RIP Dave Mason

Sad. Dave was awesome & saw him many many times since 1974 at Radio City in NYC. He said he never really felt comfortable playing live even though imo, he was a much better guitar player & singer than I think many & maybe Dave himself realized. 

Classic artist/musician/songwriter. We Just Disagree is one of the best songs ever written, both lyrics and melody. Alone Together album an amazing collection, beautifully played. He was a gift to us all. RIP Dave Mason.

To all those making negative comments about Winwood’s guitar playing compared to Mason’s, all I can say is "We Just Disagree". I much prefer Winwood’s playing, overall. 

"Alone Together" has always been my favorite Mason release, despite the awkward lyric writing.  

@wharfy 

I am an electric guitar player/collector, and I'm very familiar with both Winwood and Mason and the sounds of vintage Fender and Gibson electrics.  On the Welcome to the Canteen track you reference, neither sounds like they're playing Strats.  Winwood was well known to play a 3-pickup Gibson Firebird during this period, which eliminated the hum of the Strat pickups, and that's what it sounds like he played on this track.  Similarly, Dave Mason played an older two-pickup Firebird with a Bigsby vibrato bar, and that's what it sounds like he played on this track and throughout his Alone Together album.

Here is a video from 1975 showing Mason playing the Firebird:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=qdUdvY80jak

Like many rock guitarists from this period--e.g., Clapton, Garcia, Beck--Mason eventually came to prefer Strats for much of the rest of his career. Winwood also returned to playing Strats when they came out with noiseless pickups.

BTW, the 1995 MCA "Heavy Vinyl" version of Alone Together sounds great--quiet surface, dynamic sound, mastered by Kevin Gray.

I saw the "Split Coconut" tour at the Orlando Sports Stadium with the band Mountain and Spooky Tooth.  I was working that show, so I don't remember the ticket price, but usually a triple band headliner like that was under $2 general. I was a spot technician, and moved around, so at any time I had the best "seat" in the house.