Quicksilver Messenger Service is an American psychedelic rock band formed in 1965 in San Francisco. The band achieved wide popularity in the San Francisco Bay Area and, through their recordings, with psychedelic rock enthusiasts around the globe, and several of their albums ranked in the Top 30 of the Billboard Pop charts. They were part of the new wave of album-oriented bands, achieving renown and popularity despite a lack of success with their singles (only one, "Fresh Air" charted, reaching number 49 in 1970). Though not as commercially successful as contemporaries Jefferson Airplane and the Grateful Dead, Quicksilver was integral to the beginnings of their genre. With their jazz and classical influences and a strong folk background, the band attempted to create an individual, innovative sound. Music historian Colin Larkin wrote: "Of all the bands that came out of the San Francisco area during the late '60s, Quicksilver typified most of the style, attitude and sound of that era."
Member Dino Valenti drew heavily on musical influences he picked up during the folk revival of his formative musical years. The style he developed from these sources is evident in Quicksilver Messenger Service's swing rhythms and twanging guitar sounds. After many years, the band has attempted to re-form despite the deaths of several members. In 2006, original members Gary Duncan and David Freiberg toured as the Quicksilver Messenger Service, using various backing musicians.
from this album in RP library
Um, the song is nearly 50 years old and reflects the feelings of the day. Its an anti war song. There was this little war going on in SE Asia and a thing called the draft in place, not to mention the other little thing called the Cold War. You are too young to be affected by these things and be impacted by the song's message, which like many songs of the day are still relevant even though the sound may be dated to many.
Perhaps if you were subject to the draft, your feelings about this song may be different.
Perhaps because of songs like this, there is no draft today ...
oldman wrote:
Stole it outright, it seems to me.
Let's see: different chord progressions, different melodies. Not plagiarized, not stolen, though clearly influenced by. Musicians generally call it an "homage" and time signatures cannot be copyrighted. Dave Brubeck did not write "Take Five" anyhow.
My mom's right hand out of the window, and she just said 'lets fly, and we all stretched our arms out of windows... it was 1977, or 1978, Forever 10!
Go read kurtster's post for a stronger understanding of the times. This may be stuck in the 60s but it had a sincere message about the failures of arrogant leaders. Just because you can pigeonhole it into some ironic pop-satire reference doesn't mean that you know what you're talking about.
HORRIBLE TRACK !
Sorry, we're all out of Justin Beiber.
I can hear the resemblance to Take 5, but the time signature is NOT 5/4, it's 6/8 (or 3/4). Much easier to play.
Let's call it Take Six
I can hear the resemblance to Take 5, but the time signature is NOT 5/4, it's 6/8 (or 3/4). Much easier to play.
WHO WAS Quicksilver Messenger Service besides Nicky Hopkins?
John Cipollina, guitar
Gary Duncan, guitar
David Freiberg, bass
Greg Elmore, drums
Dino Valenti was a founding member who was busted for possession and was serving time when the band broke. Duncan took a year off and Hopkins joined for their third album, Shady Grove. Valenti and Duncan rejoined the band for their fourth, Just for Love. Both Hopkins and Cipollina left after that one.
BTW, Nick Gravenites sings "Pride of Man." He'd come west with Paul Butterfield and Mike Bloomfield from Chicago, and would become Bloomfield's and Buddy Miles's vocalist with The Electric Flag. The horns are the original Tower of Power horn section.
Ha ha. No secret that jazz influenced so much music in that era and led to the jam bands that still play today.
Locals influencing each other. Happens a lot or used to.
"Oh God, Spiderman
Broken in the dust again"
I dearly love that I can be sitting here in Boulder, high as a kite on Golden Goat and sipping on exquisite sake from Hyogo-ken after wacthing yet another spectacular lenticular cloud-projected sunset, and jamming to this tasty time-machine music on Radio Paradise!
Hey man,
Whatever "lenticular cloud-projected sunset" is...I want some.
Local influences. Quicksilver and Brubeck were both from the SF Bay Area at roughly the same time. Music was very regional back in those days with local artists having large influences on each other, regardless of the type of music that the individual artists were involved in.
But I have to wonder if they'd even get noticed by today's record companies.