Shady Grove (Quicksilver Messenger Service album)

Shady Grove is a 1969 studio album by Quicksilver Messenger Service.

Shady Grove
Studio album by
Quicksilver Messenger Service
ReleasedDecember 1969
RecordedWally Heider Studios, San Francisco, California,
July−August 1969
Pacific High Recorders,
August−September 1969
GenrePsychedelic rock, acid rock
Length43:26
LabelCapitol
ProducerJohn Palladino
Quicksilver Messenger Service chronology
Happy Trails
(1969)		 Shady Grove
(1969)		 Just for Love
(1970)

Recording

Nicky Hopkins, the English journeyman pianist who appears on albums by Jeff Beck, The Rolling Stones, The Who, all four of The Beatles and Steve Miller, joined the group for this album. Hopkins' influence is felt throughout Shady Grove, and his contributions pushed the group in new directions. However, David Freiberg's vocal presence makes the Quicksilver sound of the first two albums still apparent.

Hopkins re-recorded the closing track, "Edward", on his solo album The Tin Man Was a Dreamer, which features members of the Rolling Stones and the Beatles. (“Edward” was a nickname for Nicky Hopkins, made up by Brian Jones during a 1967 session at Olympic Studios in London. The story goes that Jones was tuning his guitar and asked Hopkins to give him an E on the piano; with other noise interfering and Nicky unable to hear what he was saying, Brian eventually shouted out: "Give me an E, like in Edward!")[1] "Joseph's Coat", co-written by John Cipollina and Nick Gravenites, also appears on Big Brother and the Holding Company's album Be a Brother, which featured Gravenites on vocals.

Original guitarist Gary Duncan does not appear on this album, having quit the band for a time.

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Rolling Stone(mixed) [3]
The Village VoiceC+[4]
MusicHound Rock2/5[5]
Select[6]

In his review of the album, for AllMusic, Lindsay Planer writes: "This somewhat uneven effort would sadly foreshadow QMS's journey from psychedelia and into a much more pop-oriented sound on their follow-up, Just for Love (1970). However, enthusiasts of those albums will find much more to revisit on Shady Grove than those who favored the first two records."[2]

Track listing
Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Shady Grove"P.O. Wands2:59
2."Flute Song"Denise (Kaufman) Jewkes5:17
3."Three or Four Feet from Home"John Cipollina2:58
4."Too Far"David Freiberg4:23
5."Holy Moly"Nick Gravenites4:20
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
6."Joseph's Coat"Cipollina, Gravenites4:36
7."Flashing Lonesome"Freiberg, Gravenites5:21
8."Words Can't Say"Freiberg, Jewkes3:17
9."Edward, the Mad Shirt Grinder"Nicky Hopkins9:10
Total length:43:26

Personnel

Production
  • Engineer – Dan Healy, Bob Shumaker, Dave Brown, Mike Leary
  • Mixing – Dan Healy, Quicksilver Messenger Service, Snarly Grumble
  • Executive producer – J. Palladino
  • Mixed at Pacific High Recorders

Charts
Album

Billboard (United States)

Year Chart Position
1970 Pop Albums 25

References
  1. Baron Wolman, Rocks Off: The Nicky Hopkins Website, http://rocksoff.org/nicky-solo.htm (retrieved 13 February 2012).
  2. Planer, Lindsay. "Shady Grove > Review". AllMusic. Retrieved August 29, 2011.
  3. Von Tersch, Gary (14 May 1970). "[Shady Grove review]". Rolling Stone. San Francisco: Straight Arrow Publishers, Inc.
  4. Christgau, Robert (January 29, 1970). "Consumer Guide (7)". The Village Voice. New York. Retrieved April 29, 2013.
  5. Graff, Gary; Durchholz, Daniel (eds) (1999). MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Farmington Hills, MI: Visible Ink Press. p. 912. ISBN 1-57859-061-2.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
  6. Perry, Andrew (November 1990). "Quicksilver Messenger Service Shady Grove". Select. p. 132.
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