Quicksilver Messenger Service - Anthology Box 1966-70 [2011] (3 x CD's)

QUICKSILVER MESSENGER SERVICE

Quicksilver Messenger Service - Anthology Box 1966-70 [2011] (3 x CD's)

Special limited edition multimedia box set covering the crucial late 60s period of the legendary San Francisco-based jam band, Quicksilver Messenger Service. Features rare studio outtakes from the band s highly celebrated first 2 albums, plus 2 full discs of live material recorded at the epicenter of America s countercultural revolution, the Fillmore Auditorium - released here for the first time! (Amazon)

Quicksilver Messenger Service were one of the great bands of the Haight-Ashbury scene. Due to a variety of unfortunate incidents, they are all but forgotten these days, at least in comparison to bands such as The Grateful Dead, Santana, and Jefferson Airplane. I doubt that the recent Quicksilver Messenger Service: Anthology Box 1966-1970 will remedy the situation, but it sure is a cool set.  Quicksilver Messenger Service - Anthology Box SetThe Anthology is a three-CD, single-DVD collection, with a scarf and a badge, all housed in a very sturdy box. The packaging alone is worth noting, because once again, Cleopatra have done an outstanding job. Then again, you could put together a box as beautiful as this one and dedicate it to The Starland Vocal Band, and it would merit comment. Packaging aside though, it is the music that counts, and QSM definitely deliver the goods. When it comes to sets of rarities, demos, and unreleased live material, there is something of an implied notion that the material has been “on the shelf” all these years because it is not very good. This is not at all the case with the QSM Anthology. There is a wealth of excellent music on this set, in fact most of it is far better than what has been released under their name since 1970.

The first CD is comprised of 11 outtakes, ten from their self-titled debut album, and the 11th being “Calvary” off the Happy Trails album. The first track is a version of “Dino’s Song,“ and it sets the tone for everything that follows. The song sounds fantastic. 15-seconds of “Studio Chat” seems a little irrelevant to include, but it is next. What really caught my attention though was “Gold and Silver.” which incorporates the famous melody of The Dave Brubeck Quartet‘s “Take Five.” This really knocked me out, mainly because I had never seen any mention of this “nod of the hat” in any QSM articles I have read. Later on the disc comes an outtake of “I Hear You Knockin,” which has a great deal in common with the classic Screamin’ Jay Hawkins tune “I Put a Spell on You.” This is not meant to imply that QSM were “ripping off” other artists, but they had some very cool influences, and that is a fairly relevant point. The remaining two CDs contain live material from five different concerts, spanning the years 1966-1970. As befits a late-sixties San Francisco band, a great deal of the live material comes from shows at the Fillmore. Disc two features excerpts from two Fillmore concerts, one on May 11, 1966, and the second recorded on February 4, 1967. There are 11 songs from the ‘66 show, and eight from the ‘67 concert. The third CD of the set excerpts three concerts; four songs from The Fillmore East (1968): five songs from Winterland (1970); three songs from The Old Mill Tavern (1970). (blindedbysound.com)

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Track Lists

CD1

01    Dino's Song    3:18
02    Studio Chat    0:06
03    Gold And Silver (Take 17)    2:37
04    Light Your Windows    2:31
05    Pride Of Man    3:56
06    I Hear You Knockin'    3:10
07    Stand By Me (Take 1)    3:55
08    Stand By Me (Take 2)    4:08
09    The Fool    14:28
10    Gold And Silver (Take 18)    2:52
11    Calvary    13:24

CD2

01    Dino's Song    3:12
02    Hair Like Sunshine    4:59
03    If You Live    5:32
04    All Night Worker    3:54
05    Got My Mojo Workin'    4:21
06    You Don't Love Me    2:37
07    Susie Q    3:40
08    Hoochie Coochie Man    5:13
09    Babe, I'm Gonna Leave You    4:33
10    Stand By Me    4:21
11    Pride Of Man    3:45
12    I Hear You Knockin'    3:50
13    Acapulco Gold And Silver    2:25
14    Codine    4:54
15    Don't Tell Me You're Sorry    4:27
16    A Strange, Funny World    2:55
17    Walkin' Blues    2:59
18    Duncan And Brady    3:11
19    Who Do You Love?    6:16

CD3

01    Smokestack Lightnin'    10:11
02    Light Your Windows    3:01
03    Back Door Man    4:08
04    The Fool    12:58
05    Too Far    3:11
06    The Warm Red Wine    2:56
07    Mona    8:26
08    Long Haired Lady    3:01
09    Mojo    3:20
10    Subway    6:01
11    Rain    5:52
12    Blues Jam    7:58

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