The Dave Mason Band: Dave Mason (vocals, guitar, slide guitar); Jim Krueger (guitar); Jay Winding (piano, keyboards, synthesizer); Gerald Johnson (bass); Rick Jaeger (drums).

Additional personnel: Mark Jordan (Clavinet, organ, keyboards, ARP synthesizer); Emil Richards (marimba); The Manhattan Transfer, David Crosby, Graham Nash (background vocals).

Recorded at Capitol Recording Studios, Hollywood, California.

1975's SPLIT COCONUT is a transitional album in the Dave Mason oeuvre. Moving away from the more straightforward rock sound of 1974's DAVE MASON and the singer-songwriter confessionals of 1973's IT'S LIKE YOU NEVER LEFT, SPLIT COCONUT nonetheless doesn't quite make it all the way to the full-on California mellow rock satori of 1977's LET IT FLOW.

As the title suggests, there's a lightly tropical vibe to these songs, a sort of pop-reggae lilt which in 1975 was creeping into the rock mainstream thanks to the work of Bob Marley and the pop artists who covered his songs. The bouncy "Give Me a Reason Why" and an unexpectedly appropriate cover of Buddy Holly's "Crying, Waiting, Hoping" are the highlights, but the lengthy solo which closes "Long Lost Friend" is among Mason's best, and the song is such a fan favorite that it provided the title of Mason's Columbia Records anthology.