Search - Quicksilver Messenger Service :: Unreleased Quicksilver: Lost Gold and Silver

The Live Disc Is Jam-Rock At Its Very Finest

Michael Topper | Pacific Palisades, California United States | 08/25/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I disagree with the amazon reviewer above who states that this set takes a backseat to the "Sons Of Mercury" anthology. While that collection included the group's post-"Happy Trails" material, only one or two songs from that later period are of interest, anyway. The Quicksilver Messenger Service are best known for their live work during the 1967-69 period, a period which the first disc of "Lost Gold And Silver" represents beautifully. All of the essential tracks from the debut album are found here in vastly superior live renditions; only the drum solo in "Acapulco Gold" sounds dated and superfluous. The group's one multi-part studio epic "The Fool" is amazingly replayed here note-for-note, only with even greater passion. Even better, the compilers found renditions of "Mona/Maiden Of The Cancer Moon" and "Who Do You Love" which outshine the already stunning "Happy Trails" versions, and prove once again that Quicksilver were by farSan Francisco's finest live act, and one of the best jam bands of all time. Jamming is undoubtedly one of rock's testiest genres, but every note coming out of Duncan's and Cippolina's twin-guitar attack is priceless. Compared to Duncan's fluid, energetic style and Cippolina's piercing, scorpion-like effects, Jerry Garcia might as well be crowned "Mr.Noodle". The immense power and atmosphere engendered at the end of "Maiden Of The Cancer Moon" has to be heard to be believed; it is a wall of blizzardy, ornately crafted sound entirely unique to the aimless meanderings of many better known players. Add to that the tribal drumming (which naturally works best on the Bo Diddley numbers) and you've got a disc of prime-cut psych to be savored like a gourmet meal. Ironically, the live portion of this posthumous archival release thus becomes the one truly essential purchase in their entire catalogue, superceding the debut and even "Happy Trails" (although most purchasers of "Lost Gold And Silver" will most likely have those two already.) After that, the second disc of rare studio tracks, demos and outtakes seems like icing on the cake, but the versions of "Acapulco Gold" and "Calvary" still make fascinating listens into the group's working processes; the way the groundbreaking flamenco-metal of "Calvary" comes together seems like magic."

A minor disappointment-Get Happy Trails instead

kireviewer | Sunnyvale, Ca United States | 06/04/2004

(3 out of 5 stars)

"On the surface you would think this would be a great album. 78 minutes of Quicksilver live from 1968. Unfortunately, it does not live up to expectations. The sound quality is bad and the performance is not great.This is a two disc set from when Quicksilver was just getting started, recorded in 1967 and 1968. The first disc is a 78 minute concert from 1968. The second disc is studio outtakes from 67 and 68. It is around 50 minutes long. The group was going through radical changes at the time. They were more of a pop/folk psychodelic band until the lead, Dino Valenti went to jail on drug charges. The group became more of a jam band after that.The live album finds the group just evolving their new sound. It shows in the performance. It is rough and raw. The group trips over each other. The vocals on many of the songs are bad. The harmonies are not harmonious. They even forget the some of the lyrics on Who Do You Love. There are some wonderful moments, but there are very few songs that are good throughout. You can hear how much they will improve if you listen the 1969 live album, Happy Trails. The sound quality is poor. There is no dynamic range. The high end is way up front. The sound is fuzzy and distorted. That added to the rough performance makes this a difficult CD to listen to. If the sound quality were a little bit better the rough performance may be a little more enjoyable.The second CD is more interesting. The sound quality is better, but not great, especially considering these are studio tracks. There is a loud hiss through some of the tracks. Almost all tracks contain very good performances. The last two tracks are silly thow-away songs.I would strongly recommend getting the first album and Happy Trails instead of this one. Happy Trails is a wonderful live album with amazing performances and great sound quality. Lost Silver And Gold is just practice sessions for those 2 albums.If you like Quicksilver's jamming, then you should check out the Welsh group, Man. Man and John Chipolina from Quicksilver actually collaborated. When Chipolina died, Man wrote Sons of Mercury in his honor. On a live album, Deke Leonard of Man says, why does have to be the good that die, why couldn't it have been Phil Collins instead. Some good Man albums to check out include, Back Into the Future, 1999 Tour Party and Live at the Rainbow."

"Maiden of the Cancer Moon" redux

books | northampton, ma USA | 10/08/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Well, what I would have wanted to know before I bought this is, yes, the live tapes are essentially those from the old 2LP "Maiden of the Cancer Moon" bootleg. These may well be the best live tapes available from the band at that time, but the problem with them is that Cippolina is buried! If you've wondered if digital reprocessing magic could dig him out of the murk, the answer is "partially" - at the expense of some weird level changes here and there, you can hear more of him than you could on the older versions of these tapes floating around, but it's still not the optimal presentation of the band's sound. The second CD of unreleased studio stuff is amusing, but not essential. The cuts from the "Revolution" soundtrack definitely sound better on the LP, if you can find it. I'm glad I bought it, and the work done does make it sound a little better than the bootleg versions - I'm still giving it four stars, the version of "Smokestack Lightning" is enough by itself to rate that - but the weird balance of the original tapes was =not= fully corrected."