![]() Every place we went, it was more than a show, it was an event.” “It didn’t affect us because we were playing to full houses in Madison Square Garden and the baseball stadium in Tokyo. As a result, we suffered a lot of lambasting. ![]() He had a vindictive attitude and I think a lot of the music industry is built on that kind of vindictive, ‘I’ll show you, you s.o.b.’ thing. “He was telling us ‘If I keep you from doing the press stuff, it’ll create a mystique about the band’ and really it was an avenue for him to proclaim himself as a mentor,” Farner said. We were talking about crooked politicians and bringing things to the table that rock groups didn’t usually do.”Īs for the rock press’ hatred for the band, Farner said most of that can be attributed to Knight, who tried to cultivate a mystique about the group and make them inaccessible to the media. “Our music had a touch of soul,” Farner said, “and we wrote about things people wanted to hear, especially in the early days because of the Vietnam War. 1 hits – “We’re an American Band” and a cover of “The Loco-Motion.” (The group disbanded in ’76 Farner and Brewer reformed briefly in ’81.) They teamed with Todd Rundgren, who produced their “We’re an American Band” (1973) and “Shinin’ On” (1974) albums and scored a pair of No. The Flint, Mich.-based power-rock trio had an assembly line of six million-selling albums from 1969 to late 1971, most notably “Closer to Home” – no small feat.Īfter a bitter split from manager Terry Knight in 1972, things only got better. One of the most successful American rock acts of the early ’70s, Grand Funk Railroad was reviled by rock critics but was clearly a commercial gold mine. The feel was there, the chemistry was there, the guys are playing well and it just feels really good.” “But when we got back together, it was like getting back on the bicycle and riding down the street. I mean, I’ve been playing since ’86 with my own band and my chops are still up. “When we got together three months ago in Michigan,” Farner said recently, “I didn’t know if Don or Mel could still play. Spurred by the recent reissues of its back catalog on CD, the trio hopes to be out on the road next summer. Lead singer-guitarist Mark Farner, now touring with Ringo Starr’s All-Star Band, says he and Grand Funk originals Don Brewer (drums-vocals) and Mel Schacher (bass) have rehearsed new material for the first time in 14 years. Grand Funk Railroad, the self-professed “people’s band,” is ready for another go at it. Capitol is to be commended for its overdue CD reissues of Grand Funk Railroad's catalog, but Classic Masters is an excellent sampler die-hard fans like Homer Simpson would approve of.By Gerry Galipault 0 Grand Funk Railroad’s back on track The merits of anthems like "We're an American Band," "I'm Your Captain/Closer to Home," and the cover "The Loco-Motion" are obvious, but a compilation such as Classic Masters enables deeper appreciation of songs like "Time Machine," "Shinin' On," "Mean Mistreater" (recorded live in 1970 at the Atlanta International Pop Festival), and "Bad Time." Classic Masters is 24-bit digitally remastered, whereas Capitol Collectors Series is credited as being mastered from the original two-track stereo mixes Classic Masters should be considered the superior collection sound-wise (although it's not as if Grand Funk Railroad's records were as sonically complex as Pink Floyd's), but Capitol Collectors Series has better liner notes. For Grand Funk Railroad, popular meant populist blue-collar appeal, and vocalist/guitarist Mark Farner, bass guitarist Mel Schacher, and drummer/vocalist Don Brewer (and, later on, keyboardist Craig Frost) were despised by critics, of course. Both have 15 cuts, but Classic Masters includes "Take Me" whereas Capitol Collectors Series has "Inside Looking Out." Looking back, it's amazing to realize just how enormously popular these Michigan hard-rockers were in the late '60s and early '70s. It is intended to replace 1991's Capitol Collectors Series title - an earlier budget line from the label - although track-wise it's identical except for one song. Capitol Records launched a midline-priced series called Classic Masters and the 2002 entry for Grand Funk Railroad is meant to appeal to the casual fan.
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