There are precious few East Coast artists with eight albums in their career. You're up in the high ranks there, with a serious commitment to the job, and an obvious fan interest. And right now, I'm struggling to think of another current New Brunswick artist or group with 8 albums of new material they've released. Oh, there's probably a couple there or close, but let's just say it's quite an achievement, and it's what Saint John's dean of the scene, Brent Mason, has done.

Next year will mark the 20th anniversary of the release of Mason's debut, Head For The High Ground, and that's when I first met him. Now he's celebrating the latest, called Old New Borrowed Blue. He told me something about this disc off the record, but I'm going to repeat it, whether he likes it or not, because I think it's true: Mason, in reflection, thinks that this is his best of all his albums.

There are a few reasons for his satisfaction with this one, I think. It includes a lot of fun and imagination in the production, making it quite different from his previous singer-songwriter albums. There's quite a diversity to the songs, guests and arrangements. Opening tune Love Might Leave, for instance, has a very interesting break in the middle, where the whole thing shifts around with an accordian part, a different tempo, some sort of jazz moment in the middle of acoustic folk. I'm not even sure that's legal. The album also feature a role-call of Saint John's finest, including Jessica Rhaye, Dann Downes and Shanklin Road. In a rare move for, well, anyone, Mason even steps away from the mic himself for one song. He lets the Shanklin Road trio handle the vocal on Drink 'Em Handsome, which is approrpriate because it's a number about women hitting the bar, and the booze, hoping the liquor will make the men a bit more palatable.

The disc includes a style of songwriting by Mason that I think is very effective. He takes famous historical figures, either current or decades old, and writes something not about them, but rather around them, the perspective of the normal person possibly in their wake, or affected in some way by their existance or closeness in their lifes. In this case it's a number about the most famous Canadian of Mason's generation, Wayne Gretzky. In it, Mason, creates a character who actually grew up with, and played on the The Great One's little kid team, when they were ten years old. So he sees the fame and cash it brought his old friend, and tells us what his life was like; quite normal, and quite normally touched with regret.

There's even a tip of the hat to that old Brent Mason character, the one from 20 years ago, when this all started. The title cut from his debut, Head For The High Ground, is revisited, this time in a recent live recording with his band at O'Leary's Pub, Mason's long-time performing home. Darn thing still holds up, there's some fine writing there. In fact I think Mason's right about this being his best album, not only in the diversity, but in the quality of the songwriting. There are some fine lines and moments throughout, where he nails the couplet, and you just nod your head in respect.

So, I started by praising Brent Mason for 8 albums and 20 years in the biz, but there was no need of that, those are just milestones. What matters most is a strong new album.