Grand Funk Railroad Album: “Live Album [Remaster]”

FINALLY, all of us GFR fans that grew up with the boys from Flint can replace our old vinyl "Live Album". My grooves were

white so this is quite welcome.....for the uninitiated, this is

pure early 70's metal recorded at the Atlanta Pop Festival. The crowd is hanging on every note and Mark and the boys give 150%. I've seen the Funksters a half dozen times over the years but

this show is just so electric that I wish I could have been there. The opening song "Are you Ready" is just so loud and exciting that it instantly qualifies as an all-time live album

starting point. It gets much better with "Paranoid" and I really enjoy the version of "Inside Looking Out". The CD does it justice and there are many different ways that the group did this song but this is the definitive one. I've always liked "Mean Mistreater" and after everyone screams their lungs

out for the rest of the show, when Mark sits down and plays this

one, you can hear a pin drop.......(nice to hear it without all

of the pops and hiss). Of course, one of the best tunes (especially on this new CD version) is the amazing T.N.U.C., which gives Don Brewer a chance to get animalistic on the drums. One of the most underrated drummers in rock history, his drum solos are fast, tight and relatively short. The CD closes with

the great long cut "Into the Sun" which was on their 1st album.

This song ends the disc with Mark Farner getting very loud and distorted feedback and at the close Mel plays his bass as fast as anyone ever has on a rock album. These 3 musicians could flat out play and all of the gold and platinum records attest to it. Do yourself a favor - if you have/had the vinyl LP and want a cleaned up version that will totally annoy your neighbors but put a giant smile on your face then you need to purchase this CD immediately.......if you are not familiar with early GFR, I'm not talking The Locomotion or Some Kind of Wonderful, but the real early stuff that radio refused to play...then check this out because there isn't any other live rock album out there that is like this.......it's dirty, ear-splitting, grungy before grunge existed, underground heavy metal feedback garage band genius......Kiss Alive and Double Live Gonzo should sound this primitive and electric.......buy it and wear it out.........

One of the best (and most ignored) double live albums from the classic rock era shows GFR in their best element: The stage. Most of their early greats are here: Paranoid, Into The Sun, Heartbreaker, T.N.U.C., Inside Looking Out... most rockers consider these live versions superior (and certainly more soulful) than their studio counterparts.

The chief complaint with this particular import pressing is the atrocious CD mastering job done by EMI Holland. Grand Funk's Live Album is a relic from the bygone age of "zero sweetening", where the raw performances are presented in their naked, unenhanced, uncorrected glory. Despite this, it sounded GREAT on vinyl. This particular CD pressing does a severe injustice to the original album: shrill highs, static-filled peaks, and fuzzed-out distortion far and above the original intent. A major disappointment to these ears.

If you GOTTA have this classic live album to satisfy an itch for some primo 1970 power trio antics, pick it up. But if you're a stickler for fidelity, seek out the much superior domestic pressing (now out of print but still available as a cutout).

This album is really great as most of the reviewers have already said... it really brings back memories of Junior High for me. GFR was the first rock concert I ever attended... Octiber 1971 at The Forum in Los Angeles... this album comes closest to what thet concert was like. I can't describe the ferocity and sheer hippie magnetism that this group had in the early '70s... it would be very hard to describe the feeling of the times... these guys must have scared the pants off anyone right of center. Raw, loose and scary, few young'ns these days will relate to GFR but it's a great time machine for us old enough to remember.

If anyone ever wonders why Grand Funk was so popular, listening to this album will solve their mystery. This live album is by far their best work and enbodies the spirit and connection with the fans which was the key to their success. There just ain't nothing like a live album.

Grand Funk Railroad got their first notice at the Atlanta Pop Fest in July of 1969 by blowing about 180,000 people out of their seats, coming out of nowhere to nearly instant stardom. Capitol Records signed them immediately after this event, and LIVE! will show you why. If you want hard driving, earth-shaking music, this is the album to get...not for the Mariah Carey set, nor the namby-pamby meek and mild...this is the real thing, people. Put it on the stereo and let 'er rip. Warn the neighbors, hide the dog, do whatever you need to, but play this LOUD, as loud as you want. You'll thank me for it later. This is a MUCH better recording than the import versions, too, having been remixed at some point to reduce the crowd noises between songs, and the bits that were removed from the Holland imported version are restored in their entirety.

Get ready to ROCK. Grand Funk LIVE! is timeless, raw, electrifying, and could be used to TEACH what REAL ROCK'N'ROLL MUSIC can still be...if the kids want to LEARN what we old fogies still know to be true, that is!

GRAND FUNK RAILROAD ROCKS. Still!