Shady Grove is a 1969 studio album by Quicksilver Messenger Service. 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!") "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 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." Track listing Personnel Quicksilver Messenger Service John Cipollina – guitar, vocals Nicky Hopkins – piano, organ, celeste, harpsichord, cello David Freiberg – bass, vocals, guitar, viola Greg Elmore – drums, percussion Production Engineer – Dan Healy, Robert Shumaker, David Brown, Michael Leary Mixing – Dan Healy, Quicksilver Messenger Service, Snarly Grumble Executive producer – John Palladino Mixed at Pacific High Recorders Charts Album Billboard (United States) References Quicksilver Messenger Service albums 1969 albums Capitol Records albums Albums recorded at Wally Heider Studios