Copperhead (1973)

I received a copy of this album many years ago from a friend (five years gone, RIP) not knowing a whole lot about any band named "Copperhead" or their guitarist, one John Cipollina. Then again, other than the name, Quicksilver Messenger Service didn't register with me either. So this particular acquisition sort of fell out of the sky. The first track ("Roller Derby Star") clicked with me right away but the others took some time. And, as it turns out, this was largely a musical rejection of Cipollina's old band (QMS), so any particular knowledge of his past work wouldn't necessarily help here.

It turns out there was a huge amount of controversy behind this album. Copperhead had been around as an informal side project to QMS since around 1970, but sound and personnel issues were making Cipollina increasingly itchy and he completely broke with the band in 1972 and brought along a number of early QMS members and friends of the band, in essence forming a hard-charging "Anti QMS" band. They proved to be a strong live act and a major label deal with Columbia was soon inked. Unfortunately, their biggest fan, Clive Davis, was soon ousted from the label and they (along with just about every new band on the label) were jettisoned. The band quickly disintegrated following this development. A good chunk of the group including Cipollina landed in other Bay Area groups like Terry & the Pirates. Bassist Pete Sears, who left the band just before the recording of this album, a sort of "everyman" of Bay Area rock, probably enjoyed the most success, falling in with Jefferson Starship for the duration of its initial existence. Some reports indicate he dabbled with Journey, but that has been hard to verify.

Anyway, Copperhead's sole album goes in and out of circulation, though these days its pretty easy to find in convenient mp3 format. It looks like a live album, which goes under at least two different names, has also come to light and is readily available as well.