AMG Review of Very Best of Dave Mason [Universal]

William Ruhlmann
All Music Guide

The third time around in constructing a Dave Mason compilation, Blue Thumb Records (which had been acquired by ABC Records, and which in turn would be swallowed by MCA Records) finally made a worthy selection of its cache of Dave Mason recordings from 1970-71. The Very Best Of Dave Mason was a ten-track album collecting the most memorable songs from Alone Together--"Only You Know And I Know," "Sad And Deep As You," and "Shouldn't Have Took More Than You Gave"--and live performances of such well-known Traffic songs as "Feelin' Alright?" and "Pearly Queen." While the label was still to be criticized for endlessly repackaging Mason recordings, at least this one was done right--and it's the one that remains in print. (Originally released by ABC/Blue Thumb Records as ABC/Blue Thumb 6032, The Very Best Of Dave Mason was reissued by MCA Records as MCA 715 and reissued on CD in 1987 as MCA 31169.)