Happy Trails

I don't recommend riding a horse while high on hallucinogenics. Just sit down and listen to some old psych rock, it's much safer for both you and the horse. I love psych, it's part of the appeal of the generator for me, and I'd stumbled across a dusty old copy of this record that was being given away for free because the outer sleeve was split, inner sleeve missing, record itself dusty enough to set off a sneeze fit because it had been sitting around unprotected for goodness knows how long. I gave it about as good of a cleaning as I could without an ultrasonic system and actually played it for the first time tonight, the night I got it from the generator. It's noodly psych shit. I can definitely see why a lot of the generator user base might not enjoy it. I'm having a great time, though, and salvaging this dirty old vinyl was a worthy project.

Fans of the Grateful Dead will enjoy the half-hour long ramble through Who Do You Love, though I don't think their improv chops are quite up to it. Still, I enjoyed it.

I found this album to be self indulgent and frankly, boring.

If you've been aching for a chance to listen to a live album that captures that 1960s San Francisco jam sound in a very safe, unchallenging way, you've come to the right place with this LP.

massa guitarreo per mi pero oke. like sta be pero igual no es la meva vibe... igual com una escolta sencera en comptes de album sta guai, bastant trip.

I'd never heard of Quicksilver Messenger Service before listening to this album, and that's a shame. This was such a fun listen. Take the jam session style of Grateful Dead, but with a healthy dose of acid rock thrown in. The first six tracks of Happy Trails are a jumped up rock-meets-jazz cover of a blues staple. I also find it hilarious that they end the album with a little old-timey western ditty. I will definitely be listening to more from this band.

What a trippy and beautiful album. Loved this.

We already got some heavy psych from this list, courtesy of Blue Cheer and Iron Butterfly, and they had some catchy and notable singles. There are songs I like from Quicksilver Messenger Service, but they're not on here. 'Happy Trails' is long but it rarely gets into a groove, and the production felt flat to me. My favorite tracks were probably 'Mona' and 'Calvary' I guess. I have a favorable opinion of these guys but I couldn't find anything noteworthy here.

Felt three times as long as it actually was. I think I'd like this if I was already into the band, but this is my first time hearing about them, so... I'll stick with my preferred bloated, overindulgent 60s albums, thank you.

A whole lot of Who, What, Where, When, How... and Which? What is this, some kind of Spanish Inquisition?! No one ever suspects the Spanish Inquisition! 4 stars

When I first heard it, I didn’t even think it was that bad - just another one of those trippy hippie things from the ’60s. Today, a day later, as I’m voting, I don’t even remember exactly what I heard - in other words, just another one of those albums that, IMHO, is by no means something you have to hear before you die. But since there are worse ones on this list - much worse ones - I’ll give it a 2, and move on to the next one!

Rock

Phew. Psychedelic rock as one long blues session, with lengthy improvised passages and hypnotic repetitions. Music designed for use whilst on mind-altering drugs, no question about it. But that also means that, with a clear head, this drivel is far less exciting and even a bit annoying, especially as it sounds like it comes from an era of countless albums that celebrate exactly this kind of sound. Musically, from today’s perspective, it’s not enough for me: bands like The Doors, Jefferson Airplane, Cream, Vanilla Fudge, It’s a Beautiful Day, Iron Butterfly and so on have more to offer. Maybe you enjoy them, if you're into Grateful Dead. Which I'm not. This is not my cup of tea.

Fuck me, that went on a bit. It was only a handful of tracks but they all seemed to last a lifetime. Musically it wasn't bad, just very slow and monotonous. I actually quite like this style of music, but I wouldn't find myself reaching for this again.... ever, but I could understand why some people love it.

Can’t say I really get the point of this one.

4.5

3.5

This is just a crazy San Francisco Psychedelic Rock album. The first half of the album Is the extended jam of the song “Who Do You Love?” (By Bo Diddly) With streaming it’s easier to look at all these “When You Love” , “Where You Love” , etc etc as separate tracks, Instead of part of one long song. The songwriting notes on this “Suite” says that other members contributed to the songwriting of this “track”. This is true album and those sections all sound better as a part of the whole arrangement (with of course the hook of the main song being the ear candy) Second side of the album is also decent with some more normal type Blues tracks but goes into noodling overboard with “Calvary”. These songs are more about soundscapes and being lost in them. It feels like an album from this era and is more about the journey than any specific songs. I wouldn’t put it on all the time but I do enjoy. Especially listening to it on an actual turntable Light 4/5

1. Who Do You Love - Pt. 1 - 5/10 2. When You Love - 7/10 3. Where You Love - 4/10 4. How You Love - 5/10 5. Which Do You Love - 5/10 6. Who Do You Love - Pt. 2 - 7/10 7. Mona - 7/10 8. Maiden Of The Cancer Moon - 6/10 9. Calvary - 5/10 10. Happy Trails - 7/10 OVERALL - 5.8/10

Apparently I listened to this at some point because I have Mona saved in my liked songs on Spotify. Or more likely I just heard that song randomly and liked it. I'm not a huge fan of jam bands but I do like long songs with multiple movements so we'll see how this goes. Yeah so this is not that, this is definitely jam band and not well thought out and executed compositions. The first side drags a little and really falls off towards the end before picking back up a bit. But still, you can only hear the same people play the same phrases and pentatonic scales for so long before you're bored of it. Side two is pretty much just a continuation of side one. Nothing new is introduced and there is a ton of dead space. You could condense this whole album down to a 7 minute song and it would be a better use of time. I suppose this is on the list because it's representative of psychedelic jam bands from the 60s but I don't think I would listen to this one again. 2.25/5

Some great riffs in here, particularly the first track, then its just musical masturbation

1. I'm beginning to think this list is subjective (Sarcasm) 2. I just got my 2026 edition of the book, and while the book is at home and I am at work, i am looking forward to reading the why behind this one. Like why? 3. Perhaps tomorrow I can have an album I'm familiar with or one I'm excited to listen to. This is something. I don't hate it. I think the best review I saw said you had to be there, and maybe being there would make it better. 2 out of 5.

This was inoffensive and made for solid background music. I’ll give it a 3

Many questions about who, how and where to love. Not sure why.

Still not a big psychedelic fan but there was something here for me to enjoy. I really liked the instrumental arrangements throughout in a way that I haven’t with other things that have felt jam-band adjacent.

Covering a 3 minute song with the entire side of an album was a choice, but one I ultimately liked. My initial feeling on this is Grateful Dead but with a bit more structure that I can chew on. The B side had its moments as well like the western feel of Calvary. Tough one to rate honestly as its a bit of a hidden gem for me, but with the surprise worn off its great but not elite.

A cool jam album, it kind of teaches you about an extended jam session through Who Do You Love Part 1 the three tracks that complement it between and Part 2

This disappears up its own arse fairly quickly and doesn't manage to sustain my attention consistently enough. Shame as there are some very capable musicians making up this band.

more avant garde inspired than I expected on some tracks, but overall sounded very much of that era of bay area jam band rock that has been very influential, not just sonically but in the image of what rock should look like. Found myself feeling bored and not engaged on this. Maybe it's like the Grateful Dead said about their music -- it couldn't be understood unless you're on acid too.

Kind of a generic classic rock / dad rock sound. Decent enough, but nothing really stood out

I was already somewhat familiar with Quicksilver Messenger Service, mainly through their song "Fresh Air," which I really enjoy for its groovy, psychedelic sound. So I was curious to hear more from them, although Happy Trails turned out to be quite different from what I expected. One thing is immediately clear: these guys are incredibly talented musicians. I really like their blend of psychedelic rock, blues, old-fashioned rock and roll, and even a little Western flair. Their extended take on Bo Diddley's "Who Do You Love" certainly shows off their abilities, with some impressive guitar work and interesting shifts in rhythm. The problem is that, despite all that talent, I didn't find much here to really grab onto. Much of the album consists of extended instrumental jams, and while some sections have a great groove or introduce interesting sounds, others just seem to wander around without going anywhere particularly exciting. I can appreciate the improvisation and musicianship, but after a while, I found myself waiting for something new to happen. There's only so much jamming I can take before I'm ready for an actual song! Still, it's an interesting combination of sounds, and I certainly wouldn't call it a bad album. I just wish there were a few more memorable moments between all those guitar solos. A solid 3 out of 5.

Oh, great, a 60s band that I haven't heard of. And the entire first half is songs whose titles ending in "Love". Fantastic! Naturally, it's basically just a meandering rock album with no sense of direction whatsoever. The songs are generic and overlong, with generic vocals and generic sounds. There's nothing interesting about this album and nothing that gives it a case for being on the list.

Hated this

It was alright not amazing

This kind of psychadelia is just not my thing. 2/5

1969 acid rock at fillmore east Who do you love

„Happy Trails” ist das zweite Album der US-amerikanischen Psychedelic-Rock-Band Quicksilver Messenger Service, erschienen 1969 bei Capitol Records. Der größte Teil entstand im November 1968 live im Fillmore East in New York und im Fillmore West in San Francisco. Nur „Calvary” und der Titelsong wurden im Studio nachgelegt, welches Studio das war, lässt sich nicht belegen. Beim Genre bleibt es nicht beim Acid Rock: Blues und ein Schuss Country sind überall zu hören. Die gesamte erste Seite nimmt die „Who Do You Love Suite” ein, Bo Diddleys Nummer, auf gut 25 Minuten gedehnt und in sechs Teile zerlegt. Cipollina und Duncan teilen sich Solo und Rhythmus, im Stereobild sauber getrennt, und man hört, dass sie einander zuhören. Cipollina selbst hielt das Ganze für einen Zwei-Akkord-Jam. Das stimmt vermutlich, und trotzdem wird es nie dünn. Auf Seite zwei kommt Bo Diddley noch einmal mit „Mona”, getragen von stampfenden Toms und Freibergs pulsierendem Bass. „Calvary” läuft über 13 Minuten und lässt sich Zeit. Am Ende steht „Happy Trails”, nicht einmal eine Minute lang, mit schleppendem Gesang von Greg Elmore und Honky-Tonk-Klavier. Nach dem Vorangegangenen ist das ein Witz, der genau richtig sitzt. Platz 27 in den US-Charts und Gold zeigen, dass das damals nicht nur Insider so sahen.

This feels foundational. Would I reach for this album typically? No. But I had a pleasant (and productive) morning listening to it at work. It’s jam band adjacent, but I don’t hate it for some reason. Maybe because it’s somewhere between jam band and sound track in its vibe, I find it more tolerable? Anyways there’s something here about how this album influenced many artists that came after. QMS walked so they could run. Yadda yadda. I don’t have a music degree. I’d say this inspired as many decent bands as it did god fucking awful jam bands who thought noodling with their boys would sound this good. This album likely has an aggressively net neutral impact. It’s fine, but things that came after were both great and grisly.

7/10

Interesting bits here and there, but globally unremarkable.

Not what I expected given the band and album name (and album art), but I enjoyed it

There are better quicksilver albums and better live ones - this was a hippie relic played on fm radio but guess you had to be there - and be pretty stoned

Yesss! This is music aligned with my DNA, I recognise it as if it's a blood relative.

#280/1001 🇺🇸 There is a time and a place for this album, without reading into it - i thought this had late 60s San Fran (live at the Filmore) written all over it. Turns out i was right. I'm sorry but a 25 minute - 6 part take of a Bo Didley tune is just too much. Then following it up with another 7 minute cover of another Bo Didley track is just a little bit more than a tribute. I don't deny that it would have been thrilling to see live but its not doing it for me today. Best track: Happy Trails.

I didn't realize this was a live album until the second listen, the energy wasn't there for a lot of the album and it ran a little long for my liking

This album is pretty much built around one guitar riff. It’s nice at times, but every couple of songs the groove fizzles out and then comes back with some minor variations on the theme, and it gets kind of tired by the halfway point.

Nice psychedelic hippie jam, it was good

One of the surprise so far on that challenge. I don’t know what to say about that record. It’s very rocky, and I like to think that sometimes it was improvised. Problem is, I don’t know if I like it or not. I was listening to it at work, and I wasn’t paying attention that much, so that’s a good sign, but I wasn’t looking around because there was a good riff as well. I think on the end, there’s good flashes, but not enough to really appreciate it. 2/5. Who Do You Love, Pt. 1: 2 When You Love: 2 Where You Love: 2 How You Love: 2 Which Do You Love: 2 Who Do You Love: 2 Mona: 2 Maiden of the Cancer Moon: 2 Calvary: 2 Happy Trails: 2

Quicksilver Messager Service is the San Francisco hippie band from the 60s that most people have never heard of even though they were highly influential in the scene at the time. You can tell that they were part of the same acid rock scene as Grateful Dead and Jefferson Airplane. What makes Quick Messenger Service distinct is the dueling guitars, two distinct styles playing off each other. The guitar playing on this album is fantastic! Before giving this album a second listen, I read that it embodies the live music scene at the time and this knowledge made the album even more enjoyable. What an interesting time and place to be able to experience today through the music that was left behind.

What an odd album. The whole time I listened to it it felt like I was listening to a Doors-like band playing other people's blues numbers--really just paying homage to Bo Diddly--but at the same time I was sort of mesmerized with how well they avoided the seemingly-inevitable noodling aspect of epic jam sessions. This was particularly true for the "Who do you love suite", which managed to take up the whole first side and yet seemed well-paced even without much in the way of vocals. I'm not sure if they were just particularly disciplined when they played at the Filmores East and West, or if they were always on the same page when they played together, but I really appreciated how this largely-live album rarely descended into Grateful Dead/Colonel Bruce Hampton/Phish-like endless wandering (the odd spaghetti-western-soundtrack-like "Cavalry" had its moments, I'll admit, possibly because they ended up using a studio version). I'm not sure I'd intentionally revisit this album, but I'm glad to have heard a late 60s San Francisco band that knew how to keep it together. I also wonder if Van Halen was inspired by these guys to end "Diver Down" with a fun a cappella rendition of "Happy Trails"?

It's pretty underwhelming from the off, with lots of generic noodling rather than properly defined songs. It's the kind of noodling and jamming that doesn't seem to have much purpose or overall form. It's kind of weak and meandering with no proper connective tissue. The second half seemed to start with some promise of doing something a bit more cohesive, and then almost straight away turned to pretentious wank. It's the type of music that takes itself way too seriously. I'll concede... some moments have some real atmosphere to them (like sections of 'Cavalry') and I have to credit the musicianship at times. But let's be honest, this is mostly shit. The album cover couldn't be further removed from the content on here, apart from the last track, which is jarring. Weird. 1.5 rounded up.

There isn't much promising in the prospect of a twenty minute jam on the Bo Diddly Beat. But, to the credit of Quicksilver Messenger Service, they put a bit of movement and variety into it. At least until the guitar solos start. Maybe it is self-disgust, but, when the guitarist achieves no better than I would do under the same circumstances - quavers wandering up and down the scale; nothing close to narrative or expression - I can't give them much credit. A jam is a lot of fun and I'd be having a great time if this was me and my band. Twenty minutes is nothing. We could honk on this for hours. But that doesn't deserve to be on a record. It lacks the daring and abrasiveness of the improvisations on Tago Mago say, which would be still more fun to play than to listen to. But, for all the SF freak scene may have been far out, this improvisation is well within the limits of a talentless hack like me. 1.5 Listening to this I was reminded of Billy Corgan and the fellow up the front who interrupted Billy’s long, feedback-laden solos with a cry of ‘play a fucking song you baldy bastard’. Of course we all knew that Billy had very good songs he could have been playing and I wasn’t sure that Quicksilver Messenger Service did. So I listened twice with as much good will as I could muster. 1/5

It sounds like a 50 minute jam and it's alright.

i don't know maybe in the future

Album #174: Happy Trails - Quicksilver Messenger Service Genre (W): Psychedelic rock, acid rock No singles. I have listened to this album once before. Thoughts?: This album drags a lot, it ends up getting boring pretty fast when it’s the same sort of playing for over a half hour. Favorite tracks: Mona, Cavalry

Really enjoyed that, could be a 5 on relistens

3.5

Sounds like if the Grateful Dead had a standing appointment to listen to Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds every Wednesday evening

It's an album-long jam session, which gets tedious near the end. But overall this is a good jam session. Less pretentious than a lot of other late-60s odysseys because it sticks to rock and roll and doesn't try to invent a new form of music.

не думал что мне зайдет когда понял что это психодел рок сразу какое-то пренебрежение появилось однако, если поместить меня в рамки психодела, то я могу это слушать, местами занимательно и не уныло, не скучно, атмосферно и динамично пока что нравится, но психодел в целом я бы не переслушивал) 3.0

Yeehaw. Yippee ki yay, even. This is obviously some hokey country music, though truth be told the 1969 release year is throwing me. Seems a bit too late for an album of this nature, so I should probably gear up for something a lot more gimmicky. My only possible guess is a very very very early psychobilly album. Perhaps garage rock too, since that's more in line with the time when this album released and psychobilly was obviously influenced by the aesthetic. Eh. Psychobilly seems more correct to me. Here goes. Psych/acid rock. That figures, though I think I can be forgiven for being dead wrong. It's mostly a live album, too. That's doubly surprising. I can respect these jam albums. As far as I'm aware, the only other jam albums on the list are "Kick Out the Jams" and "At Fillmore East", so the representation has definitely been modest to this point. I could even appreciate some of the musicality of this album. The songs follow a steady and clear trajectory, culminating in some satisfying guitar riffs and pleasant rippling embellishments. The instrumentation has a good sound, too. I dig the rumbling, bassy sound and snappy percussion. However, like all jam albums, this music ain't built to last. The music is lacking in complexity due to its one-track approach, and as a result my attention regularly drifted in and out while listening to this album. It doesn't help that this album is pretty long, too. I definitely could have gone without hearing Cavalry, though I guess you gotta fill out your album somehow. All in all, I thought this album was an alright time. Book time. "Unlike most hippie bands from San Francisco's Haight Ashbury scene, Quicksilver Messenger Service were able to transfer their wide-eyed on-stage sonic exploration to the studio." The book cites their debut album as an example of such. The "Who Do You Love" suite "...remains one of the most vibrant psychedelic jams ever put to wax." and is broken into six parts, with the "central four" (I assume that's referring to the middle four songs as the book doesn't mention which four are the most important) being focused around the different members of the group. The entry closes by saying that "The album remains the clearest snapshot of the band at the height of their improvisational powers, and its influence can still be heard in the jam-band music of today." Wikipedia says this album was well-received by the handful of critics that reviewed it, with the album making it onto a few best-of lists (strangely, the Wikipedia page doesn't mention its presence on this list). The album peaked at No. 34 on the Canadian pop charts and No. 27 on the US pop charts, but didn't chart anywhere else. Sure, I'm on this album's side. I cosign this inclusion.

Smooth, blues-y rock. Pretty good, though the only thing notable about the album is that it came out in the 60s.

It’s listenable.

Surprisingly OK

6/10

3/5 Jam band vibe

Very interesting listen. I've always liked the band name and album art. My folks had this on vinyl but don't know if I ever listened to the whole thing. It starts out with "Who Do You Love Pt I" and then run through 3 psychedelic songs called like "How you Love" "When you Love" etc. before coming back 15 mins later to "Who Do You Love Pt II." One of the best album setups of THIS IS THE SAME SONG?!?! haha That was 2 sides and the next 2 were just some more regular songs rather than the 1 big one. Very creative. Sounded like an influence to Zeppelin & "Moby Dick" that came out later the same year.

I liked this a lot for being all instrumental!

OK what a journey. even learning about the story behind this album is insane. Love this era, love this style of music, very fun

These guys clearly had a lot of fun doing what they did here, but it didn't really hit me.

Good album

Pretty sloppy.

Has its moments but it tended to drag and I was never sure where these "trails" were leading.

com essa capa eu jurava que viria outro country meia boca que eu detesto, mas simplesmente é um acid rock viajadão muito do massa. apesar disso, faltou uma faixa pancada preu gostar mais.

Yea this was a bunch of nothing

And there was me hoping for a good album today.

vannak rajta jó dalok, de alapvetően nagyon pszichedelikus és hangulat kell ahhoz hogy hallgasd

The 27 minute Who Do You Love jam is unreal. It’s hard for the rest of the album to live up to, and it doesn’t

Was not a lot to grab me on this one with the long low key jam session style songs. The light rock/ psychedelics can work in other settings but here I had to struggle to pay attention, especially through the Love medley.

This might have been cool in 1969. But feels like you had to have been there. Doesn’t hold up or work as an album and definitely don’t think anyone needs to hear this. I really wish they just put on a Bo Diddley album on instead.

So stupid

This was horrible

обложка красивая

At a certain point, this record became good background music for my morning. Unfortunately, that doesn't say a ton in regards to the substance of the album and they way it (didn't) capture my attention. A fun effort, if not a little flat and self-indulgent at times.

It goes on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on.....not a Jam-band kinda guy, so this is lost on me.

I want to like QMS so much. I keep trying. My absolute favorite genre is psychedelic rock from the late 60s, but QMS just doesn't do it for me. I find it boring and uninspired. I feel like they are all drugged out and barely have the energy to get through a song. Not for me no matter how hard I try. However I LOVE the guitar sound and effects.

Greatly anticipated listening to 60's that I havenDisappointed. Not what i expected. Dissappointed. Music seemed confused and non cohesive

One long dragging on song throughout!!!

Insanely great jam on that first half but if I'm being completely honest, I probably would've used 7 minutes of that time to quick use the bathroom and buy another beer. I've never been a big appreciator of QSMS but they've got a great vibe and cut their teeth alongside the Grateful Dead, Country Joe, and other SF rock scene legends, so of course they're due a little respect

This was sick, totally deconstructed jam session spin on Who Do You Love comprises side one. Side Two is a little bit slacker but still has some deep grooves you can melt into. I think this has incredible focus for what it is.

Unsurprisingly, this is very very good. So versatile.

Honky tonk

Late 60’s psychedelic rock band

The 25-minute Bo Diddley "cover" jam sesh isn't doing it for me. Long, meandering crap. Doesn't sound terrible for a live album I suppose. The content really just isn't for me. The second half of the album is more long, meandering jammy crap. It's capped off by a half-assed out-of-tune "Happy Trails". Good riddance. A live album has to be REALLY good for me to enjoy it, and this definitely isn't that.

This really isn't what I thought it was. I was expecting a solid country album, but I got an *extremely* solid epic, jamming rock album. Happy Trails is largely instrumental, and while it doesn't reflect the country aesthetic of the band's name or the album's artwork much, it *does* manage to conjure the sparse majesty of the high plains with epic guitars, sprawling songs, and dynamic ideas. I had to do a lot of Midwest highway driving today, which may as well be what this thing was made for. I am very pleased.

Better than Coldplay

Almost every song sounds the same. Not for me.

Can noodle on guitar. But my god is it dull.

Great guitar tone. The jamming goes on a bit long for me though.

2nd half was a bit better - but not much