Significant in Quicksilver's development was the almost immediate arrest and imprisonment of Valenti for a drugs offence. He did not rejoin the band until late 1969. In 1965, the line-up was strengthened by the arrival of guitarist Gary Duncan and, replacing Sonoban, Greg Elmore.
They debuted at the end of '65 and played around the Bay Area and then the West Coast for the next two years, building up a large following, but resisting offers to record that had been taken up by such San Francisco acid-rock colleagues as Jefferson Airplane and the Grateful Dead.
Quicksilver finally signed to Capitol toward the end of 1967 and recorded their self-titled debut album in 1968. Jim Murray departed soon after their well-received appearance at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967.
The quartet of Cipollina, Duncan, Elmore and Freiberg recorded the first two albums; both were important in the development of San Francisco rock music, as the twin lead guitars of Cipollina and Duncan made them almost unique. The second collection, "Happy Trails", is now regarded as a classic. George Hunter and his Globe Propaganda company were responsible for some of the finest album covers of the 60s and Happy Trails is probably their greatest work. The live music within showed a spontaneity that the band were never able to recapture on subsequent recordings. The side-long suite of Bo Diddley's 'Who Do You Love' has some incredible dynamics and extraordinary interplay between the twin guitarists.
Duncan departed soon afterwards and was replaced by UK session pianist and ex- Steve Miller Band and Jeff Beck Group member, Nicky Hopkins. His contributions breathed some life into the disappointing "Shady Grove", notably with the frantic 'Edward, The Mad Shirt Grinder'.
"Just For Love" showed a further decline, with Valenti, now back with the band, becoming overpowering and self-indulgent. "Fresh Air" gave them a Top 50 U.S. hit in 1970. Cipollina and Hopkins departed, as did Freiberg following his arrest in 1971 for drug possession (he found a lucrative career later with Jefferson Starship). The remaining trio of Valenti, Duncan, and Elmore hired replacements and cut another couple of albums before disbanding by 1979.
Various incarnations have appeared over the years with little or no success. As recently as 1987, Gary Duncan recorded an album carrying the Quicksilver name, that also featured Freiberg on background vocals, but by then old fans were more content to purchase copies of the first two albums on compact disc.
Gary Duncan has a side project as Crawfish of Love.
Not many of Quicksilver's members are left. John Cipollina passed away, May 29, 1989, and the great Nicky Hopkins left us in September 1994, and Dino Valenti died November 16, 1994.
In 2006, Gary Duncan and David Freiberg launched a 40th-anniversary Quicksilver celebration tour as Quicksilver Messenger Service. They are still performing.
Throughout 2014 David Freiberg is touring with Jefferson Starship (40th anniversary tour) joined by Paul Kantner (original member of Jefferson Starship and Jefferson Airplane)
Fire Brothers
Quicksilver Messenger Service Lyrics
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One was dark, one was fair, followed by the hawk, mothered by the mare.
Stranger children you will never see, brothers of the forest and the sea,
One was land, one was air, and they kept the fires burning there.
In a golden vessel and silver vase, kept them burning in the strange enchanted
place,
Kept them burning to the sky, for they knew someday the sun would die
The song "Fire Brothers" by Quicksilver Messenger Service is a mystical ode to two magical beings who live in a valley where the moons and lovers play. These two beings are described as children who were born on Saturday, one of them dark and one of them fair. They are followed by a hawk and mothered by the mare, giving them an animalistic quality that ties them to nature.
Interestingly, the song refers to these two children as "stranger children you will never see," adding to the idea that they are not quite human or at least not quite of this world. They are described as brothers of the forest and the sea, with one being linked to the land and the other to the air. Together, they keep the fires burning in a strange enchanted place, using a golden vessel and a silver vase to keep the flames alive.
The reason for this constant flame-tending becomes clear in the final verse, as the song states that the Fire Brothers know someday the sun will die. This gives their task of keeping the fires burning a sense of urgency and importance, as they work to maintain a connection between the earthly and otherworldly realms.
Overall, "Fire Brothers" is a mystical and poetic song that uses vivid imagery to create a sense of magic and wonder. It draws on elemental and archetypal imagery to paint a picture of two mysterious beings who hold the key to keeping the fires of life burning.
Line by Line Meaning
In the valley where the moons and lovers play live two children who were born on Saturday.
In a mystical place where romance and natural cycles intertwine exists two siblings born on the day of Saturn in astrology.
One was dark, one was fair, followed by the hawk, mothered by the mare.
The siblings each have distinct physical qualities; one light and the other dark, and are under the watchful eye of a bird of prey and nurtured by a horse.
Stranger children you will never see, brothers of the forest and the sea,
The uniqueness of the siblings is unparalleled and they are closely connected to the natural world around them, having a kinship with both the forest and the ocean.
One was land, one was air, and they kept the fires burning there.
The siblings embody different elements, one with a connection to the ground and the other to the sky, and are responsible for maintaining the perpetual flame in their enchanted dwelling.
In a golden vessel and silver vase, kept them burning in the strange enchanted place,
The siblings use ornate containers made of precious metals to keep the fire burning in their mystical abode.
Kept them burning to the sky, for they knew someday the sun would die
The siblings keep the fires burning as a symbolic gesture to keep the sun in the sky, knowing that eventually, as with all things, it too will come to an end.
Lyrics © BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC
Written by: G. DUNCAN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Montgomery Denzer
on Fresh Air
Cool man