"PRIDE OF PLACE"

QUICKSILVER MESSENGER SERVICE by Quicksilver Messenger Service (1968, Capitol)

Just like an inveterate fisherman, there are tales of conquest that every collector will regale you with. Here’s one of mine: Buried inside a snow blanketed storage locker in the Pacific Northwest I discovered a treasure trove of some long dormant, left for dead 8 track cartridges. I was paying a Christmas visit to my Father in Law, Murray — a survivalist, ex-biker Hippie living in the North woods, who resides in a converted trailer, complete with pot belly stove. Knowing he used to enjoy the medium, I casually inquired if he had any old carts that he could sacrifice, and he replied with equal casualness, that yes, he thought there were some stored in one of the sheds placed around the property. There was about 6 inches of freshly fallen snow covering it, but we unlocked it, and sure enough there were a few boxes containing some frozen tapes. There were several goodies, but this Quicksilver Messenger Service cart caught my eye. It had lain dormant and unloved for about 40 years, and when I got it home - Hosanna - it played like new!

This is the first Capitol release by one of the quintessential San Fran Jam bands - a sterling psychedelic outfit, founded by John Cippolina, David Freiberg, and Dino Valenti (who is not on the record because he was in jail for marijuana possession, although one of his tunes, Dino’s Song is represented).

They melded a jazz/pop sensibility with a freewheeling (but scrupulously rehearsed) spirit of psychedelic experimentation characterized by interesting chord and tempo changes, viola, and spiky raga guitar filigree - this was a tight band that created an illusion of looseness.

I recorded and posted my own version of the album’s opener, Hamilton Camp’s Pride of Man in tribute, because I was so moved by QMS’s rendition.