Happy trails (Quicksilver Messenger Service) (LP 3576 - 3583)

Quicksilver Messenger Service   Quicksilver Messenger Service (Vinyl, Capitol Records, 1968) *****  

Quicksilver Messenger Service   Happy Trails (Vinyl, Capitol Records, 1969) **** 

Quicksilver Messenger Service   Shady Grove (Vinyl, Capitol Records, 1969) ***

Quicksilver Messenger Service   Just For Love (Vinyl, Capitol Records, 1970) ****

Quicksilver Messenger Service   What About Me (Vinyl, Capitol Records, 1970) ***

Quicksilver Messenger Service   Quicksilver (Vinyl, Capitol Records, 1970) ***  

Quicksilver Messenger Service   Comin' Thru (Vinyl, Capitol Records, 1972) ***

Quicksilver Messenger Service   Solid Silver (Vinyl, Capitol Records, 1975) **** 

Genre: Psychedelic rock

Places I remember: Chaldon Books and Records, Real Groovy Records, Amoeba Music

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Pride of Man (Quicksilver Messenger Service)

Gear costume: Edward, the Mad Shirt Grinder (Shady Grove), The Truth (Quicksilver)

They loom large in his legend (The Album Collection playlists): Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5

Active compensatory factors: I came to Quicksilver Messenger Service via the cover of Happy Trails in an Album Cover Art collection. Then David Freiberg's involvement with Paul Kantner and Grace Slick and his subsequent appearance as a member of Jefferson Starship sealed the deal. I needed to trace him back to his previous band.

Quicksilver Messenger Service, the quintessential San Francisco band, were formed in 1965. Before the debut album they'd appeared on the soundtrack to the film Revolution, which I have (I'll get to that one eventually when I finish the Zeds). 

The debut album has the band membership settled with the classic lineup:  John Cipollina - lead guitar; Gary Duncan - rhythm and lead guitar, vocals; David Freiberg - bass guitar, vocals, viola; and Greg Elmore - drums.

Their debut album is extraordinary! A five-star classic - full of melodic invention, so that the jazzy, folky, poppy, psychedelicy hybrid sounds produce a true original. The experimental nature of the band was explored further on Happy Trails. 

The album is essentially a live recording - using tapes from Fillmore East and West concerts it is enhanced by studio additions. It features extended reworkings of a couple of Bo Diddley songs - Who Do You Love? and Mona. 

This is the original quartet's last album together which is a shame as the interplay between the four musicians is otherworldly. Shady Grove is also from 1969 - for a bunch of stoners they sure had a strong work ethic - three albums in two years would become five albums in three years. Nicky Hopkins had joined the band to record this album, and his influence is keenly felt throughout.

The sound is very different on Shady Grove without Gary Duncan and so it becomes a transitional type of record - away from the psychedelic long form wig out approach to more pop oriented shorter songs.

Just For Love saw founding member Dino Valenti and Gary Duncan return to the mothership. Eight of the nine songs are written by Valenti and a mellow laid-back kind of vibe pervades. In fact, it's almost prog rock at times and Fresh Air, released as a single, is the kind of lovely catchy pop song that Marty Balin would have loved to sing, I'm sure.

What About Me was their second album of 1970. It was also Nicky Hopkins' third and final album as a member of Quicksilver Messenger Service. In many ways, it's a sister album to Just For Love - as the songs came out of the same sessions, but there is a more jazz inflected feel to this one, which I really like.

What About Me (the title song) is another strong pop-oriented song that holds up all these years later. Dino Valenti's vocals are beautiful on this song and throughout the album.

Quicksilver, their sixth album, was the first without David Freiberg and John Cipollina. Gary Duncan took over all the guitar bits and Mark Ryan replaced Freiberg who was heading towards the Starship. 

The band is now unrecognisable from those first two psychedelic classics. Quicksilver leans more towards a folk-rock genre and while pleasant enough I think they miss Freiberg and Cipollina's influence. That said Don't Cry My Lady Love is great and the guitar on final track The Truth is terrific. They both sound like classic Marty Balin era Jefferson Airplane. 

Comin' Thru is generally seen as the band's weakest effort. It certainly didn't sell much at the time and helps explain why it took me so long to find a copy. Eventually Amoeba Music came to my rescue.

Sure enough, the album is a bit hit and miss. Dino Valenti's songs aren't as memorable as he continues to dominate the band (his name is in a bigger font and capitalised in the credit list). 

This time he busts out the jazz rock moves. You have to hand it to them - they don't tend to do the same album twice. His singing remains strong and there are some good rock'n'soul moments on an inconsistent set.

Solid Silver is the reunion album of the classic lineup, and I love it! It's impressive and also the last decent Quicksilver Messenger Service album (Gary Duncan pointlessly resurrected the name in the eighties).  The original quartet are back together plus Dino, with Nicky Hopkins and Pete Sears guesting on keyboards. All the members contribute stellar performances and songs.

Where do they all belong? There are a couple of live albums I'd be keen to find - Maiden of the Cancer Moon (live in 1968) and At the Kabuki Theatre.