Customer Reviews

Dino Valente

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I got this record free back in the 60's. Someone gave me a radio station copy that wasn't needed. I played it. And played it. And played it some more. It's what?...25 years later. I still take a bit of quiet time e-v-e-r-y once in a while to close out the world and sit back to let Dino Valente's plastic voice soar and take my mind with it. His songs are not danceable. They are intensely personal observations about people, relationships, and ideas. You've never heard anyone like him. Before or since. I did a twenty page sociology paper based on the lyrics of "Children of the Sun" a few years later when I was in college.

Dino liked to do unusual things with his voice in moments of musical passion...skipping octaves, and gliding back down in sort of a whining slide to his original intended note.

I ordered another copy of the record when the first began to sound a bit worn. My second copy has seen better days. I suppose it's time to get a CD copy. [sigh!] But even though I no longer play it frequently, it's an album that I don't wish to be without when I need it.--Jim Jacobs

I am a baby boomer, turning (ugh) 50 this year but swear I don't feel it. I remember this album so, so very well from my 20's..."Children of the Sun" being my favorite. I went over to a guy's apartment and brought it with me and stupidly left it there. Now here I am with two kids in college, ordering Dino on amazon.com so I can play it for myself, and see if my daughters will feel his music the way I did. I love his voice and the guitars. I just ordered the CD and I am psyched to play it as loud as I want (Dad can't tell me to turn it down anymore) and either (a) get goosebumps or (b) say "What was I thinking?" Something tells me (a) will be my final answer.

First, I haven't heard the CD yet.

However, I owned the LP back in the 60's and can say without reservation that it is a powerful collection of songs that are both beautiful and subversive.

Incidently, one cut, Children of the Sun, was for quite a while the theme song of the counter culture movement on one important FM station in the San Francisco area (circa mid- to late-60's), and is worth hearing for its historical significance if nothing else. I'm trying to be objective. Actually, it is a collection of lyric, moving songs, enough said.

I surfed by with the hope that a CD version was available to replace my long missing LP. I'm just sharing my delight that these songs have not disappeared.

Be warned, this album will get under your skin.

Dino's poetic lyrics and mesmerizing style gave him a strong cult following in Greenwich Village and San Francisco's North Beach in the early '60s. One Dylanesque cut on the CD, entitled Shame on You Babe, might have been a huge hit had it been included on the original album back in '68. Dino went on to write songs and perform with San Francisco rock band Quicksilver Messenger Service. His one hit, Get Together, remains one of the most popular anthems of the era. Don't miss the mind-blowing Children of the Sun. Great album for folk/classic rock/jazz afficionados.

It's been scientifically proven that "Get Together", written by Dino Valenti (not on this CD) is the emotional center of that golden, innocent era. This CD is a musical and lyrical brother to that great song.

There is an innocence and naivete to Valenti that some may find silly... but personally I find it refreshing and life affirming to briefly escape back into the warm days of my youth.

The melodies and guitars are shimmering and beautiful, Valenti's voice is a perfect echo of 1969...warm and earnest and sometimes strident.

I briefly owned the 8-track tape 35 years ago, and debated over whether I would be dissapointed in the music if I purchased it now. In fact, I like it far more now than I did when I was 18.

If you like Valenti's more melodic work in Quicksilver, "Everybody's Been Burned" by David Crosby, "On The Way Home" by Neil Young... or if you just want to recapture "The Bright Elusive Butterfly of Love" (I'm laughing as I type this), I think you'll like this CD.

I remember "making out" to this album back when I was VERY young and now my youngest is about to graduate college. You do the math. But I always loved Dino's nasal voice and kind of whiny delivery of beautiful lyrics. Childen of the Sun was my favorite. I don't know whatever happened to him. Buying this on CD was so cool because it doesn't skip or remind me of the margaritas and beer we used to spill on our LP's. Can you imagine? Very cool to listen to and remember a different time.

This single eponymous, solo release from Valente of Quicksilver Messenger Service fame is, like the other reviewers have noted, definitely a relic. With that label comes certain connotations--it is a piece trapped in a specific time period, but it is also somewhat of a buried treasure. I've found both of these observations to be at least partially, but not completely true.

Dino's definitely representing a spaced-out hippie mentality with his style and romance-obsessed lyrics. That's true, but his sound on this particular record is pretty cool, with some sweet reverbed horns, 12-string, and a voice that sounds (at its best) a lot to me like Johnny Rivers. Unfortunately, this same production/arrangement sound gets a little bit bland once you realize that the entire album sounds basically the same, so the second half isn't too memorable. This isn't really helped by his spacey, second person lyrics, that leave some to be desired. In the end, it's kind of like a more amateurly-played "Astral Weeks" without strong songs. I can't really recommend any of the songs over others, since they are mostly about the same things and sound the same, except for "Me and My Uncle," which is actually a surprisingly good, dark folk-style ballad. Nonetheless, I do enjoy the atmosphere of this record, and would probably still buy it if I had a second chance.

In the liner notes, Dino is called the "underground Dylan." He may have played in folk clubs (but who didn't?), but aside from that and attempted hairstyle, Valente has little resemblance to Dylan's songwriting skills. Unfortunately, this isn't the missing link or keystone for your obscure record collection (but hey, you can't win them all), but like I said, I still do listen to it sometimes and don't regret buying it. You may enjoy it more than I did, but it may at least be worth owning regardless.

Dino Velenti sang lead for Quicksilver Messenger Service. In 1968, he recorded this album.

Dino on guitar. Dino on vocals. That is it. His voice is of course thick, raspy and excellent. The tracks are pretty straightforward. Don't look for the eccentricity of Oar.

If you do not get bored quickly this is a great album. You only have to really enjoy one texture--accustic guitar. Piece by piece you will find these are great tracks.

allthough i prefer the first Quicksilver album, this is a great opportunity to get to know the "forgotten" genius of Dino Valente.
I bet you girls will love it!

Dino Valente's 1968 solo album is as authentic a relic of the underbelly of the "SF Sound" as you'll ever find. Yeah, he has some weird and engaging arrangements, but there's also a strong element of the Mrs. Miller-y, so-bad-it's-good phenomenon going on. Let's be honest - Dino sounded good when he fronted a loud band like Quicksilver Messenger Service, but as a folkish crooner, away from the electric guitars, it quickly became apparent that he couldn't really sing his way out of a paper bag. That's one of the things that makes this album a "classic" of sorts: Valente, in all his super-stoned, spaced out romanticism really pioneered the DIY self-expression of the 1980s/'90s "lo-fi" scene. This is a very personal, very uncommercial record -- a huge flop at the time, but an album that exerts an enduring appeal. If you enjoy artistic excess, you may really like this album. Perversely, it remains one of my guilty pleasures.