Quicksilver Messenger Service - Quicksilver (1971)

Quicksilver Messenger Service were an American rock band originally formed in the 1960s, part of San Francisco's famous psychedelic rock scene.

By 1971 the original lineup of Quicksilver Messenger Service had broken up. Singer-songwriter Dino Valenti was then in control, and the two founding members left with him were guitarist Gary Duncan and drummer Greg Elmore. They found a new bassist in Mark Ryan (who had briefly played with Country Joe & The Fish), and a keyboard player in... well, actually there is some confusion over who the keyboard player was on this album. Either Mark Naftalin (ex-Butterfield Blues Band, who had appeared on their last album), or 'Chuck Steaks'. Perhaps the latter was a pseudonym for the former?
The sixth album, Quicksilver, came out at a time when the band's heyday was definately over, and subsequently is often overlooked. Which is a shame, as it was a great album. Generally it had more of a folkier sound than their earlier guitar-driven rock, with lots of acoustic textures, though Duncan did get to play some stunning electric guitar on a few numbers. And there were a few songs which stood out as some of the band's all-time best, in particular the beautiful piano-driven "Don't Cry My Lady Love".

What About Me (1970) <|> Comin' Thru (1972)
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