Steve Mason - About the Light (2019)
EAC Rip | FLAC (tracks+.cue, log) ~ 265.53 Mb | 39:56 | Cover
Indie Rock, Trip-Hop, Downtempo | Country: UK | Label: Double Six - DS121CD
EAC Rip | FLAC (tracks+.cue, log) ~ 265.53 Mb | 39:56 | Cover
Indie Rock, Trip-Hop, Downtempo | Country: UK | Label: Double Six - DS121CD
Following 2016's excellent Meet the Humans, former Beta Band mastermind Steve Mason takes a more organic and collaborative approach on his fourth solo album, About the Light. While his later catalog has increasingly revealed his acumen as a more straightforward pop songwriter, the Fife native's reputation as a wily studio maverick who builds glorious tracks out of odd bits and bobs has stuck with him since his early days. Having proven many times over that his signature approach yields fruit, Mason decided to take a leap into the unknown, employing his live band to write, rehearse, and record together as a team.
Produced by Stephen Street (Morrissey, Blur, the Cranberries), About the Light combines the strong melodicism and thoughtful songwriting of its predecessor with the cumulative energy and spontaneity of group effort, making for a distinctive and deeply engaging entry in Mason's canon. Added to the expected synth, piano, and guitar elements are mighty brass sections and female backing vocals, lending a soulful touch to the ten songs which range in tone from muscular and funky to dreamy and mysterious. Lush opener "America Is Your Boyfriend" is an obvious highlight with its infectious percussion track and massive chorus. Likewise, "Stars Around My Heart" hits a perfect blend of catchy new wave rhythms and rich soul with Mason's unique voice emitting its smooth airy power. The jangly "No Clue" and the eerie "Fox on the Rooftop" also hit their marks, adding diversity within the album's streamlined parameters. Well-conceived, vibrant, and executed with attitude and aplomb, About the Light is a career standout for Mason. ~ AllMusic Review by Timothy Monger
Track List:
01. America Is Your Boyfriend (03:42)
02. Rocket (04:58)
03. No Clue (03:10)
04. About The Light (04:26)
05. Fox On The Rooftop (04:39)
06. Stars Around My Heart (04:06)
07. Spanish Brigade (03:31)
08. Don't Know Where (03:57)
09. Walking Away From Love (03:40)
10. The End (03:43)
Exact Audio Copy V1.3 from 2. September 2016
EAC extraction logfile from 28. April 2019, 12:42
Steve Mason / About The Light
Used drive : PLEXTOR DVDR PX-716A Adapter: 1 ID: 0
Read mode : Secure
Utilize accurate stream : Yes
Defeat audio cache : Yes
Make use of C2 pointers : No
Read offset correction : 30
Overread into Lead-In and Lead-Out : Yes
Fill up missing offset samples with silence : Yes
Delete leading and trailing silent blocks : No
Null samples used in CRC calculations : Yes
Used interface : Native Win32 interface for Win NT & 2000
Gap handling : Appended to previous track
Used output format : User Defined Encoder
Selected bitrate : 128 kBit/s
Quality : High
Add ID3 tag : No
Command line compressor : C:\Program Files (x86)\Exact Audio Copy\Flac\flac.exe
Additional command line options : -8 -V -T "ARTIST=%artist%" -T "TITLE=%title%" -T "ALBUM=%albumtitle%" -T "DATE=%year%" -T "TRACKNUMBER=%tracknr%" -T "GENRE=%genre%" -T "PERFORMER=%albuminterpret%" -T "COMPOSER=%composer%" %haslyrics%–tag-from-file=LYRICS="%lyricsfile%"%haslyrics% -T "ALBUMARTIST=%albumartist%" -T "DISCNUMBER=%cdnumber%" -T "TOTALDISCS=%totalcds%" -T "TOTALTRACKS=%numtracks%" -T "COMMENT=%comment%" %source% -o %dest%
TOC of the extracted CD
Track | Start | Length | Start sector | End sector
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––-
1 | 0:00.00 | 3:43.58 | 0 | 16782
2 | 3:43.58 | 4:58.12 | 16783 | 39144
3 | 8:41.70 | 3:10.05 | 39145 | 53399
4 | 11:52.00 | 4:26.60 | 53400 | 73409
5 | 16:18.60 | 4:39.04 | 73410 | 94338
6 | 20:57.64 | 4:06.11 | 94339 | 112799
7 | 25:04.00 | 3:31.13 | 112800 | 128637
8 | 28:35.13 | 3:57.35 | 128638 | 146447
9 | 32:32.48 | 3:40.50 | 146448 | 162997
10 | 36:13.23 | 3:45.31 | 162998 | 179903
Track 1
Filename E:\EACRips\01 America Is Your Boyfriend.wav
Pre-gap length 0:00:02.00
Peak level 98.8 %
Extraction speed 7.5 X
Track quality 99.9 %
Test CRC FF3257D8
Copy CRC FF3257D8
Accurately ripped (confidence 1) [9C301464] (AR v2)
Copy OK
Track 2
Filename E:\EACRips\02 Rocket.wav
Peak level 98.8 %
Extraction speed 8.6 X
Track quality 99.9 %
Test CRC 7822EB2B
Copy CRC 7822EB2B
Accurately ripped (confidence 2) [B62D574C] (AR v2)
Copy OK
Track 3
Filename E:\EACRips\03 No Clue.wav
Peak level 98.8 %
Extraction speed 10.0 X
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC D4261620
Copy CRC D4261620
Accurately ripped (confidence 2) [F581CF15] (AR v2)
Copy OK
Track 4
Filename E:\EACRips\04 About The Light.wav
Peak level 98.8 %
Extraction speed 10.9 X
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC 96978D94
Copy CRC 96978D94
Accurately ripped (confidence 2) [CDCD10B1] (AR v2)
Copy OK
Track 5
Filename E:\EACRips\05 Fox On The Rooftop.wav
Peak level 98.8 %
Extraction speed 11.7 X
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC 9A73C442
Copy CRC 9A73C442
Accurately ripped (confidence 2) [CB2758A4] (AR v2)
Copy OK
Track 6
Filename E:\EACRips\06 Stars Around My Heart.wav
Peak level 98.8 %
Extraction speed 12.4 X
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC 253FAD53
Copy CRC 253FAD53
Accurately ripped (confidence 2) [06DFC811] (AR v2)
Copy OK
Track 7
Filename E:\EACRips\07 Spanish Brigade.wav
Peak level 98.8 %
Extraction speed 11.2 X
Track quality 99.9 %
Test CRC 16D57ADF
Copy CRC 16D57ADF
Accurately ripped (confidence 2) [3A39F3AE] (AR v2)
Copy OK
Track 8
Filename E:\EACRips\08 Don't Know Where.wav
Peak level 98.8 %
Extraction speed 13.5 X
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC F6FABF67
Copy CRC F6FABF67
Accurately ripped (confidence 2) [F4001E16] (AR v2)
Copy OK
Track 9
Filename E:\EACRips\09 Walking Away From Love.wav
Peak level 98.8 %
Extraction speed 14.0 X
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC 4C8CC7B7
Copy CRC 4C8CC7B7
Accurately ripped (confidence 2) [6E0154C9] (AR v2)
Copy OK
Track 10
Filename E:\EACRips\10 The End.wav
Peak level 98.8 %
Extraction speed 12.8 X
Track quality 99.9 %
Test CRC A0B0EBB2
Copy CRC A0B0EBB2
Accurately ripped (confidence 2) [C7248F63] (AR v2)
Copy OK
All tracks accurately ripped
No errors occurred
End of status report
–– CUETools DB Plugin V2.1.6
[CTDB TOCID: djhtK1WXLEeU2eDf.CLKwBOSsdw-] found
Submit result: djhtK1WXLEeU2eDf.CLKwBOSsdw- has been confirmed
Track | CTDB Status
1 | (15/15) Accurately ripped
2 | (15/15) Accurately ripped
3 | (15/15) Accurately ripped
4 | (15/15) Accurately ripped
5 | (15/15) Accurately ripped
6 | (15/15) Accurately ripped
7 | (15/15) Accurately ripped
8 | (15/15) Accurately ripped
9 | (15/15) Accurately ripped
10 | (15/15) Accurately ripped
==== Log checksum 6BF492E1A35BE283E6FBC089857DD40D73D2F029B9AEA5703691E4787B021E48 ====
EAC extraction logfile from 28. April 2019, 12:42
Steve Mason / About The Light
Used drive : PLEXTOR DVDR PX-716A Adapter: 1 ID: 0
Read mode : Secure
Utilize accurate stream : Yes
Defeat audio cache : Yes
Make use of C2 pointers : No
Read offset correction : 30
Overread into Lead-In and Lead-Out : Yes
Fill up missing offset samples with silence : Yes
Delete leading and trailing silent blocks : No
Null samples used in CRC calculations : Yes
Used interface : Native Win32 interface for Win NT & 2000
Gap handling : Appended to previous track
Used output format : User Defined Encoder
Selected bitrate : 128 kBit/s
Quality : High
Add ID3 tag : No
Command line compressor : C:\Program Files (x86)\Exact Audio Copy\Flac\flac.exe
Additional command line options : -8 -V -T "ARTIST=%artist%" -T "TITLE=%title%" -T "ALBUM=%albumtitle%" -T "DATE=%year%" -T "TRACKNUMBER=%tracknr%" -T "GENRE=%genre%" -T "PERFORMER=%albuminterpret%" -T "COMPOSER=%composer%" %haslyrics%–tag-from-file=LYRICS="%lyricsfile%"%haslyrics% -T "ALBUMARTIST=%albumartist%" -T "DISCNUMBER=%cdnumber%" -T "TOTALDISCS=%totalcds%" -T "TOTALTRACKS=%numtracks%" -T "COMMENT=%comment%" %source% -o %dest%
TOC of the extracted CD
Track | Start | Length | Start sector | End sector
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––-
1 | 0:00.00 | 3:43.58 | 0 | 16782
2 | 3:43.58 | 4:58.12 | 16783 | 39144
3 | 8:41.70 | 3:10.05 | 39145 | 53399
4 | 11:52.00 | 4:26.60 | 53400 | 73409
5 | 16:18.60 | 4:39.04 | 73410 | 94338
6 | 20:57.64 | 4:06.11 | 94339 | 112799
7 | 25:04.00 | 3:31.13 | 112800 | 128637
8 | 28:35.13 | 3:57.35 | 128638 | 146447
9 | 32:32.48 | 3:40.50 | 146448 | 162997
10 | 36:13.23 | 3:45.31 | 162998 | 179903
Track 1
Filename E:\EACRips\01 America Is Your Boyfriend.wav
Pre-gap length 0:00:02.00
Peak level 98.8 %
Extraction speed 7.5 X
Track quality 99.9 %
Test CRC FF3257D8
Copy CRC FF3257D8
Accurately ripped (confidence 1) [9C301464] (AR v2)
Copy OK
Track 2
Filename E:\EACRips\02 Rocket.wav
Peak level 98.8 %
Extraction speed 8.6 X
Track quality 99.9 %
Test CRC 7822EB2B
Copy CRC 7822EB2B
Accurately ripped (confidence 2) [B62D574C] (AR v2)
Copy OK
Track 3
Filename E:\EACRips\03 No Clue.wav
Peak level 98.8 %
Extraction speed 10.0 X
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC D4261620
Copy CRC D4261620
Accurately ripped (confidence 2) [F581CF15] (AR v2)
Copy OK
Track 4
Filename E:\EACRips\04 About The Light.wav
Peak level 98.8 %
Extraction speed 10.9 X
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC 96978D94
Copy CRC 96978D94
Accurately ripped (confidence 2) [CDCD10B1] (AR v2)
Copy OK
Track 5
Filename E:\EACRips\05 Fox On The Rooftop.wav
Peak level 98.8 %
Extraction speed 11.7 X
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC 9A73C442
Copy CRC 9A73C442
Accurately ripped (confidence 2) [CB2758A4] (AR v2)
Copy OK
Track 6
Filename E:\EACRips\06 Stars Around My Heart.wav
Peak level 98.8 %
Extraction speed 12.4 X
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC 253FAD53
Copy CRC 253FAD53
Accurately ripped (confidence 2) [06DFC811] (AR v2)
Copy OK
Track 7
Filename E:\EACRips\07 Spanish Brigade.wav
Peak level 98.8 %
Extraction speed 11.2 X
Track quality 99.9 %
Test CRC 16D57ADF
Copy CRC 16D57ADF
Accurately ripped (confidence 2) [3A39F3AE] (AR v2)
Copy OK
Track 8
Filename E:\EACRips\08 Don't Know Where.wav
Peak level 98.8 %
Extraction speed 13.5 X
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC F6FABF67
Copy CRC F6FABF67
Accurately ripped (confidence 2) [F4001E16] (AR v2)
Copy OK
Track 9
Filename E:\EACRips\09 Walking Away From Love.wav
Peak level 98.8 %
Extraction speed 14.0 X
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC 4C8CC7B7
Copy CRC 4C8CC7B7
Accurately ripped (confidence 2) [6E0154C9] (AR v2)
Copy OK
Track 10
Filename E:\EACRips\10 The End.wav
Peak level 98.8 %
Extraction speed 12.8 X
Track quality 99.9 %
Test CRC A0B0EBB2
Copy CRC A0B0EBB2
Accurately ripped (confidence 2) [C7248F63] (AR v2)
Copy OK
All tracks accurately ripped
No errors occurred
End of status report
–– CUETools DB Plugin V2.1.6
[CTDB TOCID: djhtK1WXLEeU2eDf.CLKwBOSsdw-] found
Submit result: djhtK1WXLEeU2eDf.CLKwBOSsdw- has been confirmed
Track | CTDB Status
1 | (15/15) Accurately ripped
2 | (15/15) Accurately ripped
3 | (15/15) Accurately ripped
4 | (15/15) Accurately ripped
5 | (15/15) Accurately ripped
6 | (15/15) Accurately ripped
7 | (15/15) Accurately ripped
8 | (15/15) Accurately ripped
9 | (15/15) Accurately ripped
10 | (15/15) Accurately ripped
==== Log checksum 6BF492E1A35BE283E6FBC089857DD40D73D2F029B9AEA5703691E4787B021E48 ====
All thanks go to the RED