J. Herman | Atlanta, GA United States | 06/10/2004
(3 out of 5 stars)
"It ain't "Happy Trails," and Cipollina, Freiberg, and Hopkins have all disappeared, but this is possibly the best of the Valenti-fronted QMS albums, in part because the band is really no longer pretending to be Quicksilver. It's Dino's show from first to last, with Duncan as sidekick, and some of the tunes ("Play My Guitar," "Song For Frisco") are as good as this team will produce. Of course, there's also some junk ("Out of My Mind," "Rebel"), but most of the songs fall comfortably in between."
Quicksilver at its best, sort of...
DooDude | Midwest, USA | 06/19/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This isnt really a Quicksilver Messenger Service album/CD. This is more of a Dino Velenti effort with some of the QMS members backing him. All the songs were written by Velenti except "I found Love" written by Gary Duncan.
Velenti's style brings more of a San Francisco/Western Acid Rock Accoustic flavor throughout the album that the other albums lacked. Velenti's was the style they should have stayed with if they were looking for major success. Velenti also wrote "fresh Air" "Cowboy on the run" & primarily all the memorable QMS tunes.
Having said that, the only other exceptional Quicksilver album, IMHO, was "Happy Trails" & Velenti wasnt on it. I think he was in jail for a drug conviction at the time of recording. "Happy Trails" shows what a good 'jamming band' they were without Velenti. But Velenti was the writter/front man they needed to bring it all together.
This album, simply titled "Quicksilver" was without a doubt their best & I think most definitive of who they wanted to be."
Criminally Overlooked Cd!!
G. Griffin | Alexandria, Va. | 03/19/2007
(4 out of 5 stars)
"At this point in their career, QMS were kinda stuck in second gear. The last 2 Lp's had done ok but not enough to warrant any big push from Crapitol, I mean Capitol Records. But Duncan, Valenti, et al responded by making this record. Jazzy , Folky and rocking all at the same time,for me this is the best QMS album. A big plus is that Bill Inglot did the remastering. QMS albums always suffered from crappy sound quality, but this remastered disc sounds great!!! I highly recommend this along with the next one (Comin' Thru)..........."
Quicksilver Without Cippolina?
J. K. Anderson | Grand Canyon | 05/09/2007
(4 out of 5 stars)
"I first heard Quicksilver Messenger Service in the late sixties and still prefer the original line-up of John Cippolina, Gary Duncan, David Frieberg and Greg Elmore. In my opinion, their best album was the live 'Happy Trails.'As personnel began to mutate in later albums and Dino Valenti began to control the group's direction, I liked them less and less. However, this 1971 offering is a gem. From the double-tracked lead guitars of the first song, 'Hope,' on through, the writing is masterful and the musicianship exquisite. Duncan proves himself a capable guitarist without the idiosyncratic Cippolina. Recommended."