by William RuhlmannDave Mason's solo career, which had started so promisingly with Alone Together in 1970 and taken an odd, but pleasant detour with Dave Mason & Cass Elliot in 1971, hit a speed bump in 1972, when he entered into a dispute with his record label, Blue Thumb during preparations for a new album. As a result, Blue Thumb put together the half-a-studio-album Mason had completed with half of a live album and issued the consumer-confusing Headkeeper, which Mason denounced publicly and asked fans not to buy! Heard today, it's still a confusing album, though the first five tracks are enjoyable music in the manner of Alone Together and the last five are well-performed concert versions of such favorites as "Feelin' Alright?" and "Pearly Queen." (Originally released on Blue Thumb Records as Blue Thumb 34, Headkeeper was reissued by MCA Records as MCA 712, then reissued on CD in 1988 as MCA 31326.)