Quicksilver

[Edge_88]

A good 60s band from San Francisco Quicksilver messenger service it has a 20 minute song of (who do you love) which isnt bad. Does anyone have any cds of this.

[Edge_88]

Here is a pick from the band

[Edge_88]

another pic

[Michael]

Edge Check out "Fresh Air" ! Great tune.

[Edge_88]

I havent herd that song from them yet

[Dave B]

The song "Who Do You Love" is off the album Happy Trails. It was available on CD domestically under the Capitol label some time ago but seems to have been pull. It's just as well, the sound quality wasn't all that good. I have a remastered copy from England that is much better but I can't remember the label (I'm at work). If you're interested send me a private note and I'll give you the label and catalog number so you can hunt for it.

[DanG]

I have been trying to get a copy of QMS Shady Grove that has been back-ordered from two places I ordered online.

Great LP, I've got the vinyl. It's apparently also available on CD imports, naturally much more expensive. ;)

Any comments on the sound of these various CD's? TIA

[Dave B]

DanG - I also have an import copy of this disc. The sound quality is pretty good. When I get home tonight I'll post the label and catalog numbers of both discs. I may even be able to remember where I ordered them from.

[Jeffrey]

Hi,

QMS (in the 60's and early 70's) were an extremely talented group of musicians who received little praise given the craftmanship they possessed. These guys could play some amazingly detailed jams at their shows in the late 60's. The band went through alot of personnel and changed form many times but many musicians (especially ones from the Bay area) considered the early groupings to be some of the best of the time.

Let It Rock,
Jeffrey

[Sckott]

I've got 4-5 Quicksilver Messanger Service titles, both on Capitol in the US and Canada, as a lot of their titles were only available in Canada. In the UK, the BGO label also had a few ("What About Me"), and luckilly, it's a rare moment that any of them sound bad. I haven't listened to the 2CD Anthology yet (Capitol).

The S/T, Happy Trails and Shady Grove are vital titles. Lots of fun!

[mcow1]

Anybody know which is the better remaster of Happy Trails the BGO or Reptoire ? Also, one of the One Way records cd issue of either What About Me or Just for Love (can't remember which one) sounds like it was mastered from a worn LP lots of surface noise.

[pigmode]

Steve did a great version of What About Me on The Golden Age Of Underground Radio. Fresh Air is a cool song. It goes back to the days when we wished they were singing about something other than fresh air. ;)

[hoboken lad]

If any Quicksilver fans are interested in an amusing jolt, find somebody who has a copy of Metallica's "Master Of Puppets" album or CD. Check out the instrumental track called "Orion." About two/three minutes (approx.) into the track, they go into this riff/melody. When I first heard it I was with someone I didn't know too well, but after about four bars of the music we simultaneously turned to each other and screamed "Quicksilver!!" Since I was working with the band's management at the time, I asked Metallica is they ever had heard of Quicksilver. Their response: "What the hell is a Quicksilver Messenger Service?"

I'm not saying Metallica sounds like Quicksilver, but for about three minutes in one song. they were a dead ringer.

Anybody else ever notice this?

By the way, and even-more-extended (by one minute) version of the offical live "Who Do You Love" surfaced a couple of years ago on a bootleg CD of club/concert performances. Nothing special (and quality was less than even the Capital version), but interesting none the less. There was also a totally live version of the "Mona/Maiden/Calvery" trilogy on the CD. Same version as the official "Happy Trails" LP/CD, but again, totally live; no studio cross-fades.

[mcow1]

Hard to believe that Metallica, a band working out of San Fransisco and hangin' at Tommy's never heard of Quicksilver one of the original S. F. bands

[hoboken lad]

MCOW 1,

I thought it was also strange that Metallica didn't know of Quicksilver, but remember the drummer was from Denmark and VERY focused on heavy metal (his first concert was Deep Purple) and moved to L.A. in the late 70's. The singer/guitarist was also VERY into metal and also from the L.A. The lead guitarist, interestingly enough, was a HUGE Hendrix freak (we used trade Jimi bootleg info), but at that time he was into little else (he's now listening to a lot of jazz). The bass player (before his death) was an enigma to me. Maybe he knew of Quicksilver, maybe he didn't. Hard to tell. Let's also remember that at the time of the "Puppets" album, they were all in their early 20's, agewise. That means the members of Metallica would have been about to 5 to 8 years old at the time of "Happy Trails."

In any event, for whatever reason, they claimed no knowledge of Quicksilver.

Go figure.

[mcow1]

True, but John Cipollina (Quicksilver guitarist) played in several bands all over the bay area until his death in 1989. Maybe they just didn't know the name, but knowong SF I bet Quicksliver is on the jukebox at Tommy's.

[Dave B]

Ok, I’m finally home (TGIF). The three Quicksilver albums I have are 1. Quicksilver Messenger Service (1st Album) on Edsel (English Import) Cat. EDCD 648 2. Happy Trails on Repertoire (German Imp.) Cat. REP 4868 3. Shady Grove on Edsel Cat. EDCD 659. The Happy Trails LP is the best remaster of the three but they are all better than the original Capitol issues. I bought them from Music Masters Worldwide (http://www.musicmast.com) The latest ad in Goldmine shows these titles along with Just For Love, What About Me, and Solid Silver for $19.00 each. I just might pick up the other titles myself.

[Edge_88]

i have Metallica Master of Puppets i dont know if i reconized the song being the somewhat the same as a song from quicksilver

[DanG]

DaveB, thanks for the Shady Grove info.

The CD I ordered is listed as the One Way domestic issue cutout. I ordered it from Dufflebag.com January 10. I'd ordered it previously from Amazon, but I finally cancelled after they repeatedly kept pushing back the shipping date. I suspect Dufflebag will be unable to deliver, as well.

Click this link, type in Quicksilver, and click GO: Dufflebag Quicksilver search (http://www.duffelbag.com/search_help.jsp)

They list four Shady Groves, the One Way cutout, the Edsel you mentioned, and two imports, an AA code, and a ZZ code. No further details.

You say Edsel is an English import? It's listed at $14, as opposed to the two other imports for $19 and $22.

Dufflebag lists Solid Silver EDSE 643 for $14, the other two titles you mentioned for $19, see the link above.

[Highway Star]

Listen very carefully approx. 5:40 min into Mona on Happy Trails and you can hear one of the switches on an effects pedal being clicked on.

[Dave B]

DanG – The labels say, ‘copyright 2000 Demon Records Ltd. Manufactured in England’. I assume Edsel (which is on the label and back cover) is a subsidiary. Neither company appears to have a website. Both the first album and Shady Grove have nice booklets with lyrics, history and information about the band at the time of the recording. I assume the others do too. I also have the Silver and Gold disc released by Collector’s Choice which has a live disc from 1968 and a disc of demo and unreleased material from 1967 – 1968. It’s interesting in that it has some earlier versions of songs on the first album and an early version of Who Do You Love.