GRAND FUNK
''SURVIVAL (BONUS TRACKS)''
2002
1971
73:11
1/Country Road
Mark Farner/4:22
2/All You've Got Is Money
Mark Farner/5:16
3/Comfort Me
Steve Cropper / Mark Farner / Eddie Floyd / Alvertis Isbell/6:48
4/Feelin' Alright
Dave Mason/4:27
5/I Want Freedom
Mark Farner/6:19
6/I Can Feel Him in the Morning
Don Brewer / Mark Farner/7:15
7/Gimme Shelter
Mick Jagger / Keith Richards/6:29
8/I Can't Get Along With Society
Mark Farner/5:41
9/Jam (Footsompin' Music)
Mark Farner/4:40
10/Country Road (Unedited Original Version)
Mark Farner/7:38
11/All You've Got Is Money (Unedited Original Version)
Mark Farner/8:19
12/Feelin' Alright (Unedited Original Version)
Dave Mason/5:57
Don Brewer/Drums, Vocals
Mark Farner/Guitar, Harmonica, Keyboards, Vocals
Mel Schacher/Bass, Vocals
REVIEW 1971
by William Ruhlmann
By the time Grand Funk Railroad came to make Survival in January 1971, Cleveland Recording had moved to new quarters, and the group had become a national phenomenon, its last two albums Top Ten million-sellers. They spent a relatively luxurious six weeks or so on the record, and the results showed; Survival was the best-sounding and the best-played album they had yet made. Such assessments are, of course, relative, however. The group's playing remained rudimentary, especially in the rhythm section, and its sense of song construction was simple and repetitious. Singer/songwriter/guitarist Mark Farner sang in a strained, limited tenor lyrics that yearned for basic satisfactions ("Comfort Me," "I Want Freedom"), then led the lengthy instrumental passages with either simple guitar patterns or simple organ patterns. The band's choice of covers, Traffic's "Feelin' Alright" and the Rolling Stones' "Gimme Shelter," indicated taste (and that they were short of material), but their interpretations were inferior. This may have been Grand Funk's first real studio album, but they still sounded like they hadn't quite figured out how the studio differed from the stage and what added dynamics might be necessary to make a recording successful.
REVIEW 2002
by William Ruhlmann
In his annotations to this expanded reissue of Grand Funk Railroad's fifth album, Steve Roeser quotes producer Terry Knight as saying that the band regarded Survival as their "studio album," a curious remark considering that they had made three previous albums in the studio. But those albums, recorded at Cleveland Recording, were rushed affairs and had been criticized for muddy sound. By the time Grand Funk came to make Survival in January 1971, that studio had moved to new quarters, and the group had become a national phenomenon, its last two albums Top Ten million-sellers. They spent a relatively luxurious six weeks or so on the record, and the results showed; Survival was the best-sounding and the best-played album they had yet made. Such assessments are, of course, relative, however. The group's playing remained rudimentary, especially in the rhythm section, and its sense of song construction was simple and repetitious. Singer/songwriter/guitarist Mark Farner sang in a strained, limited tenor lyrics that yearned for basic satisfactions ("Comfort Me," "I Want Freedom"), then led the lengthy instrumental passages with either simple guitar patterns or simple organ patterns. The band's choice of covers, Traffic's "Feelin' Alright" and the Rolling Stones' "Gimme Shelter," indicated taste (and that they were short of material), but their interpretations were inferior. This may have been Grand Funk's first real studio album, but they still sounded like they hadn't quite figured out how the studio differed from the stage and what added dynamics might be necessary to make a recording successful. The 2002 reissue adds a studio outtake, "I Can't Get Along With Society," that should have made the album; an early version of "Footstompin' Music" (which would turn up on the next album); and extended takes of "Country Road," "All You've Got Is Money," and "Feelin' Alright."
BIOGRAPHY
by Steve Huey
One of the 1970s' most successful hard rock bands in spite of critical pans and somewhat reluctant radio airplay (at first), Grand Funk Railroad built a devoted fan base with constant touring, a loud, simple take on the blues-rock power trio sound, and strong working-class appeal. The band was formed by Flint, MI, guitarist/songwriter Mark Farner and drummer Don Brewer, both former members of a local band called Terry Knight & the Pack. They recruited former ? & the Mysterians bassist Mel Schacher in 1968, and Knight retired from performing to become their manager, naming the group after Michigan's well-known Grand Trunk Railroad.
They performed for free at the 1969 Atlanta Pop Festival, and their energetic, if not technically proficient, show led Capitol Records to sign them at once. While radio shied away from Grand Funk Railroad, the group's strong work ethic and commitment to touring produced a series of big-selling albums over the next few years; five of their eight releases from 1969 to 1972 went platinum, and the others all went gold. Meanwhile, Knight promoted the band aggressively, going so far as to rent a Times Square billboard to advertise Closer to Home, which turned out to be the band's first multi-platinum album in spite of a backlash from the rock press. However, Grand Funk Railroad fired Knight in March of 1972, who promptly sued; the band spent most of the year in a court battle that ended when they bought Knight out.
Keyboardist Craig Frost joined the group for the Phoenix LP at the end of 1972. Following that album, the band's name was officially shortened to Grand Funk, and the group finally scored a big hit single (number one, in fact) with the title track of the Todd Rundgren-produced We're an American Band. The follow-up, Shinin' On, contained another number one hit in a remake of Little Eva's "The Loco-Motion." However, following Grand Funk's next album, All the Girls in the World Beware!!, interest in the group began to wane. Reverting back to Grand Funk Railroad, they remained together in 1976 solely to work with producer Frank Zappa on Good Singin', Good Playin'. Farner left for a solo career, and the remainder of the band released an album as Flint with guitarist Billy Elworthy.
Grand Funk Railroad re-formed in 1981 with Dennis Bellinger on bass and released two albums; only Grand Funk Lives even managed to scrape the bottom of the charts. The group disbanded again, with Brewer and Frost joining Bob Seger's Silver Bullet Band and Farner embarking on a new career as a CCM artist; his "Isn't It Amazing" was a number two gospel hit in 1988. In 1997, Grand Funk Railroad reunited once again to record a benefit album titled Bosnia; two years later, Capitol issued a three-disc box set retrospective, Thirty Years of Funk: 1969-1999.
DoWnLoAd
''SURVIVAL (BONUS TRACKS)''
2002
1971
73:11
1/Country Road
Mark Farner/4:22
2/All You've Got Is Money
Mark Farner/5:16
3/Comfort Me
Steve Cropper / Mark Farner / Eddie Floyd / Alvertis Isbell/6:48
4/Feelin' Alright
Dave Mason/4:27
5/I Want Freedom
Mark Farner/6:19
6/I Can Feel Him in the Morning
Don Brewer / Mark Farner/7:15
7/Gimme Shelter
Mick Jagger / Keith Richards/6:29
8/I Can't Get Along With Society
Mark Farner/5:41
9/Jam (Footsompin' Music)
Mark Farner/4:40
10/Country Road (Unedited Original Version)
Mark Farner/7:38
11/All You've Got Is Money (Unedited Original Version)
Mark Farner/8:19
12/Feelin' Alright (Unedited Original Version)
Dave Mason/5:57
Don Brewer/Drums, Vocals
Mark Farner/Guitar, Harmonica, Keyboards, Vocals
Mel Schacher/Bass, Vocals
REVIEW 1971
by William Ruhlmann
By the time Grand Funk Railroad came to make Survival in January 1971, Cleveland Recording had moved to new quarters, and the group had become a national phenomenon, its last two albums Top Ten million-sellers. They spent a relatively luxurious six weeks or so on the record, and the results showed; Survival was the best-sounding and the best-played album they had yet made. Such assessments are, of course, relative, however. The group's playing remained rudimentary, especially in the rhythm section, and its sense of song construction was simple and repetitious. Singer/songwriter/guitarist Mark Farner sang in a strained, limited tenor lyrics that yearned for basic satisfactions ("Comfort Me," "I Want Freedom"), then led the lengthy instrumental passages with either simple guitar patterns or simple organ patterns. The band's choice of covers, Traffic's "Feelin' Alright" and the Rolling Stones' "Gimme Shelter," indicated taste (and that they were short of material), but their interpretations were inferior. This may have been Grand Funk's first real studio album, but they still sounded like they hadn't quite figured out how the studio differed from the stage and what added dynamics might be necessary to make a recording successful.
REVIEW 2002
by William Ruhlmann
In his annotations to this expanded reissue of Grand Funk Railroad's fifth album, Steve Roeser quotes producer Terry Knight as saying that the band regarded Survival as their "studio album," a curious remark considering that they had made three previous albums in the studio. But those albums, recorded at Cleveland Recording, were rushed affairs and had been criticized for muddy sound. By the time Grand Funk came to make Survival in January 1971, that studio had moved to new quarters, and the group had become a national phenomenon, its last two albums Top Ten million-sellers. They spent a relatively luxurious six weeks or so on the record, and the results showed; Survival was the best-sounding and the best-played album they had yet made. Such assessments are, of course, relative, however. The group's playing remained rudimentary, especially in the rhythm section, and its sense of song construction was simple and repetitious. Singer/songwriter/guitarist Mark Farner sang in a strained, limited tenor lyrics that yearned for basic satisfactions ("Comfort Me," "I Want Freedom"), then led the lengthy instrumental passages with either simple guitar patterns or simple organ patterns. The band's choice of covers, Traffic's "Feelin' Alright" and the Rolling Stones' "Gimme Shelter," indicated taste (and that they were short of material), but their interpretations were inferior. This may have been Grand Funk's first real studio album, but they still sounded like they hadn't quite figured out how the studio differed from the stage and what added dynamics might be necessary to make a recording successful. The 2002 reissue adds a studio outtake, "I Can't Get Along With Society," that should have made the album; an early version of "Footstompin' Music" (which would turn up on the next album); and extended takes of "Country Road," "All You've Got Is Money," and "Feelin' Alright."
BIOGRAPHY
by Steve Huey
One of the 1970s' most successful hard rock bands in spite of critical pans and somewhat reluctant radio airplay (at first), Grand Funk Railroad built a devoted fan base with constant touring, a loud, simple take on the blues-rock power trio sound, and strong working-class appeal. The band was formed by Flint, MI, guitarist/songwriter Mark Farner and drummer Don Brewer, both former members of a local band called Terry Knight & the Pack. They recruited former ? & the Mysterians bassist Mel Schacher in 1968, and Knight retired from performing to become their manager, naming the group after Michigan's well-known Grand Trunk Railroad.
They performed for free at the 1969 Atlanta Pop Festival, and their energetic, if not technically proficient, show led Capitol Records to sign them at once. While radio shied away from Grand Funk Railroad, the group's strong work ethic and commitment to touring produced a series of big-selling albums over the next few years; five of their eight releases from 1969 to 1972 went platinum, and the others all went gold. Meanwhile, Knight promoted the band aggressively, going so far as to rent a Times Square billboard to advertise Closer to Home, which turned out to be the band's first multi-platinum album in spite of a backlash from the rock press. However, Grand Funk Railroad fired Knight in March of 1972, who promptly sued; the band spent most of the year in a court battle that ended when they bought Knight out.
Keyboardist Craig Frost joined the group for the Phoenix LP at the end of 1972. Following that album, the band's name was officially shortened to Grand Funk, and the group finally scored a big hit single (number one, in fact) with the title track of the Todd Rundgren-produced We're an American Band. The follow-up, Shinin' On, contained another number one hit in a remake of Little Eva's "The Loco-Motion." However, following Grand Funk's next album, All the Girls in the World Beware!!, interest in the group began to wane. Reverting back to Grand Funk Railroad, they remained together in 1976 solely to work with producer Frank Zappa on Good Singin', Good Playin'. Farner left for a solo career, and the remainder of the band released an album as Flint with guitarist Billy Elworthy.
Grand Funk Railroad re-formed in 1981 with Dennis Bellinger on bass and released two albums; only Grand Funk Lives even managed to scrape the bottom of the charts. The group disbanded again, with Brewer and Frost joining Bob Seger's Silver Bullet Band and Farner embarking on a new career as a CCM artist; his "Isn't It Amazing" was a number two gospel hit in 1988. In 1997, Grand Funk Railroad reunited once again to record a benefit album titled Bosnia; two years later, Capitol issued a three-disc box set retrospective, Thirty Years of Funk: 1969-1999.
DoWnLoAd
