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Reviews

Quicksilver Messenger Service — Reunion
(Voiceprint Bear VP111CD, 2009, 2CD)

by Peter Thelen, Published 2010-07-01

Reunion Cover art

Forty years after Quicksilver’s heyday, this 2006 live show recorded at The Sweetwater in Mill Valley featuring original members Gary Duncan and David Freiberg plus four more recent additions (including Prairie Prince on the drum kit) is a fun reminder of those great old days when the band ruled the San Francisco ballroom circuit. Of course Cippolina and Dino are long gone, and Greg Elmore is nowhere to be found, but the new musicians all seem to be enjoying the party, including singer Linda Imperial. One will find most of the old favorites here in these two sets: “Who Do You Love,” “Mona,” “Dino’s Song,” “Pride of Man,” and a number of others, with a few new songs (at least new to this writer) sprinkled in. In fact in what’s got to be a major oversight, the same version of “What About Me” is on here twice, track one and track two, back to back on disc 2, which of course is mis-labeled ‘Disc 1.’ Their voices aren’t what they used to be, so Imperial has her work cut out for her, but if one can overlook the vocal rough edges, and the occasional lengthy stretches of dead time between the songs, this show should be of interest to longtime fans who are familiar with the band’s repertoire. Newcomers might be better advised to check out the band’s classic titles QMS, Happy Trails, Shady Grove, and Just for Love before going here.

Filed under: New releases, Issue 38, 2009 releases

Related artist(s): Linda Imperial, Quicksilver Messenger Service

 

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