Surprisingly good Live CD of Quicksilver from 1977!!
Acorn | Orangevale, CA USA | 11/08/2009
(4 out of 5 stars)
"I was surprised how much I like this new Live CD. Quicksilver in 1977!?! I thought they called it quits in '75. Anyway this is Dino and Gary. The band they got backing them up is exellent. The bass player reminds me of John Entwistle of the who. The drummer is all over the drum kit and the keyboardist named Capt. Kirk !?! Too much! Kirk is that funky 70's keyboarist who could have played for Cold Blood or Tower Of Power. The same great songs with a funky twist that gives them novelty. I was very surprised and happy with this CD. -Acorn"
A Surprisingly Good Performance!
Stewart Hickey | Detroit | 01/18/2010
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This double CD is taken from a concert at the Quarter Note Lounge, in New Orleans, on July 26, 1977. The stereo source tape is from a live FM radio broadcast. The band features original members Gary Duncan and Dino Valenti, with Rick Wetzel on bass, drummer Chris Myers, and a keyboard player who fashions himself as "Captain Kirk" (I'm wondering if he could be "Solid Silver"-period member Michael Lewis, though I'm not at all certain). So we can infer that these are the two main culprits behind the much-maligned Dino Valenti era QMS, exploiting the band's catalog with a bogus group of hired guns, right? Think again! For my money, this is one of the best volumes of the QMS "bootleg series" of recordings to surface in the past couple of years, both in terms of sound quality and performance.
The virtuoso rhythm section of Wetzel and Myers is tight, precise, and dynamic, and "Capt. Kirk's" organ solos are the perfect foil for Duncan's guitar. As a unit, their playing is as graceful and fluid as the Quicksilver moniker would suggest. Despite a couple of off-key flubs, Valenti's singing and phrasing are superlative. Of course, QMS is best-loved as a guitar-slinger band, and Gary Duncan is at the top of his game here. His playing is crisp and focused, his concise acid-rock guitar solos buzz, crackle and explode throughout this surprisingly high energy concert,and his softer touch on the ballads shine as well. Each facet of the QMS sound, including rock & roll, Latin jazz-rock, folk-rock, and Bo-Diddley beat jamming, are given equal turns in a balanced and well-paced set. There are rare live performances "Gypsy Lights", "Cowboy On The Run", "What About Me?", and a couple of unreleased Valenti tunes that are among the best he ever wrote.
Some purist and Valenti detractors may take issue with my high rating, and this CD probably won't get the hearing it deserves, but I don't care. I got my copy!"
Yes, this is a good one!
M. Pearson- Smith | Melbourne,Australia | 01/14/2010
(4 out of 5 stars)
"I totally agree with the first reviewer - this double live CD from a '77 incarnation of Quicksilver is a real breath of Fresh Air (sorry about that). The band is tight as can be with more than competent bass and drums, Dino in good voice and Duncan reeling off some of his finest licks. However, it is the keyboards that are the real surprise. 'Capt. Kirk' (obviously a made-up name because the guy was contracted to another organization at the time of recording) plays a magnificently funky organ and is totally involved in every number with some fine solos. One of those solos occurs in the middle of a previously unreleased song "I Wanna Fly" which is playing as I write. Another tune that doesn't appear on any of the band's official releases is "Rambling Gambler" which to my ears is one of the most beautiful ballads Dino ever wrote. Fans will want this set if only for those two tracks. The treatments given to the old standards are significantly different even from other post Cipollina renditions you may have heard before and will definitely keep you interested even if, like me, you have umpteen versions of "Mona", "Who do You Love" and "What About Me" in your collection. While not up to 21st century standards, the sound is pretty good for the 'seventies as this concert was transmitted live on FM radio. Enjoy."
Track Listings (13) - Disc #1
