JOv2
Well-Known Member
I’d wager that if Classical Gas was issued under its original title — "Classical Gasoline" — that it wouldn’t have been the massive hit that it was…
Mason, a very good acoustic guitarist, recorded 5 LPs for Warner Bros., 1967-71. Although Mason’s music can be odd and unusual at times, this quirkiness was the perfect fit for late '60s pop faire (particularly on The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour (1967-69) where he was both the musical director and a contributing writer). His LPs contain a great variety of music, yet a folk/country undercurrent, particularly in the later LPs, kept the overall offerings rooted in pop. His singing is a bit shaky on the debut LP, but he measurably improved with each ensuring release. The first 4 LPs are all interesting — Phonograph Record (1967) and Ear Show (1968) are both orchestrated affairs and perhaps a bit pretentious; on the other hand, Music (1969) and Hand Made (1970) are more stripped down with the latter probably the best of the lot and a good place to get acquainted with his music (it also features his solo guitar version of Classical Gas). Mason appears to fancy re-arranging previously recorded selections and to that end different versions of the same piece are not uncommon. Interestingly, only the first two recordings were ever released to CD (with 2nd LP having undergone a very brief release) — which is unfortunate as Music and Hand Made are arguably stronger efforts.
Mason, a very good acoustic guitarist, recorded 5 LPs for Warner Bros., 1967-71. Although Mason’s music can be odd and unusual at times, this quirkiness was the perfect fit for late '60s pop faire (particularly on The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour (1967-69) where he was both the musical director and a contributing writer). His LPs contain a great variety of music, yet a folk/country undercurrent, particularly in the later LPs, kept the overall offerings rooted in pop. His singing is a bit shaky on the debut LP, but he measurably improved with each ensuring release. The first 4 LPs are all interesting — Phonograph Record (1967) and Ear Show (1968) are both orchestrated affairs and perhaps a bit pretentious; on the other hand, Music (1969) and Hand Made (1970) are more stripped down with the latter probably the best of the lot and a good place to get acquainted with his music (it also features his solo guitar version of Classical Gas). Mason appears to fancy re-arranging previously recorded selections and to that end different versions of the same piece are not uncommon. Interestingly, only the first two recordings were ever released to CD (with 2nd LP having undergone a very brief release) — which is unfortunate as Music and Hand Made are arguably stronger efforts.