Alone Together

Dave Mason’s first solo album, Alone Together, may have been significant for its album art at the time, but the music stands up well today, too. It is likely one of the most inventive album packages EVER…so much so that it has hung in my office for more than two decades, original multi-colored album included. It is designed to hang on the wall with the record in a pouch for easy storage. The one-dimensional CD cover (seen when you clicked over to read the review) is merely the bottom portion of the original outside cover. When folded out, the original has a cut out of Mason in top hat at the top melting into the picture you see at the bottom. On the inside, it is the sun in sequence, top to bottom melting into a different photo of Mason in top hat with the record sitting in front of him in the pouch.

You read the review for the music and, as stated earlier, it holds up well today. Dave Mason, as a member of Traffic, delivered some bold strokes with “Feelin’ Alright”, “Hole In My Shoe”, “Utterly Simple”, “You Can Join In”, and “Vagabound Virgin” (with Jim Capaldi). Mason lasted from the inception of Traffic in 1967 until its “Last Exit” LP in 1969. In 1970, he struck out on his own with Alone Together.

The sum is better than the parts…