Quicksilver Messenger Service – Who Do You Love? The Recordings 1967-1972

Quicksilver Messenger Service arose in the heady days of San Francisco’s magical 1960s golden era. The Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, Santana and Steve Miller Band were all making inroads into the local music scene before entering the national (and, eventually, global) consciousness. Although they never achieved the massive commercial success and notoriety of their peers, Quicksilver was a band to be reckoned with. They sounded like none of the others, although they jammed like the Dead and focused on guitar heroics like Santana. Their ability to write concise, radio-friendly tunes was balanced by an affinity for expansive twin guitar explorations that would influence a generation of six-string slingers. Who Do you Love? The Recordings 1967-1972 compiles their entire recorded output prior to their breakup and subsequent reformation, including demos, non-album singles and live material.

From the start, the self-titled debut album from 1968 was a wonderful example of what the band was capable of. Guitarists John Cipollina and Gary Duncan, abetted by bassist David Freiberg and drummer Greg Elmore, were all consummate musicians. The commercialism of Pride Of Man, with its beautiful harmonies, was balanced by the likes of The Fool, a 12 minute, largely instrumental piece that showcased scorching lead guitar and an ability to jam coherently, essentially giving Tom Verlaine and Television the template for their own career.  Bonus track Stand By Me was a single that followed the album later that year. Written by guitarist Dino Valenti whose full participation in the band was delayed by a drug bust, it is a prime example of the band’s command of harmony, both vocally and instrumentally. A group of demos recorded in 1967 cap off the first disc. I Don’t Want To Spoil Your Party (Dino’s Song) is pop with an edge, while instrumental track Acapulco Gold And Silver (Gold And Silver) shows their jazzy chops and a certain indebtedness to Dave Brubeck. Other cuts show their embrace of the blues, country, psychedelic and rock influences, but always with a distinctive “only Quicksilver would do this” edge.

Disc two is a live recording from 1968 which exemplifies how the band could take a cover tune (Bo Diddley’s Mona, Willie Dixon’s Back Door Man, Buffy Sainte-Marie’s Codine) and make it sound all their own. The tracks from the debut album appear largely in extended versions, snaking in and out of the original tunes, improvising, but never losing the thread or the structure of the studio creations. Nor is the length padded by pointless noodling. Each song feels tight and holds interest throughout. The live format was used as the centrepiece of second album, Happy Trails. Cobbling together two 1968 gigs at the Fillmores East and West, the Who Do You Love Suite is impressive for several reasons. First, it runs over 25 minutes, an incredible run time for the original vinyl. Second, based on the 1956 Bo Diddley classic, the song retains the memorable rhythm part but stretches, pulls and twists it in ways that make it at times barely recognizable. Finally, each member of the band gets to add their own spin in distinct solo pieces that still respect the whole while showing off improvisational skills. Not every section is created equally, as some are more interesting than others, but you have to give credit for the bravado that went into this. The Diddleyfest picks up once again with an expansive take on Mona, full of reverb, wah wah and aggressive vocals. It’s Duncan’s original, Maiden Of The Cancer Moon, that brings things back to familiar territory. A short but effective instrumental, it makes the case for Duncan and Cipollina as unsung guitar heroes. If that were not convincing enough, the epic Calvary should do the trick. It is thirteen and one half minutes of live-in-the-studio guitar pyrotechnics coated in a soothing balm and haunted by wordless vocals that will intrigue prog fans. A six minute bonus version of the song in rough form gives insight into the creative process.

Shady Grove, the band’s third album, saw the addition of Stone’s keysman Nicky Hopkins to the fold as well as the temporary departure of Gary Duncan. Acoustic guitar, piano and Freiberg’s viola played a part in the mellower sound. Flute Song presented a new side of the band, almost pastoral in its beauty. With Hopkins’ keyboards filling the gap left by Duncan, songs like Too Far took on a more folk-oriented approach. The biting twin guitar leads gave way to more nuanced playing. No one would argue that Hopkins’ distinctive style steered some of the arrangements in a more Stones-like direction, but this was just Quicksilver absorbing another influence. Edward, The Mad Shirt Grinder is an instrumental Hopkins composition that, over the course of more than nine minutes, showcases his piano and organ skills, but leaves room for Cipollina to shine with harmonized guitar leads. The song builds and changes shape along the way, making it the undisputed highlight on a very fine album.

By the time of fourth album Just For Love, Duncan wanted back in and brought erstwhile guitarist Dino Valenti with him. Now expanded to six members, four of whom played guitar, the sound blossomed under the hands of Valenti, who wrote all but one of the album’s tunes. He took on lead vocal duties as well as adding flute to the mix. The music was more organic, folk-centered, and lyrically focused on the concern for brotherhood and nature. This mixture gave the band its highest charting single in the US, Fresh Air, an upbeat hippie hymn that played to the band’s strengths as musicians and vocalists. Quicksilver continued its long form explorations with The Hat and Gone Again, over ten and seven minutes respectively, with Hopkins’ piano taking more of a secondary role. Four months later came the album What About Me, once more broadening the sound palette with the addition of a horn section. The song credits were also more democratic this time around, but it was Valenti who came up with the album’s hit title track, a paean to the ecology movement. With so many strong songwriters, Quicksilver truly progressed. What About Me has little in common with Just For Love, but both are readily identifiable as Quicksilver albums. The instrumental track Local Color rocks and feels tighter than what they might have done with it even a year prior, while Baby Baby leans into country with its steel guitar. Hopkins takes center stage for a beautiful instrumental piano ballad, Spindrifter, All In My Mind goes heavy on jazz, and Call On Me would have fit comfortably on a Stones album.

It would be a year before the next album would appear as Cipollina, Freiberg and Hopkins all departed the band. Pianist Mark Naftalin and bassist Mark Ryan stepped up to the plate for the final two albums in this collection, Quicksilver and Comin’ Thru. Dylan homage Hope opens Quicksilver with familiar piercing guitar leads. Naftali’s keys work has a very different tone and approach than Hopkins, but it feels like a good fit. Play My Guitar is a fine example of what Valenti and Duncan were still capable of; Fire Brothers takes the opposite approach and relies on piano for a more atmospheric arrangement. The band’s 1972 effort, Comin’ Thru, swapped out Naftali for Chuck Steaks on organ and added a seven piece horn section. Songs like California State Correctional Facility Blues and Chicken made it seem like there was plenty of gas left in the tank, but the last couple albums were commercially unsuccessful and the band lost their recording contract. There were several attempts at reviving the band, but none achieved success.

With most of the principals of Quicksilver Messenger Service now gone, Who Do You Love? serves as a testament to the amount of talent, influence and skill the band possessed. Their time in the spotlight was relatively short, but as this box set proves, it was not without merit. They might not have achieved the heights of their peers, but they left behind a legacy that any band could be proud of.

TRACK LISTING
Disc One: Quicksilver Messenger Service
01. Pride Of Man (4:08)
02. Light Your Windows (2:38)
03. Dino’s Song (3:08)
04. Gold And Silver (6:43)
05. It’s Been Too Long (3:01)
06. The Fool (12:07)
~ Bonus tracks
07. Stand By Me (3:35)
08. Bears (2:10)
09. I Don’t Want To Spoil Your Party (Dino’s Song) (Demo) (3:05)
10. Acapulco Gold And Silver (Gold And Silver) (Demo) (2:37)
11. I Hear You Knockin’ (Demo) (3:11)
12. Back Door Man (Demo) (3:59)
13. Your Time Will Come (Demo) (3:08)

Time – 53:30

Disc Two: Live 1968
01. Back Door Man (4:16)
02. Codine (6:13)
03. Gold And Silver (12:01)
04. Smokestack Lightning (10:14)
05. Light Your Windows (3:05)
06. Dino’s Song (3:32)
07. The Fool (13:13)
08. Who Do You Love? (12:21)
09. Mona/Maiden Of the Cancer Moon/Mona (11:33)

Time – 76:28

Disc Three: Happy Trails
– Who Do You Love Suite (1-6) (25:22)
01. Who Do You Love (Part 1) (3:32)
02. When Do You Love (5:15)
03. Where Do You love (6:07)
04. How Do You Love (2:28)
05. Which Do You love (1:49)
06. Who Do You Love (Part 2) (5:51)
07. Mona (6:53)
08. Maiden Of The Cancer Moon (2:54)
09. Calvary (13:31)
10. Happy Trails (1:29)
~ Bonus tracks
11. Who Do You Love (Studio Version) (5:58)
12. Walkin’ Blues (3:07)
13. Calvary (6:29)

Time – 64:43

Disc Four: Shady Grove
01. Shady Grove (2:59)
02. Flute Song (5:17)
03. Three Or Four Feet From Home (2:58)
04. Too Far (4:23)
05. Holy Moly (4:20)
06. Joseph’s Coat (4:36)
07. Flashing Lonesome (5:21)
08. Words Can’t Say (3:17)
09. Edward, The Mad Shirt Grinder (9:10)

Time – 43:26

Disc Five: Just For Love
01. Wolf Run (Part 1) (1:12)
02. Just For Love (Part 1) (3:00)
03. Cobra (4:23)
04. The Hat (10:36)
05. Freeway Flyer (3:49)
06. Gone Again (7:17)
07. Fresh Air (5:21)
08. Just For Love (Part 2) (1:38)
09. Wolf Run (Part 2) (2:10)

Time – 39:50

Disc Six: What About Me
01. What About Me (6:43)
02. Local Color (3:00)
03. Baby Baby (4:44)
04. Won’t Kill Me (2:32)
05. Long Haired Lady (5:55)
06. Subway (4:29)
07. Spindrifter (4:38)
08. Good Old Rock And Roll (2:30)
09. All In My Mind (3:48)
10. Call On Me (7:36)

Time – 45:09

Disc Seven: Quicksilver | Comin’ Thru
– Quicksilver
01. Hope (3:01)
02. I Found Love (3:56)
03. Song For Frisco (4:58)
04. Play My Guitar (4:38)
05. Rebel (2:02)
06. Fire Brothers (3:12)
07. Out Of My Mind (4:34)
08. Don’t Cry Lady Love (5:13)
09. The Truth (6:58)
– Comin’ Thru
10. Doin’ Time In The USA (4:15)
11. Chicken (4:03)
12. Changes (4:15)
13. California State Correctional Facility Blues (6:10)
14. Forty Days (5:31)
15. Mojo (5:34)
16. Don’t Lose It (5:37)

Time – 73:56

Total Time: 6:37:02

MUSICIANS
John Cipollina – Guitar, Steel Guitar, Slide Guitar, Percussion, Vocals (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
Gary Duncan – Guitar, Bass, Maracas, Wood Block, Organ, Vocals (1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7)
David Freiberg – Bass, Viola, Piano, Guitar, Vocals (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
Greg Elmore – Drums, Percussion, Piano, Vocals (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
Nicky Hopkins – Piano, Organ, Celeste, Harpsichord (4, 5, 6)
Dino Valenti – Guitar, Flute, Conga, Vocals (5, 6, 7)
Mark Naftalin – Piano, Organ (6, 7)
Jose Rico Reyes – Congas, Percussion, Vocals (6)
Martine Fierro – Tenor & Alto Sax, Flute (6)
Ron Taormina – Baritone & Soprano Sax (6)
Frank Morin – Tenor Sax (6)
Sonny Lewis – Sax (7)
Donald Menza – Sax (7)
Pat O’Hara – Trombone (6, 7)
Charles C. Loper – Trombone (7)
Ken Balzell – Trumpet (6, 7)
Dalton Smith – Trumpet (7)
Bud Brisbois – Trumpet (7)
Mark Ryan – Bass (7)
Chuck Steaks – Organ (7)

ADDITIONAL INFO
Record Label: Cherry Red Records | Esoteric Recordings
Country of Origin: US
Date of Release: 29^th May 2026

LINKS
Quicksilver Messenger Service – Info at Cherry Red Records | Bandcamp