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Grand Funk Railroad - What's Funk? Audio CD

A fair review of the Grand Funk Railroad "What's Funk?" 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: What's Funk?
Rating:
Release Date: 2008-04-08
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Rock and Roll American Style 2: Nowhere to Run 3: Innocent 4: Still Waitin' 5: Borderline 6: Salvador 7: It's a Man's World 8: I'm So True 9: Don't Lie to Me 10: Life in Outer Space

great stuff
I somehow missed this when it came out. Ive always been a grand funk fan. I was delighted to see it, and quickly bought it. I had never heard of it, so being a funk fan, i expected it to be bad. I really like this cd. Mark Farner really shines.


GFR's absolute low point...and that cover..ouch !
It was the second and final, release of their early 80's reunion. As a fan of the band since early 1970, there can be no doubt amongst those who know their music well: "What's Funk ?" was a mistake from the start. The first "Grand Funk Lives" was hardly the band's pinnacle, but at least it had 4-5 solid tracks and didn't have to fight against easily the most awfully conceived and unfortunate cover design of the bands 15 album career. Nine years earlier, singer. guitarist Mark Farner wondered out loud " I wanna know what happened to the revolution " Well, it was long gone before the mostly useless tracks on this ill-fated mess shamlessly turned the Washington Monument into a cheap phallic symbol. Tasteless only begins to describe this affront.

The record was to be produced by Gary Lyons, who had done some fine work with Styx, Thin Lizzy, and others. But two weeks into the sessions, Lyons succumbed to the rigors of a long term cocaine habit, and was hospitalized. Former Ted Nugent drummer Cliff Davies hurriedly jumped in to replace him, but even the jumper cables on the cover couldn't have energized the stiff, drab lineup of tracks on "What's Funk. " The jumbled production doesn't help with the three tracks that deserved better fates.

"Borderline" is a catchy shuffle-ballad with substantial single potential, were it released in 1963 instead of 1983. "Rock And Roll American Style " is a punchy slab of radio fodder that seems to have missed it's calling in a beer commercial soundtrack. While it just barely fails to recapture the frat-boy appeal of "We're An American Band", it does play a clever gag on it's listeners, by copping a riff from Rush's "Spirit Of Radio" while simultaneously reminding us that Canadians not didn't invent rock, Farner's ticker would call it a day if you dared suggest it. "I'm So True" could be the best song on a pretty bad record, had Lyons not turned on a cheap drum machine in between heaving flake off the mirror. This mid-tempo pop song features the a video-game style click-clack that has probably been a subliminal cue for many a serial killer. It is so oppressively obnoxious that GFR Drummer Don Brewer, having been at loggerheads with Farner for over a decade, refused a major label offer to re-master, re-package and re-release the two reunion records. "they didn't click with fans, then " he said diplomatically. " my guess is they'd go 'thud' a second time around "

In answer to the album title's query, that sort of honest, no-nonsense attitude is funk. With three possible exceptions, there's none to be found here.


Funk para fãs

Destaque para Rock & Roll American Style e El Salvador, que lembram um GFR forte e influenciador de tendências. Disco para completistas e fãs do Grand Funk.
Junto com Grand Funk Lives, deixe para comprar por último.


Final Funk needs no apologies
And I can't stop listening to it. At last! I have the final piece of my Funk puzzle. If this totally un-politically correct band hadn't so deeply offended the sensibilities of the liberal record reviewers with their stands on gun control and feminism, they'd have received their due respect. If you can take classic R&B hits like Its a Man's World and Nowhere to Run and make these songs sound almost like new, you've done something.
Yeah, there's pop on this album. They needed the airplay to sell some records. But there's edgier stuff here too. El Salvador has some hot Farner leads the equal of anything from their power trio days.
It may be difficult for most fans to appreciate both the garage band, extended solos of early Funk as well as the bigger productions and commerciality of late Funk. But if you can allow a band to grow up and stretch out, then you can appreciate just how good this and all their albums really are.


Grand Funk comes full circle!
The band grew along with me and they developed into a tighter and more talented band through the years and although they lost the hard edge,they developed into a more main stream sounding band. I started listening to Grand Funk in 1971 when they were raw and untamed and that was what I liked in the early years. Something was lost and something was gained in all this,and Grand Funk -What`s Funk? is a true example of it!This is not an album for everyone but I recommend it for people that want to put on there Grand Funk "training wheels". The band really changed from the On Time album to this one!.


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.

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