Unreleased Quicksilver: Lost Gold and Silver
As an overview of one of the trailblazing bands of the San Francisco sound, this two-disc assortment of unreleased studio and performance oddities takes a backseat to another two-disc collection,Sons of Mercury, a 1991 best-of retrospective from Rhino. That said,Lost Silver and Goldis of definite interest to devotees of the band and Bay Area psychedelia in general, as well as younger jam-band fans interested in delving deeper into '60s rock than theGrateful Dead. Quicksilver's foundation was the tandem guitar attack of John Cipollina and Gary Duncan, a duo capable of consistently inventive (if occasionally long-winded) improvisation. (Greg Elmore and bassist David Freiberg rounded out the crucial QMS lineup.)Lost Silver and Goldsupplements the lengthy live opening disc with a briefer set of unreleased demos, rarities, and soundtrack recordings that illustrate the group's strengths (terrific interplay) and weaknesses (shaky vocals).--Steven Stolder