Dave Mason's first solo album was one of several recordings to come out of the
Leon Russell/
Delaney & Bonnie axis in 1970. (Other notables included
Eric Clapton's solo debut and
Joe Cocker's
Mad Dogs & Englishmen.)
Alone Together contains an excellent batch of melodically pleasing songs, built on a fat bed of strumming acoustic guitars with tasteful electric guitar accents and leads.
Mason's vocals are embellished with harmonies from
Rita Coolidge,
Claudia Lennear, and
Delaney & Bonnie. Besides the well-known semi-hit "Only You Know and I Know," and which was also a number 20 hit for
Delaney & Bonnie, highlights include the bouncy gospel-inflected "Waitin' on You" and the banjo-bejeweled "Just a Song." "Look at You Look at Me" and the wonderfully wah-wahed "Shouldn't Have Took More Than You Gave" are reminiscent of
Mason's former band,
Traffic, whose drummer,
Jim Capaldi is among the all-star cast assembled here.
Alone Together represents
Dave Mason at his peak. Later releases would betray lyrical shallowness, forced rhymes, and clichéd guitar licks. But here, everything comes together perfectly. The original vinyl release of
Alone Together was also noteworthy for the marble grain of the record itself -- as the record played on the turntable, the tone arm appeared to be floating through the clouds. ~ Jim Newsom