Traffic co-founder Dave Mason is not the first Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee to perform one of his early albums, in its entirety, live on stage. In this case, the album is his all-star 1970 solo debut, "Alone Together."
But Mason may well be the first to do so who is re-recording the same album, song for song, as a new release. And he's doing so not because of advances in recording technology or a desire to try out new arrangements, but solely because of his singing voice.
"I didn't listen too much to the 'Alone Together' album when I did it 46 years ago, because _ vocally _ I wasn't seasoned enough. Now I've been singing for over 45 years," said Mason, 70, just before kicking off his "Alone Together Again" tour.
"I've re-recorded it, and it sounds so much better than the original."
The music will be much the same, Mason noted, apart from a few tweaks. But the musical lineup will be different.
The new/old "Alone Together" album features Mason's longtime touring band _ guitarist-singer Johnne Sambataro, keyboardist-singer Tony Patler and drummer Alvino Bennett. They replace Jim Keltner, Don Preston, singer Rita Coolidge, the recently deceased Leon Russell and the other artists featured on the original 1970 release.
Mason hopes to complete the revamped album in time for a longer "Alone Together Tour" next year. He also hopes to replicate the rainbow-colored vinyl that made the original version of the album stand out nearly as much visually as it did musically.
Paradoxically, while he is delighted to have a second crack at "Alone Together" _ which gave him his breakthrough American radio hit, the gospel-meets-roots-rock romp "Only You Know and I Know" _ Mason is convinced that albums as we know them are all but defunct.
"In all honesty, making an album or a CD is an exercise in futility," he lamented, speaking by phone as he drove through Kansas back to his Nevada home in Carson City.
"The bottom line is, financially, it's not worth it to make albums. Everybody is ripping everything off from the Internet and a huge portion of artists' income has disappeared. Especially if you're a songwriter, the Internet has just destroyed intellectual property. I'll still make stuff. But, essentially, I just make CDs now to take on the road and sell at my shows, and that's it."
Mason was in and out of the genre-leaping English band Traffic three times between its formation in 1967 and his final departure from the group in 1971.
During that time, he wrote the band's psychedelic, sitar-driven 1967 U.K. hit, "Hole in My Shoe." His best known song, then and now, is 1968's "Feelin' Alright," which was later recorded by Joe Cocker, Three Dog Night, Isaac Hayes, Grand Funk Railroad and San Diego bongo legend Jack Costanzo, among others.
Mason was on hand when Traffic was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame by Dave Matthews in 2004. At the end of the night, he and band co-founders Steve Winwood and the now-deceased Jim Capaldi reunited for a jam-happy version of "Feelin' Alright" that also featured Tom Petty, Jeff Lynne, Keith Richards, Jackson Browne, The Dells and ZZ Top's Billy Gibbons and Dusty Hill.
It was the first time Mason had performed with Traffic in 33 years _ and the last. Have he and Winwood spoken recently?
"Well, basically, he's not in contact with me, let's put it that way," replied Mason, whose former recording partners range from Eric Clapton and Jim Hendrix to Michael Jackson and George Harrison.
Might a reunion with Winwood be in the offing?
"I wish," Mason sighed. "If I had a dollar for everybody asking me about a Traffic reunion, I probably could just stay home. I think it would be great. I know there are a lot of fans that would love to see it."
