Main menu
Fretplay home Submit tabs

Quicksilver Messenger Service
Quicksilver Messenger Service tabs Quicksilver Messenger Service discography

Channels
Guitar channel Bass channel Guitar videos Reviews

Message Forum
Guitar forum Bass forum Bands and artists Promote your band Recent discussions All categories

Fretplay.com

Quicksilver Messenger Service guitar tabs

CD reviews

Sons of Mercury (1968-1975)

Quicksilver Messenger Service - Sons of Mercury (1968-1975) Audio CD

A fair review of the Quicksilver Messenger Service "Sons of Mercury (1968-1975)" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all Quicksilver Messenger Service reviews here, or go back to the Quicksilver Messenger Service tabs.

Band: Quicksilver Messenger Service
Title: Sons of Mercury (1968-1975)
Rating:

Release Date: 1991-07-02
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Babe I'm Gonna Leave You 2: Codine 3: I Hear You Knockin' (It's Too Late) [#] 4: Pride of Man 5: Light Your Windows 6: Dino's Song 7: Fool 8: Gold and Silver 9: Bears 10: Who Do You Love? [Single Edit] 11: Mona 12: Maiden of the Cancer Moon 13: Calvary 14: Happy Trails 15: Shady Grove 16: Flute Song 17: Joseph's Coat 18: Edward, the Mad Shirt Grinder 19: Fresh Air 20: Cobra 21: Subway 22: What About Me 23: Local Color 24: Hope 25: Fire Brothers 26: Don't Cry My Lady Love 27: I Found Love 28: Doin' Time in the U.S.A. 29: Gypsy Lights 30: Cowboy on the Run

The true sound of the 60s revolution.....remains mostly overlooked.
It best conveys the mood of that time in Frisco. The sound of John Cippolina's vibrato-bar SG guitar is beautiful, icy, stark, and frightful. Just listen to 'The Fool'.

Love this set
You could really dream then. I'm not that familiar with their work except "Happy Trails" (a wonderful psychedelic snapshot in time) and their radio hits, but I love this collection and I'm hearing songs I've never heard before.

Can't beat Quicksilver when it comes to GREATS of the 60's
Found this INCREDIBLE collection at Armadillo Records in Davis and WOW. Saw these guys in Marin County CA many years ago. Best compilation of their music EVER. Hey, one of the best compilations of any music collection!!

But Quicksilver was one of the GREAT bands of the 60's & 70's bar none! Combining Jazz, Blues, and just plain innovative music styles. A very unique band. The keyboards, drums [powerful rhythms] and Dino's voice, tell ya, the 60's live in these guys.

Sad to say, the music of today just doesn't have it. No comparison. Guess I'll have to live in the past to appreciate GREAT music.
Love these guys!!!.

Great Compilation on One Dynamite Band w/Many Phases
Having grown up in Japan in the 60s, I missed the entire live performances of this best jam band of the Rock history and only got to hear them on their few officially released vinyls. Since Quicksilver Messenger Service, one of the best San Francisco based Rock bands, went through some phases along with the member changes, listening to any one of their album just doesn't give you the whole picture when you want to know what this band actually sounded like.

So I particularly love the disc one of this compilation as it really gives me the opportunity to hear what they sounded like prior to their official recording releases.

Duncan's highly charged and concise solo on "Babe, I'm Going To Leave you" is probably one of the most powerful and melodic Rock solos I've ever heard. Along with Beck, Clapton, Hendrix, Page, Randall, and Santana, Duncan should definitely be inducted to the Rock'n'Roll Guitarist's Hall of Fame. Through these tunes on Disc One, you can hear that even in the early days, his guitar style is so distinctively unique, versatile, cutting edge, and sure-footed at the same time.

Unlike many other fans, I always considered Duncan as the lead guitarist and Cipollina as the second lead guitarist of the QMS, especially on "Just For Love" and subsequent albums. His Jazz-influenced styles and compositions added such great dimensions to the QMS sound, and while I appreciate many of Valenti's materials, I also think Duncan would have written many more great originals if it weren't for Valenti's domination.

.

The best overview of Quicksilver available

This set, especially the first album, this IS the Summer of Love. Quicksilver Messenger Service was so named because all the participants were Virgos and a Gemini, air signs, born under the planet Mercury, (or Quicksilver) according to astrological theory. This IS San Francisco, 1967, Haight Ashbury! More than other compilations this features the truely marvelous guitar of John Cipollina. How many groups of the time could boast two guitarists, Cipollina and Gary Duncan, both of whom could play lead, playing off each other. Yeah, Jorma Kaukonen of Jefferson Airplane was good, but not in the class of these guys. They played together for more than a year, turning down recording offers and perfecting their craft, before signing with Capitol.

Cipollina played surf guitar as far back as 1959 - the Penetrators(?) - he had that tremolo sound down. Masterful use of reverb and feedback, also. There is a strong classical Spanish/Flaminco/Moorish influence to the Cipollina's guitar work. He will hold a note till it just starts to feedback and then move on. In the middle of an improvised solo lead he will throw in two and three string chords! (hard to do while improvising)
Great review below by "Jayhikkss" says Cipollina had a solid state amp hooked to the lower pickup and a tube amp to the neck pickup. However he did it, Cipollina's lead sound magically (mercurially?) flashes back and forth from right to left stereo channel on a good stereo!

QMS first album self named album is one of the strongest first albums in rock history, up there with much "The Doors", and better than first efforts by Jefferson Airplane and The Greatful Dead. Before their first album, they lost vocalist Dino Valenti, with his Marty Balin sound (but more nasal), to a drug bust, but frankly the better part of this set focuses on Cipollina/Duncan guitar instrumentals. When Valenti got out of jail and rejoins the group they focused on vocals instead of guitar, (second CD in this set) the music is weaker. This is genuine psychedelic rock, the real thing amongst all the pretenders, with the right sound and feel. Listen to the guitar solo in the happy "Dino's Song" the old testament prophetic "Pride of Man" and archtypical trippy acid song, "The Fool". The first CD, taken from "Quicksilver" and "Happy Trails", is just great song after great song.

This set includes the prophetic song about VietNam (And Iraq) -Pride of Man-

"Babylon is laid to waste,
Egypt's buried in her shame.
Their mighty men are all beaten down.
Oh God, Pride of Man.
Broken in the Dust Again.
. . . All those who put their faith in Fire,
By Fire their faith shall be repaid. . . "

I am surprised that some enterprising young rock group today doesn't listen and cover that song and dedicate it to our President Bush!

Imagine free concert in Golden Gate Park at the end of Haight Street, The Airplane, The Greatful Dead, Quicksilver, or Country Joe and the Fish, playing just for love, so to speak? With California Sunshine? Read Lisa Mason's great book "Summer of Love" for an accurate taste of the times.

This compilation is has a lot more of the Cipollina guitar, and is therefore better than the "Anthology", Rhino records does much better remastering too. They avoided "Who do You Love, parts 2,3,4 etc" and just included the more coherent Part One also and hyper-sexual "Mona". "Cobra" and another great song on this collection. The best overbearing Valenti songs are the well-known "What about Me?" and have another hit of "Fresh Air" and "Dino's Song".

My only complaints and they are small, the song "Freeway Flyer" from "Just for Love" is missing. The song starts with the band not together and Valenti stops and shoots a pistol in the air eight times to establish proper meter! I wish they had included that song, and "Three or Four Feet from Home" too.

This group deserves to be much better known, and this is THE set to buy.

You can see a complete list of all Quicksilver Messenger Service discography, or go back to the Quicksilver Messenger Service tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.