Grand Funk Railroad

One of my all-time favorite bands. I have all the albums, even the Full Moon ones. "Closer To Home" alone should have got them to the Hall Of Fame.

 

Original vinyl from 1969-on.
Trunk of Funk remasters
Steve's Gold WAAB for AF.
Complete set of Japanese PastMasters & Cool Price variations.
Various VHS, DVD, Books, Memoribilia since 1969.

My avatar.

 

So do you like them??

 

Have all the albums up to Shinin' On.

Darryl

 

And I've never found a music album by critics. Most of them can't even play instruments or sing, let alone make an album. So they don't count for me

 

All the singles too!

http://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/grand-funk-railroad.109910/page-11#post-4987842

 

They're in my top 10 all these years later. Mark Farner absolutely never phoned in a performance. He played guitar, sang, and played keyboards with extreme emotion. They were kicked off of Led Zeppelin's first U.S. tour because Zeppelin had a tough time following them. Not saying Grand Funk was a better band or historically more significant, but Zeppelin could not match the raw intensity in a live setting.

 

Discussed here...

http://forums.ledzeppelin.com/index.php?/topic/8220-grand-funk-railroad/

Darryl

 

My two favorite Grand Funk hits: "Bad Time"...

 

...and "Footstompin' Music":



Really like both these songs. And they never play these often enough on oldies radio, at least not enough for me.

 

I still have and listen to some of their LPs. Pretty good band for the day.

 

I wore out one copy of Mark, Don & Mel years ago. Had to buy another on minty vinyl. It's one of those double album sets you've played so much on vinyl, CD just wouldn't seem right.

 

I like Grand Funk a lot, but I've never heard Grand Funk Live. I always wanted to pick up a vinyl copy. The cover just looks too good. I know a lot of the songs, so I figured it had to be a good live album. Unfortunately, every copy I've found has been beat to hell. I could go the Ebay route I guess, but I'd rather buy from a shop.

Is there a good sounding CD version?

 

Japan Past Masters is THE best.

 

Then you have not looked very hard.
Blue Oyster Cult's best albums were certainly infused by the influence of critics.....Pearlman and Meltzer.
And Patti Smith ( one of my all time favorites ) was a rock critic before her recording career began.
And I certainly prefer either's music to that of Grand Funk.

 

So why did you enter this thread if you don't like Grand Funk?

That said, occasionally, OCCASIONALLY, there are critics that can play instruments and write music. That is not the rule, it is the exception. Most music critics are in reality cultural critics who use music as a vehicle to pontificate about their views on social issues.

 

Because it is interesting to me how Grand Funk is viewed at this late date considering I lived through the era when their music was inescapable wherever I went.
And the truth is ....all music rises out of the cultural enviroment of it's time even music intended to sound retro so labeling critics as "cultural" is a wee bit redundant.

 

I saw them in Wash DC at Lisner Auditorium at Georgetown Univ. in November 1997. Excellent show, and Mark sang so well. The acoustics at Lisner are legendary. They did a signing at the Tower Records across the street after the show.
I didn't know about Mark's son having an accident - what a tragedy - I read that Mark and his wife are now full-time caregivers to Jesse who's bedridden. Sad.

 

Note that Grandmaster Flash is in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, but not Grand Funk Railroad.

 

Loved them till they went pop.

 

Ahh, there's the old "critics" ploy that's always used to mask an artist's shortcomings. I like GFR and have several of their albums. They were a decent hard rock band that sold millions. Rock critics have never exerted much real influence over anything. Why bring it up for the millionth time?

 

I saw a performance of the Nutcracker there, a decade prior....very good acoustics, indeed....wish I had seen Grand Funk, too

 

Are ya listening Wenner and Co. on how SCREWED this is?

 

Please excuse my ignorance, but who or what are Grandmaster Flash.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grandmaster_flash

Member of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. You tell me why. There's a ton of groups and artists in there who are far, far from what I think "rock 'n' roll" is. Soul, funk, rap, hip-hop are not rock 'n' roll to me (though each has examples of good and bad music).

Grand Funk Railroad is a good example of a group that'll never make the HofRR Museum. Same with Chicago, Emerson Lake & Palmer, Yes, and ELO, all for different reasons.