Reviews (page 3 of 8)
Normal
Got sucked into this right from the first note. Kind of made me think of I’m in your mind fuzz by king gizzard with the wobbly guitars and how the tracks blend together. So good. I need to listen to more pyschadelic rock
I thought we were maybe on to something for literally one song. Then we fell into the same old problems with 60s psychedelic rock. Jams that can be described generously as aimless and more honestly as noisy
There's no defending that Where You Love interlude and Calvary was truly a Golgotha for the ears but I thought this was a clear cut above most of what the Grateful Dead shat out in this era mostly thanks to a lot of that driving Bo Diddley beat.
Even as a fan of psychedelic late 60's rock, this is disgustingly indulgent. I guess it's cool they riffed on a simple pop rock song for 25 minutes, but not cool enough for me to come back to this album again
Izgubljena karika između grateful dead i television znam da je nekom ovakav stil gitarskih nudlanja dosadan ali meni je sjajan
Probably one of the few jam-band albums I can listen to all the way through. Not bad, overall. I thought it had a good flow. Some really interesting techniques used, too, especially for a live show. Definitely a background sort of album, not one to focus on for too long. No favorite track this time, because it's really all one song.
It's been a while. The floaty, not sure what they're doing next bits are my favourites.
What if allman brothers were more psychadelic n less racist, for better or worse
60s guitar rock, with a lot of guitar solos and good intrumentals Favorite track: who do you love other picks: when you love, which do you love, mona, calvary
Los álbumes instrumentales no son lo mio
a faixa where do you love me lembrou um pouco AnCo na era Hollinndagain
This is fine. I like the jazzy rhythm section. Pretty tedious though. Probably really fun to play, probably would have been cool to see at the Filmore. Not that fun to listen to while going about your day. Getting pretty deep into pretentious territory. My dad loved this, and I've gotten old enough to no longer see that as a negative, but rather as a positive in a nostalgic kind of way. Too long, 2.5 stars, I think rounded down because there's no way this is a must listen to album. Very minor feeling. I've already forgotten most of it.
pretty fun listen, probably wouldn't listen again though
Rock solid blues rock.
I enjoy the experimental nature of the album, particularly the Calvary track. Overall, the album is a bit dull. 3.
Yeah it's pretty good! Hadn't heard QMS before, and it's kind of a Stones-meets-Dead crossover, a bit more bluesy than most Grateful Dead stuff. Very psychedelic rock. Interesting exploratory parts. I'm not usually one for long-form improv, but it was an above average listen that kept me hooked in.
This would make good background music but too much of one thing to sit and listen. I like the style a lot, but it's too repetitive. I might nab the title track for a playlist from time to time; I'd almost never listen to the album as a whole.
Sounds like a boring ripoff of the Doors and a half dozen other late '60's rock/blues-rock groups.
yeah, i wouldnt listen to it. like its really absolutely not my style. at all
Started out alright but quickly descended into the realm of wacky. I can see why Calvary doesn't get many listens. I want to be generous and give it a 2 but genuinely don't think I can with the 13 minutes of noise.
Had this on twice and my brain largely ignored it twice. Not one to revisit. The instrumental tracks were better than the ones with vocals. The album artwork is a thing of absolute beauty though
I had to listen to this a couple of times but I think I enjoyed it. Psychedelic, and bit experimental, and varied. I still can't remember all that much apart from some jamming and weirdness even after a few listens, but it's something I could listen to again with pleasure.
forgive me father for i have judged an album by its cover. i thought i would hate this but this was actually quite enjoyable.
I quite enjoy the track titles here for the first half, even if they feel a little forced. I have heard another version of who do you live which I think was more powerful and I prefer, but this is alright...oh the other tracks are just parts of this track as a jam... Ok. That makes sense, but is a little disappointing in an interesting titles sort of way. Some of this jam is quite fun, some of it exists, none of it is bad, it's just quite long and over the years my tastes have moved away from this approach to music a bit. Yeah, the longer this has gone on. I don't dislike it, but it doesn't keep my attention, the lack of vocals on most of it doesn't help, but there isn't much in the way of song structure that I can tell either (although, as I said I drifted off from it a bunch). It's fine. Not unpleasant, but I can live without it. Oh, the last song is dreadful though. Meh, I'll leave it as a 3.
For an album that's essentially only 5 songs, it's pretty good. "Who Do You Love - Pt. 1", "When You Love", "Where You Love", "How You Love", "Which Do You Love", and "Who Do You Love - Pt. 2" are all essentially one conceptual song broken into six parts. Imagine if Rush broke their song 2112 into each individual act as an album track. That's how this series of songs was essentially created. It's also cool that half this album was recorded on the east coast, and the other half was recorded on the west coast of the USA. Really gives a deeper meaning to that beautiful oil or acrylic painted album cover. Despite this album releasing in 1969, it sounds quite contemporary and has that "Local band playing at the local dive on a Thursday night" vibe. The Who Do You Love Suite is just a great jam session from start to finish. Nothing really offensive besides it being 25 minutes. What really gets me about this album is how it just keeps going and going. It definitely started to feel like the songs were going on just for the sake of going on, and not that they needed to. The 7-minute "Mona", the 13-minute "Calvary", the 6-minute "Where You Love" did not do much to introduce anything new. It seemed to drone on and on in the same 5 chords while the guitarist just shredded for the whole song. Overall 4/10. Needlessly long and drawn-out.
Some interesting pieces of music on the album, but some real meandering parts as well. Liked the bluesy parts of "Who Do You Love". 2.5/5 Might listen again
It was an OK album.
First time listening to QMS, really liked this quite a bit
weird and captivating mixture of styles mostly psychedelic rock with folk influences. enjoyed it a lot but it's hard to put in words...
It's fun Will I listen to again: 50%
stressin me tf out stop that
Why is this on the list? It’s not even close to the definitive version of Happy Trails, and then there’s a bunch of random jazz noodling. 1⭐️
first listen i dig it
Underrated
Heavey psychedelic album, I appreciate it but after a while you've heard it all, and those long songs can get repititive. It's not bad at all, but I don't know not in the mood for it. 1. When you love 2. Happy Trails 3. Who do you love - Pt1
Very Doors like
First off, this album kicks major ass. If I had a time machine I would go back to the late 60's in San Francisco. For me, the psychedelic rock scene of that period produced some of the greatest music of all time and you could go see some killer live music every day of the week. Secondly, a bit of a rant. This album starts with a 25 minute version of a Bo Diddley song, but the entirety of this book is devoid of a Bo Diddley album. The most egregious omissions of this book is it's lack of real blues music. By my estimation there are only 5 actual blues records on the list. No Howlin' Wolf, no Buddy Guy, no Big Mama Thornton, no Butterfield Blues Band, no Fred McDowell, no Mississippi John Hurt, no Magic Sam, no Freddie King, No Albert King, no Otis Spann, no James Cotton, and on and on and on. I don't have many soap boxes but this is one of them. But anyway, highly enjoyable listen for me. The recordings of these gigs at the Fillmore West in '68 had the Grateful Dead on the bill also, it must have been jam band heaven.
I really enjoyed this. From the same school as the Grateful Dead. Some great rocking out and noodling.
I have decided that the reason whomever chose the albums for this 1001 Albums picked a lot of live albums because the groups and individuals adlibbed so much of the material, which might work in a live setting but not necessarily in an album. The problem with having songs that were so long, is that I'm always checking to see just how much longer I have to listen to it. Really who needs songs that are 5, 6, 7 and even 13:13 minutes long?...ugh! There were some tracks I wouldn't even call music just random sounds put together like, "Where You Love", what was going on? Rhythmic clapping, is that music? So, I looked up the definition of music: a) vocal, instrumental, or mechanical sounds having rhythm, melody, or harmony, and b) the science or art of ordering tones or sounds in succession, in combination, and in temporal relationships to produce a composition having unity and continuity; so, by those definitions then rhythmic clapping can be considered music, doesn't mean I want to spend 6:07 listening to it. There were segments of "Calvary" that I really liked, just not all of it. I wished it wasn't 13:34 long.
Really cool album, very ahead of its time. It’s always a blast discovering San Francisco psychedelic acts from this period of time, each one has clear streams of influence but all have their own take on that movement. Definitely an album that is better consumed as a collective piece and not by each individual track, but this shouldn’t be shocking given the through composition on the A side. I like this album and will definitely be exploring more of their work. Favorite track: Who Do You Love - Pt. 1
Ok i listened to the album of the day today actually for the first time ever and it was actually sick i think i could get into this (ill make luke give it a listen too)
7/10
A good album, I liked Mona, Which Do You Love and Who Do You Love Part 1 the most.
The Who Do You Love suite was awesome. Was most of that improvised? It felt improvisational. The second half was solid too, Calvary was cinematic and psychedelic. Although, I have a feeling they meant Cavalry as it lends itself more to the theme of the album title but I’m not sure.
The doors?
Nej, detta var inget bra. Möjligen för insatta musiker för herregud.... Det var gitarronanerande i evigheter. Denna delen av 60-talet tycker jag var jobbig, den psykedeliska av personer höga på acid typ. Jag fick stänga av efter ett tag, pallade faktiskt inte denna röriga ljudbild. Dock kan jag förstå att musikerna är sjukt duktiga. Musiken är bara inte för mig.
Seemingly endless jams at times but I was able to listen to the entire album which is quite an accomplishment based on what I've been getting lately. After hearing the terrible vocals on "Happy Trails", I can understand why this album is so jam-heavy. Still, not bad.
This was another one of those "how did this get on this list" albums. Like, really? It wasn't bad, just underwhelming.
Mostly liked it. Some parts of felt like it went off the rails.
Always knew about it, never listened to it, bloody love it!
really enjoyed this album, flowed really nicely and it was a nice grope to it, loved the old rock vibe to it, great listen
80’s Rock ⭐️How You Love
This is a genre I hate and the whole side A was one meandering cover of a song that's been better done. Yet it was strangely peaceful and interesting. This is an album that benefits from headphones so you can hear the stereo.
Highlight: Who Do You Love - Pt 1 & Pt 2 and How You Love. 3.2
Meh
Very fun jam record
It started out so well with me being a guitar player I love solos and all the working of guitar playing. But Which Do You Love was completely pointless to even listen to, and it just went down hill from there.
started as a 4 then quickly fell into what I can only describe as a Doors inspired jam band with a guitarist who doesn't understand the art of not playing to give space.
2.2 2x not great
Sounded familiar and unfamiliar at the same time
I enjoyed this. Its era was instantly recognisable, and the first comparison that sprang to mind was the Grateful Dead. This ain't the Dead, but it's good music nonetheless.
For the most part the actual content of the album ranges from decent to pretty great, but a big issue for me is how there’s such a lack of distinction between songs. There’s too much of a blended sound that results in mushiness instead of each song smoothly flowing into the next. The most captivating songs stand out by making their presence as individual tracks known with intensity. The loud and bending guitar is such a draw, but I don’t think it’s fully utilized. It’s a solid record when it manages to break away from the standard, but pretty forgettable when it doesn’t. Faves: When You Love, How You Love
Mindless filler for album 741, a brutal blow to my determination. Just go listen to The Doors instead. 1/5
Call me a guy on Lexapro the way I hated finishing. 50 minutes felt so so long. At some point this reminded me of Danganronpa (derogatory)
honestly, idk what other people were on about, this is great. nice little jam
Didn’t even realize there was music playing
Ok noodle fun
50 minutes of absolutely fuck all
Enjoyed the first half
A most enjoyable ride
Didn’t need this really.
Great document of the scene but never transcendent for me
I enjoyed this a lot more than I was expecting. Good long-form hippie guitar noodling. 7.8
A few good spots here and there, but a lot of this is kind of aimless in a bad way.
This is one of those albums that I am not sure why it is on this list. Possibly because of it being "live". I usually tune out of jam bands and songs. Stuff like this album make. It was just not engaging, though they are talented and the solos/riffs were cool at points. Vocally they did nothing for me either.
I just don’t like jam bands. This isn’t the worst jam band album I’ve ever heard, but I’d rather not have had to listen to it.
Psychedelische rock is niet mijn ding
Hasn't aged well, unfortunately. As much as John Cipollina and Gary Duncan are local legends in the SF psychedelic scene, this effort is more of a relic than timeless. The 25-minute "Who Do You Love?" suite is actually not bad, as far as guitar jams go. The rest, however? Not at all worth exploring. Simply long, self-indulgent, and often banal. Must have been really cool when it came out, but we don't really need to listen to zoned-out jams with long, noodly guitar solos and no discernible structures. Why is this in the book to represent improvisational music from the '60s, when so many amazing jazz and even rock improvisers from the same time period are shunned? I refuse to believe there wasn't any room for at least one Ornette Coleman, Don Cherry, Pharoah Sanders, Sonny Rollins, or Alice Coltrane album, and yet this made the cut.
I wanted to like this... but didn't.
Quite innovative band, I like the tune, but not better than their contemporaries
Quicksilver Messenger Service may not be as big as The Who, Rolling Stones, The Doors, Beach Boys, Grateful Dead, and all the other legacy 60s acts, but they are firmly just as important as they are. Psychedelic rock took a lot from the blues, where QMS took more influence in classical which made them stand out in the rather lavish SF Psychedelic scene. The band members themselves never really sought out being big personalities and tended to stick towards their music. Happy Trails is a good capture of the band live at their finest, where the psychedelic part of psychedelic music/rock really shows off. QMS doesn't really have a standout album, mainly their debut and this and a greatest hits album or so. But if you were there, in the 60s, they were absolutely one of THE bands to see that people raved about. Though their music kept going, other music genres and niches outgrew them past the 70s, especially within their own genre with the Grateful Dead outgrew them in overall popularity and influence. Quicksilver Messenger Service still has that precious spot in history as one of the more focal bands of the late 60s San Francisco music scene.
Album No. 0170 on my list. “Happy Trails” by Quicksilver Messenger Service was a completely new record for me, as I had heard of neither the band nor the album ever before. “Fun cover, fun band name” I thought and started listening… … and was a little disappointed. I have some respect for the fact that this album is basically a live album, recorded in both the Fillmore East and West. And I like the idea of the first side to create six connected songs (“Who/When/Where/How/Which/Who Do You Love”) was kinda nice. But the songs forming this chain were, well, just okay and rather a bit boring, and I didn’t enjoy the second side in particular. No song stuck in my head at all, except for “Mona” maybe. So, one could say: interesting ideas, questionable execution. I will add “Who Do You Love - Pt. 1”, as well as the aforementioned “Mona” to my playlist. 2/5 stars.
70’s classic rock that was one note, did NOT turn on my love light …
I had never heard of Quicksilver Messenger Service prior to this listen. Half of the album is their cover of Bo Diddly's "Who Do You Love?" is stretched to allow for experimentations and improvisations. It's actually pretty great! The rest of the album is kind of groovy and surf-y in ways that I find very satisfying. Things do kind of peter out with the title track "Happy Trails", despite being wholly appropriate. So close to a 4, but for now, a 3 out of 5.
I'm guessing this band was better to see live than hear live. They really seem to like the song Who Do You Love and I think they like that Bo Didley beat a little too much.
Pretty good
The Bo Diddley jams on the first side and first song on second side were interesting but only because I hack around with guitar. I don't understand why critics rave about it. Perhaps it's interesting if you want a sense of a live show back then.
It was fine
It seems that Hendrix and Clapton ushered in an era in which relentless guitar solos and aimless jamming became commonplace. Hendrix and Clapton could pull off the indulgence of guitar hero theatrics because they had the talent and electricity to back it up and make it thrilling. (Particularly Jimi) This album contains a lot of that indulgence, and becomes a tiring listen pretty fast. The musicianship is decent, and I'm going to reserve 1 star for albums that are unlistenable. Not an essential album
Sounds a lot like Derek and the Dominos. Very Eric Clapton style guitar parts. Very good!
My taste in 60s music came mostly from my mother's record collection (Beatles/Doors), plus surf music from being born and raised in Surf City, USA. I never managed to get into the San Francisco scene of that era... I saw the Grateful Dead for the experience rather than their music. As a result, very little music of that area during that era has really resonated with me. This was the first time I recall ever listening to this band. It's alright, but nothing I feel I need to pursue anytime in the future.
Solid stuff happening here
This album has one iconic song and then the rest sort of felt like filler, so 3 stars
0/10 bekannt 3/10 Beste Songs: who do you love (pt.1), who do you love (pt.2), maiden of the cancer moon Versteh ich nicht
This was like one giant “who do you love?” jam and it was a journey! The rest I could take or leave, but that huge multi-part thing was great.
I love jamming but it needs structure and rhythm and this doesn't have it. Pointless live album for the 1001.
Overall: 3/10 This felt like 2 reallt bland and boring songs. There were moments that I started enjoying it but they never lasted very long. Fav Song: Mona
Very much a 60's album. The entire first half of the album is pretty much one song, and the second half isn't all that different. Like contemporaries, they use this as a springboard to turn it into some hellish and endless psychedelic jam. Screeching guitars and this almost tribal atmosphere to it for pretty much the entire record. It's not an album I always want to listen to, but when it hits it really hits.
Nada mal la primera canción, sigo escuchando las que siguen y me parecen interesantes...
A mostly live Jam album featuring some Bo Diddley covers, I can see why some might like this if this kind of thing is your...well, jam.. lol But I was just not as into the overly improvisational nature of everything. The songs seemed to go nowhere, leaving me feeling a little left out in the cold, even though the individual musicianship was pretty great. As I get older, I find that Jam Band type stuff just isn't as mind blowing or rewarding as it used to be when I was younger. This album isn't bad, it's just not anything I would seek out in a record for listening purposes.
Un bouillon très brouillon pêle-mêle de tsssiirRKK hnooooOOOUUARGH et de youRGouurYOORGHHHH
Jam jammy jam jam jammy jam snooze.
Another nothing album
This was good background music for a very stressful day at work but I don’t know that it’s something I would listen to again voluntarily (nothing really stood out to me/impressed me.)
cool shyt
Summer Of Love! Sex, Drugs, Rock'n'Roll! Zeitdokument. Nicht mehr, aber auch nicht weniger.
Cool listen, music was vastly different from what the cover suggested.
Rather odd album
im in the far far west or what ?? Ah no it's the deeptimize open space this sounds quite avant gardiste for the time mostly pretty easy listening 2 tbh
This was a pretty solid album.
Kind of a mess of an album and I'm unsure if I like it or not. It has a very raw, live, improvisational feel to it. The solos feel more freestyle than intentionally crafted. This gives the album some character but it also makes it feel a little unfinished. Shout out to the very creative naming of the first 6 songs as well.
Live music....should be heard live. A jam band playing someone else's tune. It's fine, just not as an album.
It was fine
Not for me
Not in my jam band appreciation era.
Nice. Nothing really stands out to me personally.
Fucking hell. All these Americans complaining about this list being British centric (which it isn't - they just need to look at the stats) seem to be silent about the slag heap of late-sixties' US psychedelic dross that runs through this list like a tab of brown acid shits. Boring noodling, shitty lyrics masquerading as something deep but only a brain fried 14 year old would really think they are and the kind of improvisation a toddler would have when bashing on pots and pans. This album is so tedious I doubt even a heroic intake of drugs would make this seem enjoyable. It might be a 2 star but I'm so fucking sick of these terrible bands that it's getting a 1. Fuck off US 60's psychdelia. You were shit then and you are shit now. Best Tracks: Who Do You Love (Part 1); When You Love; Mona
How on earth is this required listening? The album is alright but that's about it.
I think I fell asleep when I first listened to this album. But after relistening I still couldn't tell you if that was the case. It's a good time though.
I listened to this album with Percy while chilling on the couch of my apartment. This album was a pleasant listening experience, though not one which I found particularly engaging all the way through. The instrumentation is good, and the album mostly serves to highlight the guitar-playing throughout, but there is not much in the way of hooks which actively keep my attention. A handful of songs do cut through the flow of the album and stick out to me more than the others, with the 13-minute Calvary being a surprising highlight, but for the most part this album breezes on by. Which is not to say it was an unpleasant experience, of course, just one that doesn't particularly stick with me. Highlights: Who Do You Love - Pt. 2, Mona, Calvary, Happy Trails
Wow they weren't kidding when they said this was just an excessively long blues noodling session. Devoid of any substance or meaning or relevance.
Opening with multiple movements covering Bo Diddley's "Who Do You Love?" in various ways is an interesting choice. Good enough cover, with the group adding their own pizzaz. The second side is...also more covers. I guess I was looking for a bit more? These psychedelic/acid rock albums from this era don't really impress me much anymore. I think I've heard all I've needed to hear.
Jam bands usually get on my nerves and this one was no exception. DNF.
Pretty repetitive and boring.
nice
I like blues psychedelic rock as much as the next guy but this was boring
Creí que era un disco de música country... por la portada, eso es lo que pasa por juzgar solo con lo de fuera. Resulta que es un disco de rock de una banda con un estilo que me recuerda a muchos momentos progresivos, psicodélicos de The Doors. Interesantes.
Not what i expected when I saw the cover. Who knew a song could inspire so many.
This was more complex and intriguing than I expected. Nothing crazy or mind-blowing but a step above still. In general for music I think there must have been something magical in the air in the late sixties-mid 70s
Not sure we’ll meet again.
Like The Doors but for people who cannot be arsed with Morrison. Enjoyed the beginning and was ready to listen to more but it was a bit samey and waffley from halfway. 2.5 rounded up
Mediocre at best.
Quite chill instrumental
That's not my taste in music - But ok
I kinda like the way this album starts with a Bo Diddley cover that then proceeds to spin out of control to dominate the first side. The rest of the album is much less good.
I was expecting country based on the cover... but actually a pretty solid album!
I think I have to be in the mood for an album like this. Bluesy riffing. Today I was not in earnest
This was fairly enjoyable. Calvary was a sweet track.
boring
Not a bad album, limited vocals. Would probably listen to again. Didn’t have a favorite song from it, but overall it was a good album.
I don't believe I've ever heard of this artist before. This seems like the kind of band I'd like to sit in on a jam with. I quite enjoyed this, and I think I'll add this to my collection.
Fine! Not my favorite rock album, leaning too much on the guitar riffs than vocals for my taste. But interesting and innovative.
this was a nice psychedelic surprise
Partly nice, partly interesting, partly simply 60s music
It's ok
This album is not terrible but the problem is after 50 minutes you feel like all you have heard is 2 or 3 really long songs. That’s not terrible but parts of these songs are and sound like me noodling on guitar or some random noises that don’t work I feel like. Who do you love is pretty good but the George thoroughgood version is much more iconic and I prefer it especially as I saw it live.
Donc cet album est un live. On ne dirait pas tant que ça parce qu'on entend rarement le public, mais en même temps, c'est un peu une sorte d'album studio quand même, c'est un peu bizarre. Bon, en tout cas, il faut aimer les longues séances d'improvisation et les morceaux instrumentaux un peu psyché qui durent des plombes. C'est mon cas, j'ai bien aimé cet album.
Jamming out and noodling is underhated as a genre. Made me angry the longer I went on and I didn’t make it to the end.
sounds like a bad cover band that plays 1am sets at the worst bar in america
I mean...alright.
I really appreciate that they asked the rest of the questions pertaining to your love.
Knew within the first five se ones I’d be bummed. there’s a problem when I’m hoping for a country album
Psychedelic rock is up there with singer/songwriters in genres that make me want to be deaf
Not what I expected. Still good.
Aurais eu 4/5 si la pièce qui les a inspiré (Who Do You Love) avait été leur composition. 3,5/5
Not a bad album but also not sure what qualified it for this list.
É um forte 3/5, não estava a espera de um álbum progressivo em que a maior parte das músicas encaixam umas nas outros. Quando estava na terceira música fui ver há quanto tempo já estava a ouvir a primeira e foi aí que percebi que ja tinha passado há muito. Solos de guitarra longos e poucos vocais. Certas músicas fizeram-me lembrar os The Doors e outras partes de músicas fizeram-me lembrar Pink Floyd, mas lá está... todas bandas de rock progressivo/psicadélico, é normal que tenham aspetos semelhantes. Boa surpresa.
4 stars - liked a lot! Makes me feel productive!
Why play a 2.5 minute song when you could play a 25.5 minute song? On the one hand I guess this is how classical music works? You have motifs and build and manoeuvre and shift mood within an extended suite of work. I've also had listened to many albums on this list that have had less variety than this one side. And some people like soundtracks because they offer length and mood over rhythm and melody. So there's that. But on the other hand, I myself will never ever listen to this again because it's boring and drags on forever. When I think "Who do you love?" I think of Bo Diddley barking a command, over gravel and guitar. It's a catchy hook. You heard it in your head just reading it. What you didn't hear is 25 minutes of self-indulgent phrasing, mindless meandering and generally beating a dead horse around a bush.
eh
It was a fun album and one that I would like to play. I need to carefully relisten.
To quote another review: "A song I vaguely know followed by 40 minutes of what sounds like people tuning their instruments, concluded by the worst version of Happy Trails I've ever heard."
who gives a shit
A lot like the Grateful Dead. If the Dead never sang in harmony. And only played variations of “Who Do You Love?” over and over with different lyrics.
The short title track almost cost them a star, but this jam band’s 27 minute variations on “Who Do You Love” brings it back up. The audience participation at one point makes for a special moment in music.
Pretty good! If I'm feeling psychedelic and Allmans or Dead just aren't cutting it, these guys would be my next go to.
Very meandering.
Its a good album! My girlfriend love one of their songs!
Weird.
Can see the appeal but not for me. Maybe another listen
Just really not my thing. I'd never heard of this band, so wasn't familiar at all with their music until I looked up the info. I have to admit that I went in a bit biased, as any time I see an album where the whole first side is just one song, I know it's probably going to be tough for me to listen to. Sounds to me like so many other jam bands. I don't hear anything extraordinary with this album.
mooi album met een superjam als eerste kant...
A very experimental live psychedelic rock album with a surprising amount of jazz influences. I reached some sort of flow state while listening to the whole thing and will be listening to it again. Banger in my opinion.
3/5 Very charming little album. I enjoyed it a lot but it did kind of become background music for me after a while. Still, though, very charming and I enjoyed it.
Who Do You Love
Pretty funky
3.2 out of 5 stars for this album. I liked SOME of the guitar parts, but I felt there was a lot of just tangents and weird experiments (better than Sonic Youth's Daydream Nation) with the guitar work. Overall, I appreciate it, but not going into my library.
pas pour moi
Ok
Quite like the cover of Henry Ramsay’s Mona Some of the rest of it was alright, better than I was expecting (which was not that much based on the album cover!)
An odd album or guitar noodling cover versions, without the other component parts of what makes a song work. I found some of it enjoyable especially where there was percussion to help along. One or two of these type of songs would work well on an album but not the whole dammed thing!
Love this sort of psych rock jam thing, so this is a nice surprise. Some great guitar leads and playing off each other. Drums quite Krautrock like, and a nice dancing/walking bass. What’s not too like, it’s nice to hear some musicians just enjoying themselves around the theme of songs and not feeling too restricted. Very jazz like. Genuinely don’t understand the hate in a lot of the reviews of this. But to end on, while I respect another reviewers opinion that Henry from Neighbours did a superior version of Mona, I do disagree, but will concede it is a close call.
This album has some really cool and interesting Psych Rock passages especially from it coming out in 1969, but there were also large sections of this album I found to be very boring. The later half of this album does kind of drag on. I do like how all of the songs transition into each other though. Mid 3.
I mean, yeah, it's good. But I'm a little over the extended jam session on Every. Single. Song. They all start to sound the same after a while.
Didn't know much about Quicksilver Messenger Service. Some kind of hippy jam band. I like Bo Diddley though, and was intrigued that the whole first side of this album is listed as a song suite based on the wondrous 'Who Do You Love?' Turns out it is just an extended live jam which soon ran out of steam. Oddly, though, I enjoyed the bit where they seemed to get bored and just experimented with some different guitar sounds. Side two started with another Bo Diddley cover: slowed down again but with more bite. Rather good and I liked this side better. It had some inventive guitar work, using feedback and sounds that are closer to the stuff I usually like. Not exactly Sonic Youth territory but not so far removed from it. Is there any actual Bo Diddley on this list?
This is one of those "jam bands" isn't it? Fuck.
Not a lot of singing but it still sounded good
Mid
Groovy but stale at times. Sounds like not a horsey album
Too many instrumental songs
No singing good vib but meh
another instrumental jazz...did not finish
A lot of guitar solos and sometimes disturbing combinations of sounds
Much respect for making a suite out of a little bo diddley number. I tried to check them out in my Tom Verlaine phase, and did not necessarily see the connection, but it's pretty clear now, with spotify enhanced availability. Cool guitar, and I suspect woefully underrated by the chuckleheads here.
Not my cup of tea.
A long jam session. Mostly music, not much singing.
This I didn’t overly get on with
i feel like they wanted this to feel like a psychadelic cowboy trip, but instead it kind of just felt like greening, just being uncomfortably high and overwhelmed by everything. good album but its giving me traumatic drug flashbacks to highschool. i wouldn't return to this
i like the grateful dead more because i love throwing on a messy fun set and luxuriating in it for 3 hours but this is perfect for encapsulating that into a tight studio album, which the dead of course were famously not great at
errr… maybe it's a good album if you like instrumental music
Patiko, fainas
more unknown bands... this one is very quiet, even when they go crazy with their performances it's never too loud, making it hit easier on the ears when you're playing it through the record player's speakers. many tracks are about love. who, what, where, when, why, how... about the concept of love. this album started off typical, but as the record continued to play it slowly went from cool sleazy trippy rock to dudes playing dissonant riffs in a wet cave. very peculiar, groovy and murky, this album is... that weird limbo that ended off the '60s in terms of rock and roll.
Felt a bit long, but wasn't terrible. Low 3/5.
Jangles along nicely, this bit of late-60s rock. Not spectacular, but you'll be nodding away at the blues-inspired guitar work.
There were some parts I liked but mostly too self-indulgent for my tastes.
Late 60's jam band rock. Only a couple of songs have lyrics at all. Cool music, but not an album to listen to for anything other than background music. Pitchfork: n/a Rolling Stone: n/a
Decent enough background music. Gave me The Doors vibes at times. Wasn't bad but certainly wasn't memorable.
It's ok
Oh shit the Happy Trails song
6/10 Favourite: Who Do You Love (Pt. 1) Least Favourite: Mona
Really odd album. Sounds pretty good but it’s so weird.
4.20 / 5 Oh boy, the critics weren't nice to this album. Judging by the fact that many pointed out the psych rock direction, I figured that it might be worth listening to. So hwg. First thing to notice is that "Happy Trails" has some interesting proto-desert rock vibes to it which is quite enjoyable. Many listeners probably don't like it cuz they link this kind of music to Vietnam or some shit, idk but I think it's cool. It reminds me heavily of Somali Yacht Club, Naxatras, Samsara Blues Experiment and other Psych/Desert/Stoner Rock bands. I honestly enjoy this stuff.
Weird and groovy psychedelic rock from the 60s. Apparently recorded live for the most part. Impressive. 7/10
Y’all really thought we needed to hear this? This sounds like I got drunk with my friends and pressed record.
Not the country music I expected, but some pleasant psychedelic rock. It wasn't outstanding, but I listened to it twice, so it can't have been too bad. This definitely felt like a live performance, as it seemed to be only very loosely structured, with the first side being a jam over one song, split into sections, and the second half being dominated by a load of tracks that ran on into each other. Three stars.
Okay psych rock record, nothing standout or particularly memorable
Epic jams!
its for times like this i wish there's more 80s synthpop and more britpop. 2/5
Another classic rock band I've known of for ages, but have never listened to. Now I wish I had a chance to see them live. Might have been a bit better with a few more originals, but the 25+ minute "Who Do You Love" jam wasn't exactly your typical cover.
Eh .... I guess I wasn't in the mood for, or did not expect this to be Woodstock-like jam performances. I got bored early on.
Nope
Great album not many songs to pick out but as a whole it’s a fun listen
While definitely very impressive guitar skills, this album moves along rather unremarkably. I was quite bored, but it wasn’t terrible.
Un poco de psicodelia y un poco de rock 🩷
Erg leuk
This album became a point of contention around the table about 15 minutes on. The general family consensus was he needed to start sing or the playlist needed it change. I explained that these long instrumental interludes were common in late-60s psychedelic rock. That didn’t ease the crowd. Admittedly, the five songs between Bo Dudley’s Who Do You Love (Pts 1&2) was just one big solo that I imagine played out better live than on a single side vinyl. Side two had more variation, starting off with Mona (which was Hey Bo Dudley slowed down and jammed over). Maiden of the Cancer Moon was probably my favorite track because it had 1. Original sounds; 2. Concise jam session; and 3. ended pretty quickly but still made a point. This feels like one of those bar bands that made it big through a couple of records. However, for Deadheads, this album is gold. For me, it was pyrite.
Random thoughts: * I bet this was a cool band in the late 60s. Today, just kinda meh. * Obviously not as folky, poppy, and catchy as their brethren Jefferson Airplane and The Grateful Dead. * Was Steve Miller's "Quicksilver Girl" a nod to a girl who listened to Quicksilver Messenger Service? * I got a single delivery here and will probably be my last.
Let's see what we got here. Some good ol 60s rock? meh 2 stars
Fine, nothing special
Livealbum
This is like a 6/10 San Fran hippie jam album but then "Cavalry" hits and for one track it becomes a Godspeed You! Black Emperor album 30 years too early. The musicianship on this is special in a way I find difficult to describe. It's obviously not Zappa or Hendrix, but it's something so creative and charming. I usually hate hippie jam bands, but I've really fallen for this kitschy fuckin album.
It was fine, standard late 60s blues rock
Not a fan. Not the Dead and for the most part just a lot of warm up band sounds.
A 20 minute cover of a song I already don’t like, sub-tier impressions of The Doors, a band I already hate, and endless noodling when it, and excuse my possible foolishness here, when it sounds like you’re already not particularly proficient at your instruments!! There is a part in one of these songs that builds up to all the instruments dropping out, and you expect an epic drum fill, and the drummer just does the most basic fill I’ve ever heard. I could do it, and I don’t know how to play drums. I almost laughed out loud. It’s all just navel gaze-y and, honestly, pathetic! Not good at all, shouldn’t be on this list, shouldn’t even sniff this list. One of the worst things I’ve listened to for this project. I literally got engaged yesterday and the endorphins from that should have had me loving ANYTHING I listened to and this WAS SO BAD, I was like “nope, one star.”
A cool jam band album
It just kept going
Didn't like it
Enjoyed a big chunk of this one. Some really good guitar skills on show, one or two songs did seem to drag on a bit but I was vibing to it overall.
Not really my cup of grapes but I see the appeal if you like spaghetti jams
This was really fun. Not a favorite, but one I might revisit from time to time.
Good guitar game but kind of eh in other aspects? Not very memorable.
I’m surprised I hadn’t heard of this band before
I haven't been the biggest fan of the psychedelic rock on this list so far, but this really impressed me. I liked how it didn't sound just "jammy", it had a lot of variety in speed, structure and vocals. The tracks that really stood out were Cavalry and Happy Trails as the closer(s). A unique combo i was a fan of. Also the lead singer died from complications of alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency which is in my family. Some areas in the first half could have been a bit more engaging but all around i liked it. 3.7/5 -> 4/5
For an instrumental only album this was very entertaining
Wish I had seen these guys live back in the day because it seems like that’s where they would shine. This live recording is pretty decent but not great for me. 3.5
This album was quite a Journey. It started with a banger, after that there was a lot of "what am I listening to". Mona and Who Do You Love are definitely the highlights.
Erste Hälfte one note joke, zweite Hälfte ganz cool
Zu lange geratene Jam Session... Rauscht nervig im Hintergrund.
Ja nach Song drei hab ich's doch schon verstanden: ihr könnt gaaaanz toll Gitarre spielen. Technisch vll toll und ausdrucksstark aber nah an unhörbar.
Proto prog rock, bit of Cream, bit of Pink Floyd - I kinda like it but it feels a navel-gazey
At one point I thought a song (Calvary) was done so I went to check how many tracks were left on the album, but we were only halfway through that specific song.
Jag förstår inte riktigt, låter inte som ett album utan bara lite guitar wanking utan syfte. Calvary var den enda låten jag kommer komma ihåg
An acquired taste, that I haven't acquired yet
Very much my vibe, happy to discover this!
I don't know why it took these guys half an hour to play Who Do You Love, George Thorogood pulled it off in about four and a half minutes.
anytime I see the words "psychedelic rock" and "jam band" I should just prepare myself anyway, I liked this better than the grateful dead and I am sure they are having fun up there making noises on their instruments but I don't think I will ever enjoy this outside of a live setting
Enough with the psychadelic jam bands on this list! The hippies are all aging and dying off; let their crappy music die with them. 1 star.
Interesting tunes. Calvary is the highlight..
Fun listen once. Probably would've been GREAT to see live. Honestly I couldn't see it getting a lot of multiple plays though.
Amazing album. Looking at the date, name and album cover you'd expect some obscure country album but this is something truly different. It's very experimental of course but you could release this today and no one would say it's outdated. Compared to the more mild music of that time this stands tall and manages to surprise with every song.
Great album cover artwork. Strong jamming throughout. Overall, a fun record that feels like The Rolling Stones had a baby with The Allman Brothers. Some tracks do not offer much depth, but others, like “Who Do You Love – Pt. 2,” really shine as perfect, loose, jam-driven songs. It is an enjoyable listen from start to finish, even if it does not break new ground. Solid fun. 8/10.
gr00vy
Not awful but not remarkable. I unintentionally tuned it out for a while.
i dont really know what to think - sure its ok i guess, but could do with more?
стооолько инструментала. фоном норм, но специально слушать бы не стала
Saved a song: N RYM: N
4/5
I guess the guitars are kinda cool?
Recht nerviger Mix aus Country und Jazz. Idee gelungen, Ausführung misslungen.
I had this one on in the background most of the day yesterday. It has some good jam band grooves but nothing really jumped out at me.
Good for background music at work, but it wasn't enough to keep me actively engaged whilst out and about yesterday.
I'm not sure the riff at the center of "Who Do You Love?" provides enough coverage for 25 minutes of variations, and I'm sure "Mona" doesn't have enough to support even 7 minutes of runtime. I couldn't tell you about the rest; I bailed after a quick scrub.
Just don’t like jam bands
Who Do You Love Bo Diddly ,cover guitar intro rocks but ... When You Love 5 minute jam sesh is 4 minutes to long; I am sleepy now. Then 6 minutes of Where You Love...ugh. thank the goddess that How You Love was only 2 minutes. And so on.... Listened before? N Saved tracks? N Favorite tracks? ⭐ Ambivalent but NO
But why, though. The highlight was the "low battery" warning from my earbuds. The low point was definitely the title track. Oof. Listened before? N Saved to library? N Favorite track(s): N/A ⭐: Hated it.
Decent! The first side being one long song is fun. Good album
- Quicksilver Messenger Service, huh? Imagine trying to send a message through them… we’ll get your letter to its destination, smelling like patchouli, sage, weed, and B.O., in approximately 1,000 business days, after taking every scenic route and stopping for a few peyote breaks. You’re never getting that message, and if you do, you’ll wish you hadn’t. It’s not their fault! They thought the stamp was just another tab of acid. - Oh no… now they’re grunting and tribal clapping. - I can’t imagine being at this show, even off my face… standing there wishing the song(s; it feels like one long song) would please just end - thinking about how my feet hurt. - The lead guitarist is good and has nice tone, but it's still not interesting enough for me to ever reach for this album. - The first half was much better than the second half except Where you Love, which was painful, and I was getting really tired of it all by Who do you Love (Pt. 2). The second half, except some of Mona and Maiden of the Cancer, was a chore. - The vocals are good enough when they’re there, but there isn’t enough of them.
In which some dudes spend three quarters of an hour workshopping a couple of Bo Diddley's vital classics and, despite the band's technical chops, somehow make the music turgid and stale. Absolute toss
If I went to a bar and a psych band was jamming out to some Bo Diddly I would be all for it. The music on this album wasn’t bad by any means but I don’t think it really deserves a spot on this list. 4/10
Too much drugs, too little talent.
No idea what was going on here. Sounded like an average high school garage band.
Who/When/Where/How/Which/Who (again) plus love is a fine naming gimmick for half your record I guess. I wish I found the songs more interesting. On a positive note, this is a tight live performance. Maybe you had to be there.
Not what I was expecting exactly based on the cover and band.
Jam band nonsense, big skip
I expected to like this more than I did. It perhaps requires LSD to enjoy properly, which is hard to convince my wife to let me do on a Tuesday.
The Good: We are on happy trails! The Bad: They lead nowhere… The Ugly: The messenger service wasn’t quick enough… Not my cup of tea… The only positive thing I can say about out this is that the album title reminds me of a Godley & Creme song “The Last Page of History”, which is followed by this insanely great song which nobody knows, but I do… So, thanks to this, I spend a lovely 44 minutes listening to an album which is NOT on the 1001 list, because Mr Dimery seems to think that my life will be better having listened to this crap… 2* for it being music...
Interesting to start, but gets repetitive
Well with the listen too. Never come across this album so will listen again later.
Interesting choice and not one I would have thought to have made this list. Is it rocking? Sure. Gives great counter evidence to the Dead era country psych stuff, but also not an essential rock album IMHO. Fun, brash, and loud. Great semi deep cut on a vinyl night.
Jam band, pretty good for background noise while working, nothing stands out as particularly notable.
At the equator that separates song and jam sits Happy Trails. And as befits an equatorial climate, it’s a hot and sticky sort of record; teeming with a diversity of brightly feathered and dangerously-toothed wildlife; prone to the most dramatic, most rancorous thunderstorms. Across 10 jams – and that’s what they feel like; though don’t be fooled, nothing here is happening by accident – Quicksilver produce a heady atmosphere that’s all encompassing. It’s best moments can feel like they stretch over days – the sliding strings and droned feedback of “Where you love” that give way to a tribal feeling call and response of claps – or can blip into and out of reality in the scarcest of seconds (an arpeggio in “Mona” demands to have a whole album written around it but then just … disappears). Happy Trails offers precisely the right conditions for a grower of a record. And by the time “Calvary” is done with me, I’m sold. It’s that feeling of total freedom that follows turning on a big warm tube amp and plugging your guitar in, extended across an entire ecosystem of sound. Wonderful.
Not for me. Boring, discordant in many places, out there without any structure. Pass.
The late '60's were an absolute nadir for bands who thought they could change the world by noodling around a little bit. 1.5
The first half of the album is an awesome cover of Who Do You Love, the guitar is ridiculous. They’re a little psychedelic but don’t stray too far from good music, certainly plan on listening to it again.
Really enjoyed this album, the whole "love" suite was great, nothing terribly innovative going on here but some really solid blues psych rock. I had only known them for the single Fresh Air, but this is worth further exploring. 3.5 rounded down because six of the ten tracks are an extended cover of one song.
This morning's conversation with my husband: Him: "What's your album for the day?" Me: "Happy Trails by Quicksilver Messenger Service. It gets a 2.81 rating." Him: "Never heard of it. What genre?" Me: "Rock. Psychedelic Rock." Him: "Oh. Then you'll like it." 22 years of marriage and the man knows me. I did, in fact, like it. Not sure why, but it was decent music to have on while working. Much, much better than the Taylor Swift I suffered through yesterday. 3.5 stars, rounded up.
Not as iconic as some other psychedelic music but a pretty good listen.
Only slightly familiar with them, my first listen and natural instinct to categorize them was as “Grateful Dead with Live-At-Leeds era Pete Townsend on guitar.” Seeing they were actually SF contemporary of The Dead was completely unsurprising. It’s good, hard, but ultimately jam-band material that either grows tiring or doesn’t age well, at least not outside a live experience. I concede that it’s unfair to criticize/compare a live music experience to how it should plays in recording. “You had to be there, man.” Yes. Yes I did. It’s fine otherwise. Moving on.
Hey guys? Just because you had a good band sesh with the boys doesn't mean you have to put it on a self-congratulatory album, y'know? You can just enjoy the experience in and of itself.