Quicksilver Messenger Service are a legendary ensemble, an American psychedelic rock band formed in 1965 in San Francisco, together with Jefferson Starship and The Grateful Dead, they are considered one of the leading acts on the city's psychedelic scene in the mid-to-late 1960s.
Quicksilver Messenger Service gained wide popularity in the 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.
Although not as commercially successful as contemporaries Jefferson Airplane and The Grateful Dead, QMS was integral to the beginnings of their genre. With their jazz and classical influences, as well as a strong folk background, the band attempted to create a sound that was individual and innovative. 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 swung rhythms and twanging guitar sounds.
By 1970 the band were working and recording largely in Hawaii. The next two albums, Just for Love and What About Me?, are sometimes called the Hawaiian albums because they were recorded mostly in a studio in that state, and both have a similar Hawaiian motif to their cover designs. This excellent live album captures a changing band at the peak of their game. A real treat for psychedelic music fans.
First 1000 copies are available as a limited edition with an extra bonus disc for the price of one!
