Dave Mason: Live at Sunrise

A definite improvement over the rather anemic-sounding Dave Mason: Live at Perkins Place (VL-5/02), this robust 2002 concert finds the former Traffic axeman fronting a solid four-piece backup band on a mixture of Traffic tunes ("40,000 Headmen," "Dear Mr. Fantasy"), solo hits ("Only You Know and I Know," which he recorded with Delaney & Bonnie; "We Just Disagree"; and his signature house shaker "Feelin' Alright"), and crowd-pleasing covers such as "All Along the Watchtower" (trivia tidbit: Mason played the acoustic guitar track on the Hendrix recording). Altogether the band serves up an hour-plus, energetic nine-song set, presented in pristine Dolby Digital 5.1 sound. Also included on the disc is a 16-minute behind-the-scenes featurette that suggests "Every Woman" and "Gimme Some Lovin'" were performed but, unfortunately, not included on the DVD. A solid, assured outing by a songwriting legend, this is sure to be popular with Mason fans. Recommended. Aud: P. (R. Pitman)