There aren’t too many folks who can legitimately say “Been there, played on that.”
Then there’s guitarist Dave Mason, whose classic-rock bona fides are eye-opening and, seemingly, incomparable.
He was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee as part of the Class of 2004 with the band Traffic, but when he talked about the Cleveland tourist destination, the Englishman couldn’t have seemed less interested.
“Oh yeah, I’ve been there,” said Mason, calling from Los Angeles. “I’m in there. I got showed around and stuff. It’s like taking coals to Newcastle, selling refrigerators to Eskimos for me. It’s what I do.
“To be honest, there are inductees in there that I don’t know what it means anymore. They put the Doobies Brothers in there finally, for God’s sake. It took them that long to do that. Meanwhile, they’re putting rap artists in there. There are a lot of people who should have been in there a long time ago. My solo career should be in there.”
Mason’s illustrious career began at the age of 18 when he teamed up with Steve Winwood, Jim Capaldi and Chris Wood to form the legendary band Traffic. He later penned the song “Feelin’ Alright?,” which Joe Cocker — after adding a ‘g’ and removing the question mark from the title — turned into a hit.
Even though he pursued a solo career, Mason was a highly sought-after musician who was a part of some of the era’s biggest albums. He played on the Rolling Stones’ “Beggar’s Banquet,” George Harrison’s “All Things Must Pass,” Paul McCartney’s “Listen to What the Man Said” and Jimi Hendrix’s “Electric Ladyland.”
Mason’s contribution to the latter is performing the acoustic guitar intro on Hendrix’s “All Along The Watchtower.” Even more impressive is that Mason introduced the most revered guitarist to the Bob Dylan song at a party. Two days later, Hendrix cut what is perhaps the best cover ever.
“There are a lot of great guitar players, but there ain’t more Hendrixs,” Mason said. “He was way too innovative.”
As for recording with The Rolling Stones, Mason appears on “Street Fighting Man.”
“I’m part of the rhythm section,” Mason said. “Brian Jones, Charlie (Watts) and myself are on the drum track on that thing. I played a shehnai, which I didn’t know how to play it. I squeezed some notes out of it.”
As a solo artist, Mason enjoyed international success with his debut album, “Alone Together,” which included songs such as “Only You Know and I Know,” “World in Changes” and “Shouldn’t Have Took More Than You Gave.”
Mason’s biggest hit — radio classic “We Just Disagree” — came from his 1977 album, “Let It Flow.”
When discussing how he’s been coming through Northeast Ohio as a performer for more than five decades, it turns out the one quintessential ’70s rock ’n’ roll experience he missed out on was having a wild night at Cleveland’s iconic rock ’n’ roll hotel Swingos.
“I think I missed that one,” said Mason, who returns to Northeast Ohio with his “The World in Changes Tour” for shows July 9 at the Lorain Palace Theatre and July 10 at The Kent Stage.
“We mix up some Traffic stuff and things from my solo career,” Mason said. “It’s a great band and great live music. I do my own blues version of (Traffic’s) ‘The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys’ that goes over really well. They’re all great songs.”
Speaking of classic rock’s continued popularity more than a half-century after the British Invasion, Mason didn’t really care for characterizing the tunes as being old.
Instead, he said the songs are just “Feeling Alright.”
“There are no old songs,” Mason said. “It’s just good songs are good songs.”
Dave Mason
When: 8 p.m. July 9.
Where: Lorain Palace Theatre, 617 Broadway Ave., Lorain.
Tickets: $30 to $90.
Info: 440-452-1050 or lorainpalace.com.
When: 7 p.m. July 10.
Where: The Kent Stage, 175 E. Main St.
Tickets: $50 to $60.
Info: 330-677-5005 or KentStage.org.
