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Grand Funk Railroad - Grand Funk Lives Audio CD

A fair review of the Grand Funk Railroad "Grand Funk Lives" 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.

Grand Funk Railroad Band: Grand Funk Railroad
Title: Grand Funk Lives
Rating:
Release Date: 2008-04-08
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Good Times 2: Queen Bee 3: Testify 4: Can't Be with You Tonight 5: No Reason Why 6: We Gotta Get out of This Place 7: Y.O.U. 8: Stuck in the Middle 9: Greed of Man 10: Wait for Me

G.F.R.
The POWER trio from Flint, Michigan. What a GREAT CD by the American Band - Grand Funk Railroad. G. F. R. ROCKS!!.


Only half of this CD actually "lives"!


"Good Times" is a bright opening tune and a delicious return to the typical Grand Funk "let's party" rave-up. " Grand Funk Lives" didn't exactly break any barriers when it was first released, in fact it seemed to hit the cut-out bins fairly quick, but it did a fine job of announcing their comeback. It is loose and gloriously dumb lyric-wise but it sounds like they really had fun recording it.

"Y. O. U. " is a memorable, upbeat, pop song which should have been a minor radio hit had anyone thought to properly promote it.

"Queen Bee", a minor hit at the time, is the best produced song on the album and has held up well over the past quarter century.

"We Gotta Get Outta This Place" is the most fun song on here. It sounds like they just took off playing, latched onto a riff and had a great time winging it. Mark's guitar tone is at its most brutal on this song. For those of you who would agree that Grand Funk beat the Stones at their own game with their fuzzed-out version of "Gimme Shelter" then this boisterous cover of the Animals will be most enjoyable indeed.

"Wait For Me" is a poignant but heavy-hitting nod to Farner's Christian beliefs and is probably the most heartfelt song on the record. Great vocal harmonies and wondrously metallic guitar.

Unfortunately, the rest of the songs tend to bog down the remainder of the album. The painfully dull, keyboard-driven "Stuck In The Middle" lopes along hoping to move forward but never really does. Songs like "Greed Of Man" try to push heavy social commentary with a terribly pedestrian riff and fail miserably. "Testify" seeks to back up a decade or two by adding some soulful aspects but sadly remains in neutral.

In summation: Half of this CD is a worthy listen and deserving of at least 4 stars but the weaker offerings constituting the other half lowered my overall rating to 3 stars.


"WHAT THE FUNK"
I AM A HUGE GRAND FUNK FAN SO I PICKED UP THIS RE-RELEASE AT MY LOCAL "TUNE SHOP". . . . . THIS IS FAR FROM THE GREAT RELEASES OF THE PAST AS ONLY FARNER AND BREWER ARE ON THIS OFFERING. THE TUNES ARE WEAK WITH THE EXCEPTION OF "WE GOTTA GET OUT OF THIS PLACE" AND "TESTIFY". . . . A LET DOWN TO SAY THE LEAST-SAVE YOUR $$$$$$$.


Not bad
I like this one a little better than What's funk. A little mellow at times. Has some rockers on it, but again don't pay an arm and a leg for it.


"Classic Funk" !!
I recieved a promotional copy of this on Lp back in 81 from a musician friend who got it as a freebie from a local radio Dj. Grand Funk Lives !! A spectacular album indeed. Just one listen is all it took. I was hooked on Grand Funk again. In my oppinion the last good Funk album was Good Playin-Good Singin so I was a bit skeptical. I own more than 600 music Cd's and out of that, are at least 150 that I consider to be my all time favorites. Grand Funk Lives-- is an all time favorite.
This time around they record without Mel Schacher on bass. "But" lets face it, as good as Mel is, he is not Grand Funk. Mark Farner and Don Brewer are Grand Funk Railroad. Due in large part to there powerful soulful vocals. This is a very worthwhile effort and should be appreciated by all GFR fans. Virtually no support was given towards the promotion of this album and what a shame. It really is that Good !! I have always been a fan of Rock n Roll trio bands and this is no exception. Newcomer Dennis Benninger provides his unique soulful laid back style of bass playing. Every song spotlights that traditional GFR writing style. Song favorites of mine are:
"Good Times"-- the title track. Will hit you hard and heavy. The guitar and bass riff added with Don's funky foot work really captures your attention and from that piont on it only gets better.
"Queen Bee"-- up tempo fast Rocker with those trademark harmony's between Mark and Don.
"Cant Be With You Tonight"-- a slow tune with a somewhat sad message. The spotlight here are the vocals and the bass and drums which are very tight.
"No Reason Why"-- another heavy hit with Powerfull vocals. Fast and furious. A very syncopated choppy feel going on thanks to Mark's guitar work and Don's excellent drumming.
"We Gotta Get Outta This Place"-- an old classic cover song brought back in all it's glory. GFR should do more cover songs like this. They are quite good at it.
"Greed Of Man"-- a strong song with a strong message. A warning to us all about the pitfalls of greed. The spotlight is the fine drumming. Alot is happening between the instruments and once again you can hear those quality vocal harmonys. Geed Of Man is a Heavy handed Rocker in true GFR fashion.
Last but certainly not least is the beautiful song "Wait For Me"-- this song is Mark's way of telling us about God's love for us !! His spiritual message really shines through. All we have to do is listen with our hearts. The main focus of this tune is of course the vocals and the message it brings. A very dynamic song with what sounds like a full vocal choir towards the end as the song fades out.
A Great Cd !! It is recorded well and sounds good on any type of stereo equipment. It offers 10 solid tracks of GFR. Five hard Rockers, a couple of ballads and some middle of the road mixed in as well. It appears as if no one has done a review of this Great cd in some time and I am Happy to bring it to everyone's attention again. It really is That Good !!!! Check It Out !!!!
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