Dave Mason - It's Like You Never Left (1973 uk, great classic rock)

Dave Mason may have been done too soon in the sense that Mason hadn't come up with an album's worth of good new material. In fact, he had only six new songs, filling up the collection with covers of Sam Cooke's "Bring It On Home to Me" and Bob Dylan's "All Along the Watchtower" (in an arrangement that recalled the Jimi Hendrix version on which Mason had appeared), as well as a remake of "Every Woman" from the previous album in a longer, more elaborate arrangement with strings. (The version on It's Like You Never Left, despite the presence of Nash, was a near-demo running only one-minute-and-40-seconds.) 

The new songs were good ones, however, particularly "Show Me Some Affection." And while there were no hotshot guest stars this time, the musicians were Mason's road band, including second guitarist Jim Krueger, who would be Mason's partner for many years to come, and keyboardist Mike Finnigan, plus the rhythm section of bassist Bob Glaub and drummer Rick Jagger. The result was a more cohesive band sound in the playing that actually made Dave Mason a stronger musical effort than its predecessor. It also sold better, reaching number 25 during a 25-week chart run and going gold within two years. Even though a hit single would elude Mason until he came up with "We Just Disagree" in 1977, many of the songs on It's Like You Never Left and Dave Mason joined perennials such as "Feelin' Alright?" and "Only You Know and I Know" in his concert repertoire, and these albums helped re-establish him with fans. 

Over the years, several different record companies licensed It's Like You Never Left and Dave Mason from Columbia Records for reissue together on a single CD. In 2007, the British Acadia label accidentally pressed its version with the tracks from Dave Mason sequenced ahead of those from It's Like You Never Left, even though the CD booklet indicated that the opposite was the case; thus, on this disc, the tracks shown as one-ten were really ten-nineteen, and those shown as eleven-nineteen were really one-nine.

by William Ruhlmann

Tracks
1. Baby... Please - 3:15
2. Every Woman - 1:40
3. If You've Got Love - 3:24
4. Maybe - 4:03
5. Head Keeper - 3:36
6. Misty Morning Stranger - 4:32
7. Silent Partner - 3:03
8. Side Tracked (Mason, Jordan, Jaeger, Turner) - 3:34
9. The Lonely One - 4:43
10. It's Like You Never Left - 3:03
All songs by Dave Mason except where stated

Personnel
*Dave Mason - Guitar, Vocals
*Graham Nash - Guitar, Vocals, Synthesizer
*Chuck Rainey - Bass
*Rick Jaeger - Drums
*Rocky - Congas
*Jim Keltner - Drums
*Clydie King, Julis Tillman - Vocals
*Kathleen Saroyan, Maxine Willard - Vocals
*Carl Radle - Bass
*Mark Jordan - Piano
*Greg Reeves - Bass
*Nastyee - Congas
*Stevie Wonder - Harmonica
*Malcolm Cecil - Moog
*Lonnie Turner - Bass
*Dennis Morouse, Norma Bell, Steve Madaio - Horns

1970  Dave Mason - Alone Together (Japan remaster)
1972  Dave Mason - Headkeeper (Japan SHM remaster)
1976-77  Certified Live / Let It Flow  (2011 remaster)

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