"The Mason Williams Phonograph Record/The Mason Williams Ear Show/Music by Mason Williams/Hand Made/Sharepickers" by MASON WILLIAMS - Five Studio Albums from February 1968, November 1968, March 1969, March 1970 and October 1971 on Warner Brothers – guests featuring James Burton, Jennifer Warren, John Hartford, Sons Of The Pioneers, Rick Cunha, Hal Blaine, Milt Holland, Larry Knechtel, Alvin Casey, The Clinger Sisters, Bill Cunningham, Steve La Fever and more (June 2022 UK Beat Goes On Compilation – 5LPs onto 2CDs – Remastered by Andrew Thompson) - A Review by Mark Barry....

 

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"...Classical Gas..."

 

First up, I've picked up this 2CD set in October 2022, and despite claims of issues by other purchasers with the mastering on Track 1 of Disc 1, I don't detect any such thing on my copy - no gaps - so these new variants must be replacements. The audio on this 2CD set is clean, full and really good. I just wish the content across five whole albums were worth it.

 

I'm old enough (64) to remember these US and UK platters in secondhand stores back in the day as always being dirt cheap for a reason - few wanted them. But what I will say in 2022 is that this twofer from England's Beat Goes On (BGO) sounds beautiful in places and presents these five studio albums (all originally on Warner Brothers between 1968 and 1971) in their very best light to date. Let's get to the details for the moment...

 

UK released Friday, 24 June 2022 - "The Mason Williams Phonograph Record/The Mason Williams Ear Show/Music by Mason Williams/Hand Made/Sharepickers" by MASON WILLIAMS on Beat Goes On BGOCD1481 (Barcode 5017261214812) offers 5 Studio LPs from 1968 to 1971 Remastered onto 2CDs and plays out as follows:

 

CD1 (80:16 minutes):

1. Overture [Side 1]

2. All The Time

3. Dylan Thomas

4. Wanderlove

5. She's Gone Away

6. Here I Am

7. Classical Gas * [Side 2]

8. Long Time Blues

9. Baroque-A-Nova

10. The Prince's Panties

11. Life Song

12. Sunflower

Tracks 1 to 12 are his (music) debut album "The Mason Williams Phonograph Record" - released February 1968 (charted Top 2000 in May 1968) in the USA on Warner Brothers WS 1729 in Stereo (also WS 1729 in the UK). Produced by MIKE POST - it peaked at No. 14 on the US Billboard Rock LP charts (didn't chart UK).

* = The original version of the hit single "Classical Gas" - he re-recorded it for the "Hand Made" albums of 1970 - different take

 

13. Road Song [Side 1]

14. Baroque-A-Nova

15. Whistle (Hear)

16. The Last Great Waltz

17. One Minute Commercial

18. $13 Stella [Side 2]

19. Love Are Wine

20. Cinderella-Rockefella

21. Generatah-Oscillatah

22. Saturday Night At The World

Tracks 13 to 22 are his second studio album "The Mason Williams Ear Show" - released November 1968 (charted December 1968) in the USA on Warner Brothers WS 1766 (W 1766 Mono and WS 1766 Stereo in the UK). Produced by DICK GLASSER - it peaked at No. 164 in the USA (didn't chart UK). $13 Stella refers to the brand name of his old guitar bought for that amount and featured on the cover artwork.

 

23. Greensleeves [Side 1]

24. Bucko's Memoirs

25. La Chanson De Claudine

26. Come To Me

27. Cowboy Buckaroo

28. The Brother's Theme [Side 2]

29. J. Edgar Swoop

Tracks 23 to 29 see Notes on CD2

 

CD2 (78:23 minutes):

1. Sunflower

2. A Major Thang

3. A Gift Of Song

Tracks 23 to 29 on CD1 and Tracks 1 to 3 on CD2 are his third studio album "Music By Mason Williams" - released March 1969 (charted May 1969) in the USA on Warner Brothers WS 1788 in Stereo (no UK issue). Produced by MASON WILLIAMS - it peaked at No. 44 on the US Billboard LP charts

 

4. Jose's Piece [Side 1]

5. Find A Reason To Believe

6. Saturday Night At The World (Re-Record)

7. I've Heard That Tear Stained Monologue You Do There By The Door Before You Go

8. All The Time

9. Classical Gas (Re-Record) [Side 2] *

10. The Tomato Vendetta

11. Manha De Carnival

12. It's Over

13. The Exciting Accident

Tracks 4 to 13 are his fourth studio album "Hand Made" - released March 1970 in the USA on Warner Brothers WS 1838 in Stereo (UK the same). Produced by BOB and DICK GLASSER - It didn't chart in either country.

* The version of "Classical Gas" on this album is a re-record, not the hit single – see CD1 Track 7

 

14. Here I Am Again [Side 1]

15. Largo De Luxe

16. (I'm A) Yo-Yo Man

17. A Little Bit Of Time

18. Linda Crest Lament

19. Little Beggar Man/Hamilton County [Side 2]

20. Poor Little Robin

21. Godsend

22. Train Ride In G

23. Orange Blossom Special

Tracks 14 to 23 are his fifth studio album "Sharepickers" - released October 1971 in the USA on Warner Brothers WS 1941 and Warner Brothers K 46120 in the UK. Produced by MASON WILLIAMS - it didn't chart in either country.

 

The 28-page booklet (housed in an outer card slipcase) is substantial - repro'ing all the album artwork and musician credits and from Page 16 onward is bolstered up with typically in-depth liner notes from Mojo and Record Collector contributor CHARLES WARING. Our Charles does a valiant job in convincing us (and maybe even himself) that Mason Williams LPs are overlooked, but they were cheap back in the day for a reason - they mostly aren't any good. His moment of glory came with "Classical Gas" - an acoustic-lead instrumental that caught the public's imagination and he seemed to be playing catch up to it every day afterward.

 

The music across all of these LPs is a sort of unclassifiable mixture of acoustic ditties, easy listening, Sunshine Pop, Country-Pop interspersed with awkward humour that rarely amounts to a tune (he wrote comedy for The Smother Brothers). For sure there are moments - his tribute to Jose Feliciano in "Jose's Piece" is lovely - another instrumental dedicated to Claudine Longe in the shape of "La Chanson De Claudine" on the "Music..." LP - but they are few and far between. It all feels like someone desperate to be Jimmy Webb or Gordon Lightfoot without the capability of writing a song that moves you like they both could on even their worst day.

 

What is good news is gorgeous Audio courtesy of ANDREW THOMPSON. A lot of these tracks begin with and feature Spanish Acoustic Guitar throughout, and BGO's resident Audio Engineer has done a truly lovely job transferring the Warner Brothers tapes - none too much hiss (if any) and plenty of body when needed. Musician Guests included Guitarist James Burton, singer Jennifer Warren, Country Music legends Sons Of The Pioneers, songwriters Rick Cunha and John Hartford, Drummers Hal Blaine and Milt Holland, Bassist Larry Knechtel, Steve La Fever of the famous Wrecking Crew Rhythm Section, plus Alvin Casey, The Clinger Sisters, Bill Cunningham and many more. I just wish the music were better.

 

Fans will absolutely have to own it for the superb audio and classy presentation, but the curious should nab a listen first...