunes led by acoustic guitars with a lot of color added in. And speaking of beauty, "Sad and Deep as You" is a fantastic love song with a solemn and memorable piano line and an equally memorable lyric. "World in Changes" is another great song with a simple hook in its guitar line and a psychedelic feel and a riveting jam at the end. The dramatic "Look at You Look at Me" is a strong closer and is probably the most emotional track, lyrically and musically, and Dave's guitar solo at the end is stunning. Alone Together may be not be considered one of the classic albums but it should be and anyone who owns this would probably agree. Highly recommended.

I've own this wonderful recording in every form (except reel to reel), from 8 track tape, to CD. Today with the high tech quality with digital recording, it is even BETTER. Unfortunately, the cast of players no longer makes the CD liner. The best players of the era worked to make this a MUST OWN recording. Here are the players who worked on this (from my old LP credits) CD: Dave Mason: Guitar, Vocals Jim Capaldi: Drums Rita Coolidge: Vocals Leon Russell: Keyboards Carl Radle: Bass Don Preston: Guitar, Vocals Bonnie Bramlett: Vocals Delaney Bramlett: Guitar, Vocals Claudia Lennear: Vocals Jim Keltner: Drums John Simon: Keyboards Jim Gordon: Drums John Barbata: Drums Bruce Botnick: Engineer Mike Coolidge: Background Vocals Lou Cooper Michael DeTemple: Guitar Chris Ethridge: Bass Larry Knechtel: Organ Bob Norwood I would highly recommend this to all who enjoy the late 60's early 70's "flower child" movement. The song list is guaranteed to get you feeling the groove with "Feelin' Alright" to the beautiful slow love ballad, "Sad and Deep As You". The title song Alone Together starts with a slow melody that will take you to a writhing lather before fading out to end this solid masterpiece of music.....

Alone Together, Dave Mason's 1970 debut solo effort, was a stunning surprise back in the day, and it remains a stunningly beautiful album to this very day, some half-century after I first bought it. Eight tracks of '70s classic rock bliss, it is of its time but certainly not locked in time. Mason's songwriting is very good to excellent throughout, and the production, playing, and singing are first-rate all the way. My personal favorites: Can't Stop Worrying, Can't Stop Loving, Shouldn't Have Took More Than You Gave, Look At You Look At Me; there's not a clinker to be found. If he had had better career management at the start, Dave Mason would be remembered as a superstar rather than a second-stringer today. Highly recommended!

Really good album. I think this guys solo albums are a little underrated. The album was in great shape. Arrived on time and priced great.

In the early Seventies, Dave Mason was everywhere. He was with Traffic for their first LP, but he had his picture and credits removed before it was released. Then he came back for Traffic's second album and was all over it. Classic songs, writing, singing, playing, and then he quit again...or was he fired? Then he was hanging with Hendrix and playing sitar during the Electric Ladyland sessions. Then he is gigging with Stephen Stills; followed by being one of the "Friends" with no health benefits of Delaney and Bonnie (Bramlett). With D&B, he is one of three English guitarists touring behind these married white American soul rockers. The other two Limeys are Eric Clapton and some Carl Perkins acolyte named Georgie Harrison, who was hiding behind a nom du plectrum. After this we find him in a duo with Cass Elliot. They produce a rather disappointing set of songs that succeed at hinting at what should have been, but was not. Is Mason a prolific collaborator, or just a gadfly with a great travel agent? Obviously, Dave is neither an English blues rocker, nor an Anglo Saxon/Celtic folkie. Dave Mason has written, played, sung, and produced some classic recorded moments with a worldwide, world-class plethora of fellow artists. .. . but more substantial is his solo work, which includes him as the leader of his own posse. He may appear to be a singer-songwriter with an acoustic guitar, but he is a talented electric rocker, also. His solid body of work and best showcase for these multiple talents is no better represented than by his first solo LP entitled Alone Together. Front to back, Alone Together is totally engaging. Mason's solo work is a commendable corpus, but it is Alone Together that is his strongest and most accomplished offering. The CD of Alone Together is a steal. You get the man himself, singing and playing some of his best material, and it is practically given to you. If you know of Dave Mason's work but do not have any in your collection, then Alone Together is where to start. If you do not know Mason's work, but are curious, then this is the perfect place to get acquainted.

This has to be one of my all-time favorite 'albums'. except for a little to much wah-wah pedal in a few places,it holds up exstreamly well. The fact is this generation could do with little innrospection.. For contempleation,or just good "12 step work".."Shouldn't have took more than you gave" is the stand out I remember the most. The truth is the entire album is great. "Only you know and I know";"World in changes";"Waiting on you". It seems to me that Dave's whole approach is one of a releationship(love),with no mention of gender,but you can alligoricly move to the political level very easily, as in a lot of music from this period."World in Changes" and "Sad and deep as you", do this easily."Just a Song" may be the least concidered of all, but after you've lived a while,its implecations are huge..The finiale "Look at You Look at Me" concerns of a watchfuleye,and a listening ear, can certainly be translated on several levels. This album is why I really began to appreciate Dave Mason's simple style..

Have always liked Dave Mason's music. Have many of his Albums. This is one of his early albums, from the 70's. He also is an Awesome Guitar player.

Dave Mason's "Alone Together" is one of the finest rock records come out of the 70's. Great songwriting especially evident on "Only You Know and I Know", "Can't Stop Worrying, Can't Stop Loving", "World In Changes", "San and Deep As You" and the outstanding " Look At You. Look At Me". With top notch support from Jim Keltner, Jim Gordon John Barbata and Jim Capaldi on drums, Leon Russell and Larry Knechtel on keyboards and bass, Chris Ethridge on guitar, and vocal support from Claudia Lennear, Delaney and Bonnie, and Rita Coolidge, Dave Mason melds them all together to record a truly classic rock record. This record is one of my favorite 10 albums of all time and is right up there with The Beatles' "Revolver", The Beach Boys' "Pet Sounds", Gene Clark's "No Other" and Neil Young's "After the Goldrush"!!

８曲約36分の至福の時間があっという間に通り過ぎる。 トラフィック時代の3枚の作品を含めて、この人の60～70年代の参加作品にハズレはないと思う。とにかく作風がコンパクトで、全く無駄がないのだ。 個人的にスワンプ関係は、体質に合うみたいでいまだにいろいろ聴くのだけれど、Masonは全く別格的次元のアーチスト。単純に「スワンプ・ロック」の文脈で語るには、抜け落ちる要素が多すぎやしないだろうか。 本作は、まさに「キレ過ぎ」である。またこの人ほど、ファイアバードが似合うギタリストもいないだろう。時代を超えた名盤。 本作もおすすめだが、よりジェントルな1973年のIts Like You Never Left も是非、体験して欲しい。

El primer álbum en solitario del antiguo guitarrista de Traffic, David Mason es una obra maestra. Editado en 1970,aún suena fresco y excitante. Acompañado por miembros de bandas como Delaney &Bonnie, Mad Dogs &Englishmen de Joe Cocker y los Dominos de Eric Clapton. Jim Gordon,Jim Keltner, Carl Radle,Leon Rusell, su compañero en Traffic, Jim Capaldi o las voces de Bonnie Bramlett ,Claudia Lennear y Rita Coolidge. Lo malo es que puso el listón tan alto que no sacó otro álbum igual nunca más.

Che dire...1°Traffic- 2°E' stato uno dei promotori- 3°E' stato uno dei compositori- 4°Da single ha proseguito la carriera ai livelli OK

Una buena oportunidad de conseguir este importante disco. Era de las primeras versiones en CD.