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Live: The 1971 Tour

Grand Funk Railroad - Live: The 1971 Tour Audio CD

A fair review of the Grand Funk Railroad "Live: The 1971 Tour" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all Grand Funk Railroad reviews here, or go back to the Grand Funk Railroad tabs.

Band: Grand Funk Railroad
Title: Live: The 1971 Tour
Rating:

Release Date: 2002-07-02
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Intro 2: Are You Ready 3: Footstompin' Music 4: Paranoid 5: I'm Your Captain/Closer To Home 6: Hooked On Love 7: Get It Together 8: T.N.U.C. 9: Inside Looking Out 10: Gimme Shelter 11: Into The Sun

Rock and Roll Lives On!!!!
It would have been in 1970 or so. I was one who was priviledged to see GFR live when they performed in Chicago. I can still remember the concert, the standing in line, etc. It was well worth it and the show was fantastic. This album brings back to mind all those memories. I was an avid fan of the early GFR all the way through their first albums up to Phoenix. It was in their later albums that I drifted away. It seemed that they begin a shift from the hard rock that was their forte into the lighter "kid rock" sound. This was not my kind of music and I just drifted away. I never did understand the complete rift between GFR and Terry Knight, but think their first 6 albums their best. I was glad to find this and have no hesitation recommending it to anyone who loves the classic GFR.

RAW FUNK!!!!!
Considering this is vintage 1971 GFR, this is a amazing sounding disc and the performances captured here are some of the best I've heard. I've read most of the reviews and have to disagree with the complaints concerning sound quality. I recommend this disc even for the casual fans and this was meant to be played loud. For those complaining about the sound, it you have a EQ use it and I think you will be more than satisfied. I read that the entire historic Shea performance is something that is being considered for a future release. I will be one of the first in line to purcahse when and if this happens.

The Live Album is so much better
The older, rawer The Live Album is a much better experience. GREAT TO HEAR EARLY 1970'S POWER TRIO MUSIC
But, there are some problems with this CD and the group's performance.

As the name states, this CD contains songs taken from various concerts during the 1971 tour to support the album Closer to Home. It was an enormous commercial success, selling out big arenas. The CD is about 78 minutes long.

The sound quality is pretty good and the crowd noise is appropriate. The sound quality is better than many live CD's from recent concerts, like anything by Dave Matthews. I do think that the bass and drums are mixed too far up front, even for Grand Funk.

By 1971, the group is getting too slick (if you can believe it), and this performance does not have the raw power that the group had at the very beginning of its career. There are some great driving moments, but there are some plodding ones.

When I was a yound teeny-bopper, The Live Album came out about the same time as Closer to Home. At the time, I was so disappointed that some of the group's latest hits, especially I'm Your Captain/Closer to Home was ot on it. Now that I hear these live versions of those songs, I am disappointed. They are actually better and have more power on the studio album.

This CD starts out with a recording of Also Sprach Zarathustra (also known as the theme to 2001). This is the was the intro to each concert as the band came out on stage and some idiot announcer introduced the band. This kind of stunt was more appropriate for an artsy, pretentious, progressive rock band like Yes.

The group does get right into with some booming bass guitar in Are You Ready (the perfect first song for a concert) and the groups moves into a nice Foot Stompin' Music. From there, it all goes downhill.

Grand Funk was one of many groups that relied on heavy drums and bass. Later I discovered why. . . groups like Grand Funk, Black Sabbath and even The Who did not have a guitar player strong enough to carry the band (Pete Townsend has even admitted that). Farner even plays keyboards half of the time, and that is probably where he is most effective. He does get in some nice guitar lines now and then, but much is cliched.

Included is a 15 minute drum solo contained within the 17 minute TNUC. If you were the type who went to concerts stoned, loved to sit in the cheap seats, stand up during the drum solo and play air drums, before puking on the people in front of you, this is a perfect track. This drum solo contains nearly every drum solo cliche you could imagine (short of the drummer blowing up at the end).

The second to last song is a really bad version of Gimme Shelter. There are 2 things wrong with this track:

1. The performance is not very good and does not highlight the bands strengths.

2. At the end of the song is a long interlude where the announcer talks to the audience about the band coming back for an encore, and trying to get the guitar peddle back that someone stole. It is a lot of crap that I didn't even care to hear once. What makes its inclusion so bad is this CD is not even a full concert recording. It comes from many concerts. The song that follows on this CD is not even the encore from that concert, but a song from another concert.

There is just too much junk on this CD. It you want to hear raw, tasteless, heart pounding, bass driven, power trio music, get The Live Album instead.

LIVE: THE HIGH ART OF HARD ROCK `N' FUNK
In considering this album, it behooves one to take critics' negative reviews with the proverbial grain of salt. Glad I finally bought this thanks to the positive customer reviews here. The critics always disliked Grand Funk, in the extreme.

Before they went Top 40 after E Pluribus Funk, Grand Funk was a mainstay of underground radio, and this album presents them then, at the peak of their form. It's a document of the art of American hard rock and funky boogie freedom in all its brutal glory circa 1971 when they sold out Shea Stadium in only three days.

Crank it up, press play and experience a great sounding concert from a time now long gone when a fresh rock breeze was mixing the sound of Motown with aggressive guitar trio music.
.

Brought me closer to home
GF was my first live concert (and that means I have a soft spot for this Trio). I forgot how great Grand Funk are until I bought this CD on an impulse. This live recording sure showcases the bands talents well. I'll wager the music will bring back a flood of memories and emotions if its been awhile since you listened to them. Extremely period sounding record. Its hard to explain. Coupled with the "old fashionend" stage remarks made by Mark Farner (I imagine) sure bring me back. ". . Working all day to make a nickel bag. " When was the last time you heard that phrase--man? A very out-a-sight recording. A time capsule.

You can see a complete list of all Grand Funk Railroad discography, or go back to the Grand Funk Railroad tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.