Live Album [US Remastered] [Remaster]

Performer: Grand Funk Railroad
Engineer: Ken Hamann; Wally Heider
Producer: Shannon Ward; Terry Knight; Bryan Kelley; David K. Tedds (Reissue)
Distributor: EMI Music Distribution

Notes: Grand Funk Railroad: Mark Farner (vocals, guitar, harmonica, piano); Don Bewer (vocals, drums); Mel Schacher (bass). Recorded live at Jacksonville Coliseum, Jacksonsville and W. Palm Beach Civic Auditorium, Palm Beach, Florida on June 23-24 1970. Originally released on Capitol (633). Includes liner notes by Steve Roeser. All tracks have been digitally remastered. Personnel: Mark Farner (vocals, guitar, harmonica, piano); Don Brewer (vocals, drums). Audio Mixer: Jimmy Hoyson. Liner Note Author: Steve Roeser. Recording information: Jacksonville Coliseum, FL (06/23/1970-06/25/1970); W. Palm Beach Civic Auditorium, FL (06/23/1970-06/25/1970). Though their reputation hasn't survived as well as some of their contemporaries, Grand Funk Railroad were one of the biggest American bands of the early 1970s. Caught in full flight on this live album, the band that brought Cream's power-trio concept to the U.S. stadium circuit can be easily identified as the link between Woodstock-era blues-rockers like Ten Years After and the heavier rock bands of the '70s. Singer/guitarist Mark Farner is the focal point, as his wailing vocals and fret-burning guitar licks take center stage throughout. Bassist Mel Schacher and drummer Don Brewer provide muscular support without venturing into showoff territory. At this point, the band's songwriting acumen was still in a developmental stage (it would come to full fruition within the next couple of years), so many of the songs feature extended jams built around simple-but-effective blues-based riffs, but Grand Funk's bag of tricks wasn't entirely devoid of catchy choruses (the soulful "Heartbreaker") or smart cover tunes (the Animals' "Inside Looking Out"). The band's LIVE ALBUM is a definitive statement not only of what they were about, but of the early-'70s mainstream rock scene as a whole.

Homer Simpson may have captured the essence of Grand Funk Railroad in the SIMPSONS episode where he rhapsodizes about "Mark Farner's wild, shirtless lyrics, the bong-rattling bass of Mel Schacher," and yes, "the competent drum work of Don Brewer." Emerging from the industrial town of Flint, MI, Grand Funk were a workman-like "people's band." They turned the Cream power-trio format into a stadium filling, larger-than-life experience that made them one of the most popular live acts of the early '70s. Their early albums were filled with amped-up blues-rock, but towards the end of their initial tether, they scored hits with covers of soul tunes such as "Some Kind of Wonderful" and "The Locomotion." IRS troubles contributed to their breakup in the late-'70s, but Grand Funk reunited with a vengeance in the '90s.

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