Guitarist/vocalist/songwriter Dave Mason has endured the familiar rock-star highs and lows in his unusual career, and several unique experiences are covered in this autobiography.

A founding member of the groundbreaking Traffic, Mason calls the band, “…an abstract idea – all gut and instinct.” Traffic, he believes, along with the Band and Grateful Dead, pioneered the jam-band movement. He mentions playing 12-string acoustic on Jimi Hendrix’s cover of Dylan’s “All Along the Watchtower” and singing/playing sessions for the Rolling Stones, Wings, and George Harrison.

Other anecdotes include Mason’s first guitar being a Mayfair and how, to cut expenses in lean times, he reluctantly toured as an acoustic duo with bandmate Jim Krueger, who co-wrote “We Just Disagree.”

“What it did show was the old adage in the music business that it’s all about the song, the song, the song… and this is what kept the audiences coming to see what essentially was just two people onstage,” he writes.

Mason’s matter-of-fact storytelling implies he could have gone into more detail; nonetheless, this is an enjoyable autobiography from an artist who Doors producer/engineer Bruce Botnick calls “one of the great and underrated guitar players of his generation.”

This article originally appeared in VG’s October 2024 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.