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Survival

Grand Funk Railroad - Survival Audio CD

A fair review of the Grand Funk Railroad "Survival" 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: Survival
Rating:

Release Date: 2002-11-19
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Country Road 2: All You've Got Is Money 3: Comfort Me 4: Feelin' Alright 5: I Want Freedom 6: I Can Feel Him In The Morning 7: Gimme Shelter 8: I Can't Get Along With Society (2002 Remix) 9: Jam (Footstompin' Music) 10: Country Road (Unedited Original Version) 11: All You've Got Is Money (Unedited Original Version) 12: Feelin' Alright (Unedited Original Version)

survive the brilliance
This is the same kind of songwriting direction bands such as Steppenwolf and the Guess Who went- into a direction where the music and lyrics are about appreciating life, your surroundings, the children of the future, and taking care of the planet by cleaning up the pollution. Survival really impresses me with the memorable, mellow approach.

The 70's were full of artists who weren't afraid to show concerns for our planet and the people living on it, and combined with the fantastic songwriting, Survival is a classic album when there's such a meaningful theme present from beginning to end.

"Country Road" has beautiful vocals, "All You've Got is Money" has some bluesy guitar soloing near the end that would make Jimi Hendrix smile, and the vocals on "Comfort Me" just scream (in a gentle way of course, hehe) mid 70's musical greatness.

Turning "Gimme Shelter" into a punk/garage rock song was a nice idea and the song is memorable though of course no comparison to the rather frightening popular version the Stones did, and this is perhaps the VERY best version of "Feelin' Alright" I've ever heard.

An album worth owning.

Classic Good Stuff
The music and the lyrics expressed feelings I wasn't old enough to understand. I loved this stuff when it was new and I still love it today. Back then, the future was a scary unknown. Vietnam was grinding on. Trust in politicians was fading away. I am older now, but the future is still a scary unknown. Our leaders still disappoint. We're still at war. And the words and the emotions expressed in this album still ring true today. .

The beginning of the decline.
I had all their albums up to and including the first live album which I played constantly. I was a huge Grand Funk Railroad fan in high school. When Survival came out, naturally I had to get it. It turned out to be something of a disappoint and for me marks the beginning of the decline of GFR. I did like their version of Gimme Shelter which is why I gave it a rating of three. Although I liked We're An American Band and saw them in concert on that tour, their music was changing and for me it wasn't for the better. After E Pluribus Funk, I never bought another Grand Funk album.

Survival
Survival peaked at #6 on the charts & had two singles from it that charted: "Feelin' Alright" at #54 & "Gimme Shelter" at #61. Survival was Grand Funk's fourth studio album & was the first misstep of their young career.

Grand Funk at this junction of their career was striving to be more mature in their music. Though they spoke for my generation, we dearly loved this band, maturity wasn't what they were about. They were raw & powerful, not always in synch, but always speaking for us. Farner was never the greatest lyricist though he meant well, he did vocalize our point of view. But, with Survival, Grand Funk, with its new found maturity, didn't say much of anything on this album that was bothering my generation. Most of the songs that Farner & Brewer wrote on this album were about introspection. Though they had covered other artists songs before, on Survival the best songs were the two they covered.

The album opens with "Country Road" which is an unusual song for the group. The lyrics do cover some of the ground that my generation had feelings about but not on the level of previous efforts. The instrumental section has Farner playing some very good leads, some double-tracked, & Schacter playing some grand bass riffs. "All You've Got Is Money" exposes the weaknesses of Farner's lyrics. These first two songs are not straight ahead rock with pounding rhythms but have an off-beat feel. The instrumental section of the latter song is a complete change in musical direction that has a the feel of an evil presence. Farner gives a commanding performance on lead guitar; though he won't ever be mentioned with rock's greatest lead players, he doesn't get the accolades he justly deserves. The screaming voices in the instrumental section only add to the frightfulness of this recording. "Comfort Me" is the weakest song on the original album. The chorus only somewhat saves the song. The middle section has more drive & is much more Grand Funk-like, there's just not enough of it though it's repeated near the end of the song. "Feelin' Alright" is the first of two cover songs & it's one of the best on the album. Written & performed originally by Dave Mason (Traffic), Grand Funk does an excellent version of the song. Like many of the songs on Survival Farner recorded another vocal track doing harmony to his lead vocal. "I Want Freedom" is next; the intro to it shouldn't have been included. This goes on for well over minute & is nothing more than a padding. This type of stuff is okay in bonus tracks but should've never been offered as part of the song, proper. The song itself isn't bad but, once again, Farner's weakness in lyrics is exposed. His sympathies are fine; a certain bluntness in making statements about political or social events is acceptable but when Farner attempts to achieve more maturity in his lyrics he doesn't come off very well. "I Can Feel Him in the Morning" has a religious theme that features lyrics from the drummer Don Brewer; he also does the lead vocal on the song, though not the vocalist of Farner's caliber, he nonetheless gives one of his best vocal performances of his career. The intro that features the children expressing their views good & evil is very appropriate for the song. The female vocalist in the background is a harbinger for the next song, "Gimme Shelter". "Gimme Shelter" (M. Jagger/K. Richards) was originally recorded by the Rolling Stones. Grand Funk's version is very good but doesn't possess the menacing tone The Rolling Stones gave it. Brewer does the lead vocal, he's not Mick Jagger, & his vocal limitations are not truly suited for the song.

The remaining tracks are bonus tracks, some are interesting. The first, "I Can't Get Along With Society", isn't a bad song; it's as good as some of the songs that were included on the original album but the lyrics are weak. "Jam (Footstompin' Music)" is an early incarnation of the song that opened their next album, E Pluribus Funk. "Country Road" is an unedited version of the song that opens the album. Likewise "All You've Got IS Money" sans the screams. "Feelin' Alright" is an unedited version also.

The Grand Funk Remasters are among the best in music, the signal is 'hot' & they have more volume than most.

Still my favourite GFR album
I love the original LP (I have 2 copies of that), and having it in CD is worth the price. If you only want one GFR CD in your collection, my advice is to choose this one. The additional 'bonus' tracks are not as polished, they're obviously (in my opinion) 'works in progress', and they sound it. After listening to the bonus cuts, I have become thankful that the band did not stop at those versions - The addition of these bonus versions would be interesting to a hardcore GFR fan - maybe - but to me they are weak seconds to the original album cuts. Bottom line - buy this CD for the original album and you won't be disappointed.

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.