Dave Mason of Traffic fame. Dave Mason (born David Thomas Mason, May 10, 1944) is a musician, singer, songwriter, and guitarist from Worcester, England, who first found fame with the rock band Traffic. In his long career, Mason has played and recorded with many of the era’s most notable musicians, including Jimi Hendrix, The Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton, George Harrison, Russ McLellan and Mama Cass Elliot. Mason’s best known song is “Feelin’ Alright”, recorded by Traffic in 1968 and covered by dozens of artists, including Joe Cocker, who had a major hit with the song in 1969. For Traffic, he also wrote “Hole in my Shoe”, a kind of psychedelic satire that became a classic in its own right. “We Just Disagree”, Mason’s own 1977 solo hit, has become a staple of Oldies and Adult Contemporary radio playlists. Dave Mason of The Reels fame. Dave Mason (born David Mason) is a musician, singer and songwriter from Australia, who first found fame with the rock/indie pop group The Reels, which formed in Dubbo, New South Wales in 1976 and initially disbanded in 1991, they eventually reformed in 2007. Their 1981 song, “Quasimodo’s Dream”, was voted one of the Top 10 Australian songs of all time by a 100-member panel from Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) in 2001. The Reels had top 10 Australian Kent Music Report Singles Chart success with covers of Herb Albert’s “This Guy’s in Love With You” (No. 7, 1982) and Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Bad Moon Rising” (No. 11, 1986). Rock music historian, Ian McFarlane described them as “one of the most original and invigorating pop bands to emerge from the Australian new wave movement of the late 1970s”. In May 2007, Dave Mason released his first album in more than 15 years, Reelsville, an acoustic celebration of The Reels hits re-recorded by the original artist. In August 2007 Reel To Reel was also released, a compilation of The Reels classic tracks with new liner notes as written by Mason. Dave performed one gig to launch the album at ‘the Basement’ in Sydney on May 16 2007. A further gig is booked for ‘the Factory Enmore Theatre’ in Sydney on May 24 2008. This show became a local cause celebre when police with sniffer dogs arrested two 60 year old punters for smoking illegals. “On his first album in more than 15 years, Dave Mason reinterprets the Reels’ catalogue with the maverick musical flair that characterised that band’s every step from ‘78 to ‘91. Reelsville is an album of extraordinary left turns down an intriguing track in Australian pop history. The stately grand piano of Quasimodo’s Dream presages something very special. After covers by Kate Ceberano and Jimmy Little, Dave’s signature song stands in its definitive light, an aching piano/cello treatment that justifies its position among APRA’s Top 10 Australian Songs of All Time. It’s a mark of Dave’s dogged pursuit of innovation that the old Credence standard is again reborn. From his eccentric chamber orchestral take of World’s End to the playful dub undertow of After the News to the impossibly spare shuffle of Go Away, the strength of his tunes and the ache in his voice have never been more striking.” For more info on Dave Mason and/or to buy Reelsville, click here. | |
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