Quicksilver Messenger Service - Gold and Silver

[oliver9808]

ipnotica.......

[MegaAndreNo]

Incroyable richesse musicale

[BBQFanNo1]

Some similar sound riffs as the Universal Mind by the Doors and Big Brother Holding Company with Janis Joplin.

[smokiebird06]

This was such a great time for music and getting truly stoned while listening. If rap and hip hop "singers" listened to this they would, hopefully, go out and shoot themselves.

[1111mjon]

What other band (in their right mind) would dare to release an instrumental back in those days? QS pulled it off gloriously.

THX libertine62

Now back to my acid flashback...PEACE

[Roberthenryii]

this captures something great

[RoughBoy1056]

Classic John Cippolina! One of the very few rock guitarists who actually knew what the vibrato bar was originally designed to do: VIBRATO, and he was the master of it. Nobody could top him at it then, or now. Listen to Cippolina Live and note how spot on in tune the guitar remains regardless of what he puts it through, and remember this was at a time when whammy-bars weren't as forgivingas they are today, back then if you even touched the bar it was like begging to have to totally retune.

[posthumanhero]

@RoughBoy1056 oh, i wouldn't go that far......lol.........i luv him but, yea, i've heard him play outa tune many times..that goes with the territory -- u just undermine it.......[that] he usually did pretty good.

[LuciidDreaming]

This is great..

[whenmyguitar]

Thank you very much !

[manoftheworld1000]

No doubt their best song - and in my mind one of the best songs of all Westcoast rock music! Great stuff!

[JasonEmery9]

Wow, hadn't heard this song for ages. Forgot how great it is. Definitely can hear some influence of progressive jazz rifts.

[SuperScorpio47]

Psychedelic Take Five

[viewingut]

@SuperScorpio47 Absolutely!

[capetaquebratudo]

If I kill myself I'll see Cipollina and Hendrix together?

[shakerson]

@capetaquebratudo Eat enough mushrooms and you might too.

[buzzbot]

@Foosh222 - Your Dead & Zappa comparison are a little off. The reason QMS didn't last for the better part of 30 years was they came to a dead stop when Gary Duncan left the band at the end of '68. When Woodstock was being set up they weren't even a band. During their peak as a quartet -'67 - '68, live, they were one of the most kick-ass bands in the world - Dead or Zappa - bar none. They re-formed a few times, but after '68 lost the family vibe that kept the Dead living.

[JasonEmery9]

@buzzbot I believe you are mistaken. Duncan only left the band for one album, Shady Grove, during that early period.

If you look at the Dead, they had huge long dry spells, following 'Europe in '72', and after 'Shakedown Street' in '78. Their top selling album was 'In the Dark', a 1987 release, over 20 years after the late 60's. And 'In the Dark' was followed by three other good selling Dead albums, into the early 90's.

The main problem with QMS is they didn't stick around.

[ZiggyShaneDust]

they ripped off Pentangle pretty bad on this one

[DzedajO]

@ZiggyShaneDust Could you please tell me on which Pentangle song this reminds you? I started gettin' into Pentangle lately and I'd love to hear some more acid jams like this one because I love QMS. Peace

[PunchandJudyDuo]

This song is definitely an original in its own right. I would say that they are just riding the same musical wavelength as Take 5 and also Coltrane's Favorite Things. These songs have a sound of their own that is unique- a very relaxing and contemplative rhythmic groove!

[Foosh222]

The Grateful Dead lasted the better part of 30 years for a reason, because they were way better than this. And if you bring Frank Zappa into the question, forget about it, he puts their existence to shame.

[posthumanhero]

@Foosh222 depends what your looking for....i think of zappa as more left brained, and often technically motivated music.qms is more 'nature music'...though i have all the mothers of invention cds i find myself listening to stuff like moody blues or qms almost always -- maybe because i'm always playing....this music [invites] you to play along....funny thing is i enjoyed playing to king crimsons red then other day.....maybe the more technical u get things change....then there's 'fans'.

[Foosh222]

@posthumanhero I hear what you're sayin'. The MOI is actually the worst of Zappa's music, he said it himself, that he didn't care for that band and the music he made with them. His best stuff began in 1973 and only got better from there. He was unrivaled as the greatest rock band and guitarist at that time, and I've still heard nothing better. And I'll also tell you, without a doubt, if your a musician, particularly a rock musician, there's no more fun music to play than Zappa.

[posthumanhero]

@Foosh222 oh, i disagree with u dude...i cannot stand zappa after the mothers of invention -- i LOVE jimmy carl black and all the other weirdos he was playing with at the time (the sound they produced together).....could be a STYLE thing.........i LOVE the first three mothers albums and uncle meat is a great free jazz album.........his other stuff is far far far too stiff and professional and self-conscious and lacking in anything i really care about in music.

[Foosh222]

@posthumanhero That's cool, it is just a style thing, dependent on what you like. But it did get better as new band members came and left, Frank recruited better and better musicians. From summer '78 to 1980 was the sickest band of all time, but it's really only appreciable if you listen to live Zappa, the sound varies so much from winter '78 to fall '78 to 1981. Having listened to a whole lot of Zappa shows, his band was without a doubt the greatest, but to each their own.

[posthumanhero]

@Foosh222 i really can't stand that stuff and i don't think they were better musicians....just less organic, fun and freaky (to me)....that early stuff is actually more complex than it appears -- as a musician i can easily play along with quicksilver (to some degree or another) -- if i tried to play along with 'we're only in it for the money' different story......don't let the low fi production fool you into thinking the weirdos he was playing with in the 60s were any less capable.

[Foosh222]

@posthumanhero Nothing wrong with liking what you like, you just don't have a very acute taste in music I guess. It is just fact, not opinion, that out of the personnel in that group, not one was half the musician as the personnel of FZ's band 2 years later in '73 with George Duke, Napoleon Murphy Brock, Jean Luc Ponty, Tom Fowler, Chester Thompson, Ruth Underwood. The fact that Frank left the Mothers for that very reason is enough proof in and of itself.

[Foosh222]

@posthumanhero There's a case in point; look at Zappa's success after the Mothers, and look at where the rest of their musical careers went. I may have said before, Frank knew a whole lot more about music than you or I. His later music may be less likeable according to popular opinion, but for me as with most other musicians, music lovers, and Zappa fanatics, there's absolutely no comparison or debate to which music is better. It's all good, but it was vastly better from '73 on.

[posthumanhero]

@Foosh222 the 'popular opinion' is that his best works are 'joes' garage' 'apostrophe' 'tinsel town'' (to name a few)......most every zappa fan i've met could care less about 'freak out' 'money' or 'meat'.......that said, i find the former works to be corny, 'professional', self-conscious and annoying......when u say 'better' or 'know' i can see what impresses you.......don't do nothing for me......i'm into [nature] music.......i prefer quicksilver over allman brothers, forinstance.

[posthumanhero]

@Foosh222 'success' is no end-all and the masses are (usually) asses........i have a very low threshold for hyperventilated flash that seems to impress most people:..call me slow but i prefer gary duncan (qms) over hendrix for reasons that are purely personal....zappa lovers freak when i play his early stuff for them because it upsets their left brain concerns and sounds seedy or whatever..:..I'm a Musician and Artist and my point of evolution is as relevant as any elitest technician.

[Imissthe70s]

Good songs never get old and the more bands that cover a good song the better because most times it means you get more great versions of a great song.

[Deepthroat1990]

thumbs up if you watched this stoned!

[niggawittatrigga]

@Deepthroat1990 if you didnt then you are insane

[odiewan58]

@ 666frankiller Acid Rock !, Yes I remember it well. I lived in San Francisco in 1967, And remember the Filmore, Cow palace and Golden Gate Park. Bands like Quicksilver, the Dead, Janice Joplin, Jimmy Hendrix, Jefferson Airplane, Eric Burden and the Animals and many more. Acid was everywhere ! It was a Great summer. Great music that still holds up today. even though they were trippin just like everyone else. All i can say is, wish you had been there, It was fun.

[volmeister50]

@odiewan58 I was lucky enough to live in SanFrancisco in the summer of '70. Everything you said is true and I have memories from then that will be with me til I'm gone to another level.

[1016KEITH]

The drum panning was brilliant on this. So many bands being mentioned - no one mentions Mad River. Very hardcore GGP, Fillmore, Family Dog band.

[1016KEITH]

The drum panning was a nice surprise. I

[GoatBeach]

My Bro Danny lived downstairs from them when he was a kid, and they noticed he was just another poor kid walking everywhere. when they made their first album and got some cash, he came home to a new bike. These guys are true soul folks.

[sparkyization]

Caught a ride in Oaktown coming from Southern Kali with two UC dudes that took us into the City. They dropped us in front of the Fillmore.  THIS tune wafted into the night air as the Volvo putted away. I knew I had arrived

[hanssellge]

beautiful music by beautiful musicians

[MrG121259]

Definitely a re-take of Take five! I was aurfing songs to download and ran across this one. The Take Five melody got my attention. Nice to see them taking homage to Dave Brubeck. Great job!!

[SoundsLikePurple]

sshit 17 now xxx****

[SurrealisticEvening]

Is this a re-take of "Take Five" (1959) by the Dave Brubeck Quartet or what? It sounds like it.

[ege1993]

@SurrealisticEvening i think it was inspired by take five, but is not necessarily a re-take of it

[SurrealisticEvening]

@ege1993 Allright, I just asked because the track is very reminiscent of the Brubeck piece. Of course, I didn't mean to negatively comment on Quicksilver and their music because it's one of my favourite psychedelic/ acid rock bands of the 1960's.

[CRAXYFINGERS76]

CIPOLLINA BATWING!!!!!

[SoundsLikePurple]

quicksilver gave dino a song , all dino ever did in return was bring the whole group to a sputtering halt what a turd, i hope he feels ashamed for what he did to this band, probably never going to see a fraction of this like again, couldve had any band in the world dino? And YOU chose to destroy the only one that couldn't be replaced, ha ha thanks dino, greetings from a sneering 16 year old in ontario

[posthumanhero]

@SoundsLikePurple first of all dino gave [songs] to this band and all he ever did is help them move forward when they needed a change and put them on the charts with some hits.........second of all, it's not becoming to speak ill of the dead.........especially when the loser your talking about wrote the most oft-covered hippy anthem of all time, 'get together' (which he received 50$ for and lost all copyrights too).....we [all] suffer......don't believe the hype.

[naclean91]

I saw them play this at the Fillmore in 70 or 71. I can't remember when exactly, those were fuzzy times.

[turningpointtunes]

ah, great Em D jam, before Dino Valenti screwed the group up

[whemadre]

This album and the first Electric flag album are two of my all time favorites.

[sillybear969]

I imagine the afterlife has my astral ipod all loaded with stuff like this.

[cohenfs]

Soooooo good. Nice mellow.

[OldMusicDream]

Great great song! Thanks for posting it.

[Sidius52Ryan]

Clearly inspired by Dave Brubeck's 'Take Five', but awesome nonetheless.

[Licci48]

golden brown the stranglers

[Licci48]

sounds like golden brown by the stranglers

[aurora1957A]

@Licci48

It does a little, doesn't it? But Golden Brown has a different time signature.

Great post btw!

:)

[1999wharfrat]

@Licci48 That would be the other way around, since this was done by QMS more than a decade before The Stranglers did Golden Brown.

[ThrashIdolatry]

Let me thinks of 'Take Five' (:

[danettecute]

This is like the best music ever !!

[coreyholmes1]

sounds like body and soul?

[mrbag60]

Listening to nuggets like this make me feel kind of cheated growing up in the late-70's instead of the late-60's-early 70's. Instead of hearing innovative jams like this, we were cursed with mostly 2nd rate AOR rock, disco, and punk that lasted a few years than went to even more derivative crap in the 80's. Gotta thank those late night rock DJ's, who in the late 70's played those long 60's jams like "Who Do You Love" prior to a shift change. Changed my musical perspective forever.

[Foosh222]

@mrbag60 Well, there was... Mahavishnu Orchestra, Frank Zappa, Return to Forever, Steely Dan, Weather Report, Rush, King Crimson, Allan Holdsworth, Stanley Clarke, Herbie Hancock, Grateful Dead, Pat Metheny, Yes, Stevie Ray Vaughan, etc.... Any rational person would say you're fortunate. If you didn't listen to at least a couple of the aforementioned names, then you kind of got cheated.

[mrbag60]

Yes @Foosh222 have heard the above mentioned groups and artists and have Frank Zappa and the Mothers, Steely Dan, The Grateful Dead, Yes, Rush, King Crimson, Stevie Ray Vaughn along with Quicksilver Messenger Service on CD and on my YT site. Thank you for asking.

[Foosh222]

@mrbag60 Good shit.

[Rich915]

Saw them many times during the Haight Ashbury days.They were my fave. Great tune & collection of Poster Pix...Thx!

[luchokc]

I heard them when I was 22, it was a wonderful discovery in those days. We propose to ourselves to listen progressive and psychedelic rock...

[luchokc]

Recuerdo haberlos escuchado por primera vez a los 22 años... todo un descubrimiento por aquellos días en que nos habíamos propuesto entrarle al rock progresivo y a la psicodélia con fuerza. Viene a mi memoria con mucha nostalgia aquella vieja frase: "...éste año es progre y psicodélia..."

[Newman54]

I used to listen this for hours. One of the best instrumentals of the late 60s a true San Fransico sound

[cyberoid]

Cipollina was a snake wrapped around the neck of his guitar. Sinuous. Dangerous. Ever entwined. Dearly missed.

[fluxstringer]

Many bands of the era have been bypassed by so called classic rock stations. QMS and the fans deserve better. Wadda they know. they think Bobbie McGhee is Janis best song ! Those plastic dudes are just so FOS !

[theassman11]

does anyone know were to find a guitar tab for this song?

[fredxmertz]

John Cippiolina was #32 on one of Rolling Stone's lists of top 100 guitarists of all time. Some of his later solo stuff was in Warren Miller's surf/ski films.

[gorlia01]

God! I played this album a lot when it came out!

[Baddoggone]

Quicksilver always played this great song in the 60's. One of their best.

[WEIR4EVER]

Can't help hearing the first few notes of Calvary at the end... hahaha, this stuff is deeply branded in my brain cells!

[WEIR4EVER]

John lives.

[unviciouscircle]

he is all around us Cassy.....drive to work and home always have John , QSM or Man on the go...makes traffic jams a joy to be stuck in..lol...

[gratefullistener420]

First time I heard this it totally changed my outlook on music. John Cipollina needs 2 b recognized as a guitar legend, I guess names like Garcia and Kaukonen somehow overshadowed this guys work, its a shame people of my generation will never realize his godlyness

[WEIR4EVER]

I'm one thousand percent with you on that, my Grateful friend! I've a few uploads of John's work on my channel. Feel free to visit!

[nickgui]

@WEIR4EVER You have some great uploads and yes this one was a soundtract for the era to me, Generation before me had Take Five at The Hungry I we had Gold & Silver at The Fillmore.

Happy Trails Amiga

[nickgui]

@gratefullistener420 There are some like you who do which is great! When I was 18 the 3 guitar players you named were playing in local bands I got to see quite a bit and I know everyone from my generation who was there and got to see Cipollina in Action knows he wasn't overshadowed by anybody anywhere.

Love Jerry & Jorma who like John are guitar legends too. You have great taste in music. Cip & Duncan were an amazing combo. The Quick & The Dead shows, High Times in the Wild West. Just one JC,

[TBonePickensetc]

One of my faves. Liked it then. Like it now. Great music... super creative.. unique.

[naveengta]

The beginning of the song (esp the start of the very first riff) reminds me of "My Favorite Things" done by Coltrane.

[irishelk1]

Ive only just discovered this band and this song is just fucking amazing!...

[westpalmscott]

QMS was such a tight band John Cipolina was a real pioneer guitarist and Gary Duncan was no slouch either. this piece is styled after Dave Brubeck's Take Five

[Den7Bass]

I was turned on to them first at a concert in Pismo Beach, at an old movie theater. I can't remember the year.

The first song blew me away because they began the song surreptitiously out of tuning their guitars and drum heads.

The drummer had a double base drum set and I was pleasurably assaulted by waves of cymbal crashes and base drum beats. I saw them again at UCSB. They headlined, Santana was second and the Sons ( excellent guitar work) were third. Wow!

[sparkyization]

"Spare change, mister?"

;-D

[MinniMoose11]

QMS were so great...I can't even tell you why it's great because it's too bloody GREAT!!!

[GuitarMuse]

agreed this is one of my favorite songs every...god shit is amazing...great guitar,bass, and drum work

[mysticjaz]

A friend of mine sent me this link.

This brings back serious memories for me too. The music had a magic that it seems we no longer have. And yes, I remember weed for $20 an ounce, acid for $3 a hit. Those days were something else. It was all so fresh, so new,,,

What's become of us?

[qsergyuko]

what in the fuck are you talking about?

[posthumanhero]

actually u have a point............lol...perhpas i got my videos mixed up......thx.

[peetolator]

When we pick apart this stuff we just make ourselves sound after the way. Bill Graham put it pretty well when he said Quicksilver was the most musically pure band he had the pleasure to put on. Quicksilver was the best band I had the pleasure to see at Winterland a few times and thats because the one time I saw Cream I crashed out in the balcony. Hey it was my fourteenth birthday and the first time I had a hit off a joint. Blame my brother for taking me, after that I always went back for QMS.

[andyochs]

Sure is a beautiful song!

I was so obsessed with the intro that i sat down for ages working it out. Never get tired of playing it.

QMS will never die.

[Kukjavaal]

@andyochs do you still have the tab for that? i'd love to learn how to play it right

[andyochs]

I don't have a tab sadly, but i'm thinking of making a video for it, so if i do i'll tell you. Take care x

[smokiebird06]

Does anyone remember what we paid for a concert back then. Really good weed was $15 to $20 an ounce so it couldn't have been too much. And check out some of those lineups! Man, thoses were good days.

[alfalfa19]

Yep, I remember. I used to pay 3.50 to see 5 bands at the Fillmore West. Start at 8, finish at 2.

[Behutet93]

Ha ha. Purple double dome, orange sunshine. $3 a hit. Brown or yellow lebanese hash. Michuocan grass was suppose to be the real deal. Still remember seeing Santana before they had a record.

[SupernalOne]

Phish ain't got nothing on QMS when it comes to jams!

[Foosh222]

@SupernalOne Phish is awful these days, but go back to '93-'98 and they were pretty sick. Certainly better.

[earthless1990]

@SupernalOne amen, bro. Phish sucks!

[hoegis]

thank you for the priceless images. There were beautiful times...

[posthumanhero]

Duncan (on the left speaker) sounds as good as Cippolina here. Ashame he can't play with that kind of fluidity and enthusiasm anymore.......he's still pretty ok on a good night.

[belloartista]

divino

[nemesis100786]

totally reminds me of 'strangler's - golden brown'

great song, thx for sharing ;)

[Baddoggone]

QMS named the song Acapulco Gold & Silver, but Capitol Records made them change it to Gold & Silver. One of their best, love it.

[smokiebird06]

I can't tell you how much I loved this group. I use to be totally against herb, but my friends said this song would sound 10 times better. And that was that!

[infanttyrone1]

Thanks to Libertine62.

Sadly, not enough video of these guys has survived, or maybe someone is just waiting for tomorrow to upload a trove of clips from 67-72 or thereabouts.

Only saw them once in NYC FIllmore 1971 and they owned the theater and the town.

From a Deadhead, take away the compliment that they were, on a software level, every bit as innovative as the Dead, with possibly fewer miscues and even (shhh!) higher highs.

[jondoe8889]

Great music, love playing this song!!!

Sadly, John Cipollina died in 89 from chronic emphysema.

He was classically trained, and had a sound like no other!

Miss his music greatly.

[fernoxgama]

TAKE FIVE

[oldsoftee]

You're absolutely right! After listening to this for about 40 years. I only recently discovered that this was Cippolina's tribute to Dave Brubeck.

[squarepyramid99]

Mmmmm, Quicksilver!

[geekorthodox9]

i am always happy to find new music.

the trend i am noticing is tht the musicians of the 60s era were all very well trained and had their fundamentals down.

to generalize, it seems that then, drugs were 'in addition to' life, but since then, for the next generations, it has been skills and knowledge 'in addition to' drugs. the foundation is thus transposed and inverted.

[sillybear969]

(applause)@geekorthodox9 

[shimeonmorpheus]

what are some other tracks from these guys they sound good!!

[rfris777]

the ENTIRE first album,especially The Fool (sounds kinda like this :D )

and Who Do You Love? from the 2nd album.AMAZING guitar vibrato in like,all of those :DD

the solo from Pride of Man is possibly their best EVAR.

poop.

[aurora1957A]

Also Mona (really, all of Happy Trails), Shady Grove, Edward, Cobra, Fresh Air, and What About Me (some people don't like the addition of Dino to the lineup)

Give John Cipollina a listen on youtube, on this version you hear his guitar on the right, Gary Duncan on the left.

(This is a reply to shimeonmorpheus and rfris777)

[shimeonmorpheus]

sick bro, thanks.

[shimeonmorpheus]

not my generation, but sounds cool anyway the part from :19 to :22 sounds like another song possibly in a movie?

[wrenchy212]

Thanks, Libertine! I bought the first album when it came out. I was all of 12 years old. I listened to this on the way to and from work today, and then I stumbled on this post later! Gold and Silver always brings a tear to my eye; for the way things were growing up. Peace to you, jt

[flamesounds]

Acid Rock...what more can be said..........

[6749er]

I'm a first g-g-generation SF-QMS fan.

This is The Band (pre-Dino) that the

Hometown Crowd Loved-Thanks!

Great looking at posters from shows I saw as well as QMS take on Take Five.

That Quick & The Dead poster w/Linn County at The Fillmore West in 68,

Was one of the most Amazing nights of

Music I've ever seen-The Quick & The Dead shows were always real good & that night it was beyound Amazing.

QMS Delivers!

[knownonsense99]

I was in the Haight from 66' until 69' (when things got really bad on the street) and these guys were one on my favorites. I was hitching to my first concert at the old Fillmore and 3 of the members of the band gave me a ride, really cool people. Who knows, I might have even seen you back then. Thanks Libertine62 for a wonderful post.

[Libertine62]

Glad you liked it knownonsense99, and that it brought back some memories. 8-)

[fluffythecat2]

Great song!

Thansks Libertine

[LordSatanOBoogie]

nice!

[Libertine62]

Glad you like it bro...great song from a very under appreciated and, sadly, kinda forgotten band.

[richard57watson]

@Libertine62 I kind of grew up with these guys, their music...thanks !

[errollovering]

@Libertine62

I'd forgotten all about this one and I was right in the middle of it all in Van and Calif.. Remember Moby Grape?

[droleniacoc]

@Libertine62 Dont worry, it lives on, i'm 19 and this is my #2 favorite band

[faroutlindsey]

@Libertine62 RIGHT ON!!

[aurora1957A]

great quality sound and video - nice to see youtube giving stereo sound with the "high quality" option now!

Quicksilver & Mott the Hoople.. now that must have been quite a show..

:)

[Libertine62]

Thanks for the comment. Glad you like the video. 8-)

Yeah I would have almost killed to see any of those shows. The one with ZZ Top and the Allmans caught my eye as one I would have REALLY wanted to see. ;-)

[thekingisdeath]

Good job, men. Thanks.