Consumer Guide Album

Quicksilver Messenger Service: Just for Love [Capitol, 1970]
Whether Happy Trails is one of the great live albums or (my theory) one of the greatly overrated ones, Quicksilver needn't have bothered--their studio LPs capture that ballroom ambience right down to the echoed vocals and the imprecise impressionistic accompaniment. And though the debut is more listenable, this beats it for sheer documentary charm. Complete with twin guitars and a "Ladies Section" on the jacket comprising twenty-six first names, here is the quintessential Frisco band--its writing folky without the roots, its playing jazzy without the chops, its concepts unencumbered by any sense of form. The big news is the return of Dino Valenti, but the big attraction is the quintessential Quicksilver anthem, "Fresh Air," as in "Have another hit." Plus those twin guitars--John Cipollina and Gary Duncan, we salute you. B−