Grand Funk Railroad – Shinin’ On (1974) [Japanese Limited SHM-SACD 2014]
PS3 Rip | SACD ISO | DSD64 2.0 > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | 33:52 minutes | Scans included | 1,37 GB
or FLAC(converted with foobar2000 to tracks) 24bit/88,2 kHz | Full Scans included | 688 MB
After racking up their biggest success to date with We’re an American Band, Grand Funk Railroad decided to keep a good thing going by retaining Todd Rundgren as their producer and continuing to push their sound in a pop/rock direction. The end result has its moments but is not as strong as We’re an American Band. Although the songs are tight and benefit from a strong performance by the group, the material simply isn’t as inspired this time out: songs like “Please Me” and “Getting Over You” are energetic but lack the infectious hooks and clever arrangement touches that would make them stick in the listener’s memory. Shinin’ On’s best songs are the ones that became its single releases: the title track infuses its hard-driving, spacy rock groove with some surprisingly ethereal vocal harmonies and the cover of “The Loco Motion” turns this dance classic on its ear with a stomping beat and a screeching guitar lead from Mark Farner. Other tracks make up for their lack of hooks by experimenting with the group’s sound in interesting ways: “Mr. Pretty Boy” is a creepy slow blues that features an atmospheric Mellotron backing and “To Get Back In” is a full-fledged soul song built on thick combination of organ and horns. In the end, Shinin’ On is too unfocused and uneven to win over non-fans but Grand Funk Railroad fans will find plenty to enjoy on this album.
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Grand Funk Railroad – We’re An American Band (1973/2021)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 40:07 minutes | 894 MB | Genre: Rock
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © CAPITOL CATALOG MKT (C92)
We’re an American Band was released at the peak of Grand Funk’s skyward trajectory through the 1970s. The classic title track, written by the band’s drummer Dan Brewer, kicks off the album with hedonistic storytelling and a party spirit. Producer Todd Rundgren helped make this album one of the band’s most polished and commercial sounding, and a favourite with their fans.
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Grand Funk Railroad – On Time (1969/2020)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/192 kHz | Time – 51:46 minutes | 1,97 GB | Genre: Rock
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Capitol Records
On Time is the debut studio album by American rock band Grand Funk Railroad. The album was released on August 25, 1969, by Capitol Records. It was produced by Terry Knight. “Time Machine”, the band’s first single release, barely broke the top 50 in the singles charts, reaching #48; however, after the success of their second album Grand Funk (aka The Red Album) in 1970, On Time went gold, one of four RIAA gold record awards for the band that year.
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Grand Funk Railroad – Grand Funk Lives (1981/2005)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/192 kHz | Time – 36:21 minutes | 1,43 GB | Genre: Hard Rock
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Rhino – Warner Records
Rising like a Phoenix, which was the title of one of their previous albums, perhaps Mark Farner is sending a subliminal message with opening track “Good Times” that his “Bad Time” is over? The song “Testify,” track three, sums up this very good album from Mark Farner, Don Brewer, and bassist Dennis Bellinger replacing the MIA Mel Schacher. It’s a hooky rock tune with Farner’s religious overtones. All these tracks are strong, from “Can’t Be With You Tonight” to the glorious ending of “Wait for Me.” The no-nonsense production of manager Andrew Cavaliere – shades of Terry Knight! –- and Bob Destocki, lets Farner and Brewer shine. This album is like a subdued version of the Grand Funk classic Survival. In fact, both Survival and Grand Funk Lives are underrated, not just among Grand Funk fans. Where the first Mark Farner solo album, produced by Dick Wagner, had more of a bluesy feel in 1977, and 1978’s Flint by Brewer and company sounded like a stab in the dark, this collection rocks. “Queen Bee” has riffs taken from Black Sabbath and Uriah Heep, specifically the ending of the song; “Black Sabbath meets Heep’s “Easy Livin’,” with Farner’s pop influences glossing it up. “We Gotta Get out of This Place” has more in common with a hard-rocking Young Rascals than the Animals or David Johansen. “Y.O.U.” is almost there, halfway to a hit, missing the strength of producers Jimmy Ienner, Todd Rundgren, heck, even Frank Zappa might’ve lifted this track into the Top 40. The restrained production on the rest of the album is a plus except for “Y.O.U.,” which needed just a bit more. “Stuck in the Middle” is fun Mark Farner, and is perhaps the best track on this excellent outing. Heavy keyboards, a great hook, and thick chorus – a nice sequel to Funk’s 1975 hit “Bad Time.” “Greed of Man” goes back to the harder preaching of original GFR. All tunes except the cover of “We Gotta Get out of This Place” were written by Farner, who closes out the album with the introspective “Wait for Me.” In a world mutated by Guns N’ Roses, Nirvana, and Aerosmith gone pop, Grand Funk Railroad kept the flame of hard rock lit with this solid disc. It’s too bad it didn’t reach a larger audience.
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Grand Funk Railroad – Closer To Home (1970/2013)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/192 kHz | Time – 44:53 minutes | 2,04 GB | Genre: Rock
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © CAPITOL CATALOG MKT (C92)
Closer to Home is the third studio album by Grand Funk Railroad, originally released in 1970 by Capitol Records. Produced by Terry Knight, the album reached RIAA gold record status in 1970, making it Grand Funk’s third gold record in one year. The album featured three singles, “Nothing is the Same”, “I’m Your Captain (Closer to Home)”, and “Mean Mistreater”. Closer to Home was the album that really helped Grand Funk Railroad break through to a level of commercial success that put them on the same level as Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath.
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Grand Funk Railroad – What’s Funk (2005)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/192 kHz | Time – 39:15 minutes | 1,50 GB | Genre: Hard Rock
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Rhino – Warner Records
After making a comeback in 1981, the revamped 1980s version of Grand Funk Railroad took one last stab at the ’80s rock market with What’s Funk? This time, the band enlisted Gary Lyons (producer for Foreigner and the Outlaws) to create an updated version of the kind of slickly produced album that made the group into a pop hitmaker during the mid-’70s. The end result is an improvement over 1981’s underproduced Grand Funk Lives, but it still suffers from some uneven moments. Lyons adds plenty of early-’80s frills to the group sound, the most notable examples being the synthesizers and drum machines that dress up tunes like “Innocent” and “I’m So True.” This approach doesn’t always work (the Gary Numan-like programmed synthesizers that underpin “Borderline” clutter up what could have been an effective slice of guitar-driven hard rock), but the group turns in the kind of songs and energetic performances that help make What’s Funk? an engaging album. Good examples include “Still Waitin’,” a straight-ahead rocker that seamlessly blends heavy guitar riffs with a catchy chorus, and “Borderline,” a soulful power ballad that balances the group’s instrumental power with plenty of smooth harmonies. Another highlight is the group’s cover of the James Brown classic “It’s a Man’s World,” which cleverly rearranges the tune to fit the band’s power trio format. In the end, What’s Funk? lacks the kind of exceptional songs and breakout hits that would have made the album cross over to the mainstream, but it remains a solid batch of tunes that will please the group’s fans.
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