Masterpiece: Happy Trails

[Today: The sound of the late-60's psychedelic ballroom scene...]

Quicksilver Messenger Service was the last ‘San Francisco Sound’ band of the late 60′s to sign with a major label. It wasn’t because they were lacking offers, or holding out for more money or creative control, as many then assumed – they held out because they were waiting for their presumptive lead singer, Dino Valente, to get sprung from jail on drug charges. As Valente’s legal troubles drew on, the group finally decided to press forward and record their self-titled debut without him. They included his tune ‘Dino’s Song’ as a sign of solidarity, but as fate would have it, Valente wouldn’t actually join the band until its original lineup was a distant memory.

Their second album, Happy Trails, stands as one of the finest documents of the late-60′s psychedelic ballroom scene. Portions of the album were recorded live at Fillmore West in San Francisco, and Fillmore East in New York, and the music here provides a fair idea of what an evening out must have sounded like at that time. Side One is given over to an extended jam on Bo Diddley‘s classic ‘Who Do You Love’. Divided into six parts, the song stretches Diddley’s musical theme in a remarkable number of directions without ever feeling tired or repetitive.

Much of that is down to John Cipollina – one of the most distinctive (and under-appreciated) guitarists in the annals of rock. His ringing, soaring guitar tone is as recognizable (to those in the know) as Jimi Hendrix or Eddie Van Halen. But Cipollina’s brilliance here is of a piece with the rest of the group, and his flights of fancy are a natural extension of their musical explorations.

Happy Trails was the last album to feature all four original Quicksilver members. Rhythm guitarist Gary Duncan would leave the band shortly after the album was released in March of 1969, and with him went the magic that drove the group to the frantic heights captured here. As my Uncle Henry (a huge fan of the band since back in the day) told me recently “Duncan was more than a rhythm guitarist – he was like a second lead guitar in the group. They were never the same after he left.”

This is the sound of a band at the top if its game, and an album that vividly conjures a specific time and place. However, unlike much of the pointless psychedelic noodlings of that time, Happy Trails needs no pharmacological assistance to reveal its brilliance. But by all means, smoke ‘em if you got ‘em…

Listen: Who Do You Love – Part 1

Listen: When You Love

Tags: Bo Diddley, Gary Duncan, Happy Trails, John Cipollina, Quicksilver Messenger Service, Uncle Henry