After a couple minutes of this vintage display of Old West firepower the song breaks down and changes tempo somewhat into a suitably Oceania-sounding hula-dance underscored by some very cool Nicky Hopkins piano boogie. Beginning with a tight, controlled rolling drum pattern courtesy of Greg Elmore, we're soon treated to the familiar darting, darning chromed nickel needle of Cippolina & Duncan's Bigsby-fied nosedives. The ghost of Quicksilver Past makes a much welcome albeit mellowed reappearance via Cipollina's 'Cobra', an instrumental which playfully hints at the Hawaiian ambience the album was recorded in. 'Just For Love's' songs are mostly good but for the overall feeling that Valente would've been better off on his own and that QMS should've either broken up and moved on or changed their name to something less loaded with specific mercurial promise. To his credit, Nicky Hopkins can certainly stamp a song with his character. Replacing much of the hallowed electrifying guitar battles of old are laid back acoustic guitars, flutes and hand drums.Īs on the aforementioned 'Shady Grove', pianist extraordinaire Nicky Hopkins adds his unmistakeable piano stylings, making this later incarnation of Quicksilver sound at times like Jefferson Airplane's 'Volunteers'. His distinctive nasal voice was a completely different instrument than the likeably bland non-singing of Frieberg, Cipollina and Duncan (who each, for better or for worse, sounded much like the other). 'Just For Love', even more so than its Gary Duncan-less predecessor 'Shady Grove', represents the biggest departure for QMS from their early sound since their sole vocalist and main songwriter was now Dino Valente. Definitely seek this record out if you want to hear what Dino Valente was capable of at his very best because unfortunately his 're-joining' Quicksilver largely changed and arguably diminished the original arcane magic for both parties involved. Left to his own devices Valente did record a beautifully sparse solo record for Epic in 1968 with Bob Johnston (Dylan, Cohen) producing. 'Just For Love', however, is a very different album by a very changed band.ĭino Valente, the author of the aforementioned 'Dino's Song' (and of The Youngbloods' famous Utopian '60s anthem 'Let's Get Together') was part of the Quicksilver plan from the onset but was kept from participating in the first two LPs by recurring hassles with the law, unfortunately culminating in jail time, apparently. Studio evidence of the early QMS template is well heard on 'Dino's Song' from the first album where John Cipollina's tightly executed twists and turns on his SG give full life and animated metallic meaning to the band's simultaneously Old West & Cosmic name. Unlike the freewheeling Grateful Dead with their rumbling, rolling intuitive mishmash dance party, Quicksilver had a carefully honed approach, their kinetic flash of daring, sinewy guitars prefiguring the cross-weave of Marquee Moon's celebrated 'freeform' modal edginess by at least 10 actual years and an entire epoch of cultural change. First off, I should say that Quicksilver Messenger Service are my favorite of the classic San Francisco groups – and that’s coming from someone who thinks that the Dead never made a wrong step, right up to ‘89s ‘Built To Last’.
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