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Reviews Submitted by Tom Donaldson
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Tom Donaldson has contributed 7 reviews to The Penguin: Everything That is Fleetwood Mac:

Live: The 40,000 Headmen Tour (5/5.05/5.05/5.05/5.05/5.0)
A wonderful set of "live" rock classics.
Review written by Tom Donaldson, January 4th, 2005

For Dave Mason and Traffic fans, this recording is a must. Mason & Capaldi are as vibrant in this 1998 recording as they were over 30 years when they were an integral part of the legendary band Traffic. It is great to hear the metamorphoses of these great rock standards. You will hear no finer versions of songs like "Feelin' Alright?", "Only You Know And I Know","Dear Mr. Fantasy", "40,000 Headmen", etc.,than you will hear on this recording. The rich vocals that Mason supplies, on some Traffic classics, will leave you scratching your head and wondering why he didn't sing these songs originally. This cd was recorded with a very tight 4 piece band. There are no overdubs as it is recorded absolutely live,(a Mason trademark). I was very surprised at how good a percussionist Capaldi is. Also, Mason's guitar work shows he is one of the better guitar players of our time. Add this cd to your collection, and it will soon become one of your favorites.

Dave Mason And Cass Elliot (4/5.04/5.04/5.04/5.04/5.0)
This is the most underrated Dave Mason album
Review written by Tom Donaldson, December 20th, 2004

I first bought this album nearly thirty years ago. I was intrigued by the combination of Dave Mason & Cass Elliot. Although Cass & Mason collaborate on a few songs, make no mistake that Dave Mason is the guiding force behind this album. The harmonies on this album are tremendous and far exceed any vocal harmonies on any Traffic albums. Mason's talents as an acoustic lead guitarist are brought to the forefront on songs like "Walk to the Point" and "Glittering Facade". My favorite song on the album is "Too Much Truth, Too Much Love", which features great vocals along with great guitar work. Of the ten songs on this album, 5 or 6 are masterfully crafted, and the remaining songs,although not great songs, are easy to listen to, and after hearing them a few times, will grow on you.

Mariposa De Oro (3/5.03/5.03/5.03/5.03/5.0)
A mediocre album with only a few high lights
Review written by Tom Donaldson, November 27th, 2004

This album falls short of the quality of "Alone Together", "It's Like You Never Left", "Let It Flow" or the 1974 self-titled album "Dave Mason". There are however, a few nice moments. "The Words" is an excellent song, which was written by Jim Krueger, and received alot of air time. There are only 2 songs that have any extended guitar leads. They are "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?" and "Warm Desire". These are the high points of the album. The album is laced with great vocal harmonies, but it seems these vocals took the place of any great or inspired song writing. One interesting note is that 5 of the songs on this album were either written or co-written by Jerry Williams, who a few years later wrote songs that became big hits for Eric Clapton.
Although, this is not a great album, Mason fans will enjoy listening to it.

Old Crest On A New Wave (4/5.04/5.04/5.04/5.04/5.0)
Dave returns to rock & roll.
Review written by Tom Donaldson, November 27th, 2004

This album is definitely a more energetic undertaking than his previously released "Mariposa de Oro". It starts with the hard rocking "Paralyzed", which features some really good guitar work. "I'm Missing You" is just a great song, with a really nice acoustic rythm guitar. "Talk To Me" has the best guitar leads on the album. There is not a bad song on the album with songs ranging from hard rocking to mellow to the haunting "Gotta Be On My Way". The title track,"Old Crest On A New Wave" should have been Dave's anthem for the past 20 years. It seems to be somewhat of an autobiography, with some catchy lyrics like,"Taking chances in back 64, doing things I'd never done before, waking up on someone's basement floor" and "my accountant tells me I'm over drawn". All in all, a pretty good album. Enjoy!

Dave Mason (5/5.05/5.05/5.05/5.05/5.0)
One of Dave Mason's top 4 studio albums.
Review written by Tom Donaldson, October 14th, 2004

In my opinion, this album ranks just slightly behind "Alone Together" and "It's Like You Never Left", and is equal to his "Let It Flow" album. "Bring It On Home To Me" and "All Along The Watchtower" became real show stoppers in Mason's live performances throughout the 70's. The vocal harmonies between Mason, Krueger, and Finnigan, on "Bring It On Home To Me" are as good as they get. The lead guitar on "All Along The Watchtower" established Mason as one of the great guitar players of the 70's. Also of note on this album is the instrumentation. There is a steel pedal guitar on a couple tracks. Mason also makes good use of flutes, a horn section, and a string section on several tracks. This album also introduces Jim Krueger as a second guitarist.Krueger plays lead guitar on three songs and although his style is different, his talent is quite evident. All in all, this is an excellent album. There are 5 new Mason songs on this album, 3 cover songs, and an interesting remake of Mason's "Every Woman".

It's Like You Never Left (5/5.05/5.05/5.05/5.05/5.0)
One of Mason's best.
Review written by Tom Donaldson, October 13th, 2004

This album has a wonderful combination of acoustic and electric guitar sounds. Every song was wonderfully crafted and demonstrated Mason's versatility as a musician. There are great rockers such as "Baby Please..", "Headkeeper", and "It's Like You Never Left". Interwoven between these songs are acoustic ballads like, "Maybe", "Lonely One" and "Every Woman". Also, there are a few jazz oriented songs like, "Misty Morning Stranger" and an instrumental called "Side Tracked". All in all, a real masterpiece, with something for everyone. This was Mason's first album with Columbia Records and it seems as though he had stockpiled several great songs for his debut with this label.

Alone Together (5/5.05/5.05/5.05/5.05/5.0)
Mason's debut album,considered by many to be his best
Review written by Tom Donaldson, September 19th, 2004

For those of you who have heard of Dave Mason, but aren't sure what he is all about, this album will answer all your questions. Every song is masterfully written and far exceed anything he had previously done as member of Traffic. Sit back and enjoy this work of art. With rock classics like "Only You Know And I Know", "World In Changes", "Look At You, Look At Me", and "Shouldn't Have Took More Than You Gave",you'll wonder why Mason never got the acclaim he should have.