Castles in the Sand

"Castles in the Sand" is an album by American psychedelic rock band Quicksilver Messenger Service, released in 2009 on the Charly Records label. An archive release from the West Coast rockers containing one of the first studio sessions by Quicksilver's then new line-up of Dino Valente (vocals), John Cipollina (guitar), David Freiberg (bass & vocals), Greg Elmore (drums), with the British session pianist Nicky Hopkins. Mainly acoustic, it took place in Corte Madera, California in late 1969/early 1970.The sound and mixes are excellent. The songs are often spontaneous, spare and unfinished in places and were likely intended as references for later development by the group. As such they offer a fascinating work-in-progress glimpse of this highly-talented group of musicians re-inventing themselves and developing new material under studio conditions. The booklet's sleeves notes cover the group's circumstances at the time of the recordings and the featured songs.