#154.Quicksilver Messenger Service - Happy Trails (1969)
Label – Capitol
Producer – Uncredited
Art Direction – George Hunter
Nationality – USA
Running Time – 50:08
Track Listing (standout tracks listed in bold)
1. Who Do You Love
2. When You Love
3. Where You Love
4. How Do You Love
5. Which Do You Love
6. Who Do You Love
7. Mona
8. Maiden Of The Cancer Moon
9. Calvary
10. Happy Trails
“Happy Trails” was the second album of the band Quicksilver Messenger Service, and turned out to be the last one with all the original band members. This falls under the category ‘band I had heard of, but never had listened to any of their music before’. What a JAMMING record this was!! I enjoyed this record immensely, and played it several times in a row!
The album, which was recorded live recorded at the Fillmore East and at the Fillmore West, is basically just two songs, Bo Diddley's "Who Do You Love?" and "Mona," with extended jam sections each given a specific track name. The first ‘side’ is "Who Do You Love?" split into an beginning and ending segment, with four distinct sections for the respective band members to show their stuff. ‘Side’ two - "Mona" and its companion piece "Calvary," continue in the same fashion. It all comes to a crashing end with a brief cover of Roy Rogers and Dale Evans' "Happy Trails," – which lends the album it’s title!
The playing is just top notch and it’s easy to see why QMS was considered the equals of Jefferson Airplane and the Grateful Dead in the early beginnings of the psychedelic music genre coming out of the Bay area in the late 60’s. Although ultimately not as commercially successful as those bands, this record proves that they were, for a time, their equals.
In 2003, the album was ranked number 189 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. It is HIGHLY recommended.
You can purchase the CD here, and the vinyl here
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