QUICKSILVER MESSENGER SERVICE
''SOLID SILVER''
OCTOBER 1975
38:05
1/Gypsy Lights
Gary Duncan/3:43
2/Heebie Jeebies
John Cipollina/4:16
3/Cowboy on the Run
Dino Valenti/3:15
4/I Heard You Singing
David Freiberg / Robert Hunter/3:46
5/Worryin' Shoes
Dino Valenti/3:27
6/The Letter
Dino Valenti/4:04
7/They Don't Know
Gary Duncan/3:52
8/Flames
John Cipollina / Dino Valenti/4:19
9/Witches' Moon
Dino Valenti/3:02
10/Bittersweet Love
Gary Duncan / Dino Valenti/4:21
John Cipollina/Drones, Guitar, Guitar (Steel), Vocals, Vocals (Background)
Mario Cipollina/Bass
Gary Duncan/Bass, Guitar, Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Rhythm), Vocals, Vocals (Background)
Greg Elmore/Drums
David Freiberg/Bass, Guitar, Vocals, Vocals (Background)
Nicky Hopkins/Keyboards, Piano
Michael Lewis/ARP Synthesizer, Organ, Piano
Kathi McDonaldVocals, Vocals (Background)
Skip OlsonBass
Pete SearsPiano
Dino Valente/Flute, Guitar, Vocals
REVIEW
by Bruce Eder
Solid Silver is the last Quicksilver album to fit into the group's original time line -- although this was really a reunion rather than an actual continuation of their previous work, reestablishing however briefly the classic core lineup of Dino Valente, John Cipollina, David Freiberg, Greg Elmore, and Gary Duncan. And the results are impressive, even at times glorious and soaring, and not just on Valente's compositions, which fill six of the ten slots on the album. His work is as good as ever, and the haunting "Cowboy on the Run" was practically worth the price of the album. But it's Gary Duncan's "Gypsy Lights" that opens the album on a powerful yet lyrical (and memorable) note, and in more of a pop vein than listeners are accustomed to from this band; David Frieberg's "I Heard You Singing" isn't bad, either, and is a lot closer to the band's classic sound. Most of the album represents a latter-day folk-rock (or blues-rock) cum acid sound, not too far removed from the virtuoso levels achieved earlier in the decade by the Jefferson Airplane, with the members fairly playing their hearts out here like it's as urgent as any of their classic late-'60s recordings. But perhaps that also explains the album's commercial failure -- released in 1975, it sounds as though it's caught in a time warp about six or seven years in the past, which for some listeners was exactly where the band and its sound belonged.
BIOGRAPHY
by William Ruhlmann
The band that became Quicksilver Messenger Service originally was conceived as a rock vehicle for folk singer/songwriter Dino Valente (b. Nov. 7, 1943, d. Nov 16, 1994), author of "Get Together." Living in San Francisco, Valente had found guitarist John Cipollina (b. Aug. 24, 1943, d. May 29, 1989) and singer Jim Murray. Valente's friend David Freiberg (b. Aug. 24, 1938) joined on bass, and the group was completed by the addition of drummer Greg Elmore (b. Sep. 4, 1946) and guitarist Gary Duncan (b. Sep 4, 1946). As the band was being put together, Valente was imprisoned on a drug charge and he didn't rejoin Quicksilver until later.
They debuted at the end of 1965 and played around the Bay Area and then the West Coast for the next two years, building up a large following but resisting offers to record that had been taken up by such San Francisco acid rock colleagues as Jefferson Airplane and the Grateful Dead. Quicksilver finally signed to Capitol toward the end of 1967 and recorded their self-titled debut album in 1968 (by this time, Murray had left). Happy Trails, the 1969 follow-up, was recorded live. After its release, Duncan left the band and was replaced for Shady Grove (1970) by British session pianist Nicky Hopkins. By the time of its release, however, Duncan had returned, along with Valente, making the group a sextet.
This version of Quicksilver, prominently featuring Valente's songs and lead vocals, lasted only a year, during which two albums, Just for Love and What About Me, were recorded. Cipollina, Freiberg, and Hopkins then left, and the remaining trio of Valente, Duncan, and Elmore hired replacements and cut another couple of albums before disbanding. There was a reunion in 1975, resulting in a new album and a tour, and in 1986 Duncan revived the Quicksilver name for an album that also featured Freiberg on background vocals.
''SOLID SILVER''
OCTOBER 1975
38:05
1/Gypsy Lights
Gary Duncan/3:43
2/Heebie Jeebies
John Cipollina/4:16
3/Cowboy on the Run
Dino Valenti/3:15
4/I Heard You Singing
David Freiberg / Robert Hunter/3:46
5/Worryin' Shoes
Dino Valenti/3:27
6/The Letter
Dino Valenti/4:04
7/They Don't Know
Gary Duncan/3:52
8/Flames
John Cipollina / Dino Valenti/4:19
9/Witches' Moon
Dino Valenti/3:02
10/Bittersweet Love
Gary Duncan / Dino Valenti/4:21
John Cipollina/Drones, Guitar, Guitar (Steel), Vocals, Vocals (Background)
Mario Cipollina/Bass
Gary Duncan/Bass, Guitar, Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Rhythm), Vocals, Vocals (Background)
Greg Elmore/Drums
David Freiberg/Bass, Guitar, Vocals, Vocals (Background)
Nicky Hopkins/Keyboards, Piano
Michael Lewis/ARP Synthesizer, Organ, Piano
Kathi McDonaldVocals, Vocals (Background)
Skip OlsonBass
Pete SearsPiano
Dino Valente/Flute, Guitar, Vocals
REVIEW
by Bruce Eder
Solid Silver is the last Quicksilver album to fit into the group's original time line -- although this was really a reunion rather than an actual continuation of their previous work, reestablishing however briefly the classic core lineup of Dino Valente, John Cipollina, David Freiberg, Greg Elmore, and Gary Duncan. And the results are impressive, even at times glorious and soaring, and not just on Valente's compositions, which fill six of the ten slots on the album. His work is as good as ever, and the haunting "Cowboy on the Run" was practically worth the price of the album. But it's Gary Duncan's "Gypsy Lights" that opens the album on a powerful yet lyrical (and memorable) note, and in more of a pop vein than listeners are accustomed to from this band; David Frieberg's "I Heard You Singing" isn't bad, either, and is a lot closer to the band's classic sound. Most of the album represents a latter-day folk-rock (or blues-rock) cum acid sound, not too far removed from the virtuoso levels achieved earlier in the decade by the Jefferson Airplane, with the members fairly playing their hearts out here like it's as urgent as any of their classic late-'60s recordings. But perhaps that also explains the album's commercial failure -- released in 1975, it sounds as though it's caught in a time warp about six or seven years in the past, which for some listeners was exactly where the band and its sound belonged.
BIOGRAPHY
by William Ruhlmann
The band that became Quicksilver Messenger Service originally was conceived as a rock vehicle for folk singer/songwriter Dino Valente (b. Nov. 7, 1943, d. Nov 16, 1994), author of "Get Together." Living in San Francisco, Valente had found guitarist John Cipollina (b. Aug. 24, 1943, d. May 29, 1989) and singer Jim Murray. Valente's friend David Freiberg (b. Aug. 24, 1938) joined on bass, and the group was completed by the addition of drummer Greg Elmore (b. Sep. 4, 1946) and guitarist Gary Duncan (b. Sep 4, 1946). As the band was being put together, Valente was imprisoned on a drug charge and he didn't rejoin Quicksilver until later.
They debuted at the end of 1965 and played around the Bay Area and then the West Coast for the next two years, building up a large following but resisting offers to record that had been taken up by such San Francisco acid rock colleagues as Jefferson Airplane and the Grateful Dead. Quicksilver finally signed to Capitol toward the end of 1967 and recorded their self-titled debut album in 1968 (by this time, Murray had left). Happy Trails, the 1969 follow-up, was recorded live. After its release, Duncan left the band and was replaced for Shady Grove (1970) by British session pianist Nicky Hopkins. By the time of its release, however, Duncan had returned, along with Valente, making the group a sextet.
This version of Quicksilver, prominently featuring Valente's songs and lead vocals, lasted only a year, during which two albums, Just for Love and What About Me, were recorded. Cipollina, Freiberg, and Hopkins then left, and the remaining trio of Valente, Duncan, and Elmore hired replacements and cut another couple of albums before disbanding. There was a reunion in 1975, resulting in a new album and a tour, and in 1986 Duncan revived the Quicksilver name for an album that also featured Freiberg on background vocals.
