One of the group's better albums, despite coming so late in their history that it was ignored by almost everyone. "Hope," "Fire Brothers," and "Don't Cry for My Lady Love" are among the best songs the group ever cut, and "I Found Love" is one of the prettiest, most upbeat songs ever to come from any classic San Francisco band.
Some of the rest is self-indulgent, but that's what this era of music was about -- the guitar pyrotechnics of "Song for Frisco" and "Play My Guitar" make them both more entertaining than their somewhat bland melodies; the latter song, in particular, sounds like a Marty Balin/Jefferson Airplane outtake that would have been right on target about four years before the release date of this album. The whole record feels that way, a throwback to the psychedelic era circa late 1967.
It's also very much a folk-rock record, with a rich acoustic guitar texture on many of the songs. For the record, since the CD reissue has no personnel information, the band at this point was Dino Valenti (guitar, vocals), Greg Elmore (drums), Gary Duncan (vocals, guitar), Mark Ryan (bass), Mark Naftalin (keyboards), and Chuck Steaks (keyboards). If you ever wondered what the Airplane might have done as a follow-up to Surrealistic Pillow with Marty Balin still singing lead, this is it.
by Bruce Eder
1. Hope - 3:01
2. I Found Love (Duncan) - 3:56
3. Song For Frisco - 4:58
4. Play My Guitar - 4:38
5. Rebel (Traditional arr. by Valenti) - 2:02
6. Fire Brothers (Duncan) – 3:12
7. Out Of My Mind - 4:34
8. Don't Cry My Lady Love - 5:12
9. "The Truth - 6:58
All songs by Dino Valenti excpet where indicated
Quicksilver Messenger Service
*Dino Valenti – Vocals, Guitar, Flute, Percussion
*Gary Duncan - Vocals, Guitar
*Mark Ryan – Bass
*Greg Elmore – Drums, Percussion
*Chuck Steaks – Piano, Organ
*Mark Naftalin - Keyboards
1967-68 Lost Silver And Gold 1968 Quicksilver Messenger Service (Japan remaster)
1970 Just For Love (Japan remaster)
1970 What About Me
1975 Solid Silver
1969-70 Castles In The Sand
1964-70 Dino Valenti - Get Together The Lost Recordings
1968 Dino Valente
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A fantastic album. Very very good.
ReplyDeleteAs always, appreciate the upload but seriously this is a pretty dreadful album. The great days of Quicksilver are long past and only the meandering and harsh vocals of Dino Valente remain. They were much, much better without him. Sorry!
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