Capitol Reissues

Grand Funk Railroad

The Grand Funk Railroad re-issue campaign is now officially underway. Capitol Records has finally tossed in the towel and unveiled a deluge of CDs — something new, something old, something remastered, and in some cases, something reworked (somewhat). First up is Live: The 1971 Tour, a tour de force of GFR on stage in a year when the band was on its way to world domination. Close behind are the Funk's first four albums: On Time, Grand Funk (The Red Album), Closer To Home and Live Album. Each is skillfully remastered and maxed out with alternate mixes, demos and additional live performances. Live Album, a two-record classic in itself and previously unavailable as a domestic CD, is packed onto a single disc without the extras, but pieced together in its original running order. Finally, the GFR catalogue is receiving the proper handling and care it has so longingly deserved.

After years of speculation from fans the world over, Live: The 1971 Tour delivers the goods ala pristine recordings from Mark, Don and Mel's infamous appearance at Shea Stadium, which, at the time, toppled a box office record previously held by the Beatles. Unfortunately, when work commenced on compiling the collection, it was discovered that some of the tapes from Shea were simply unusable. Any hope of hearing the complete concert is seemingly out of the question. Nevertheless, there are some equally compelling recordings culled from concerts in Detroit and Chicago that round out the disc. In fact, this may well be the group's definitive live album. While it replicates much of 1970's Live Album, the band as a collective unit sounds punchier and less gritty. With "Footstompin' Music" and "Gimme Shelter," the disc also covers a lot more ground. At the center of the storm is the GFR opus "Closer To Home" — joined at the hip with "Hooked On Love" and "Get It Together" — which perfectly showcases, in the words of one Homer J. Simpson, "the wild, shirtless lyrics of Mark Farner, bone-rattling bass of Mel Schacher, and competent drum work of Don Brewer" to a tee. Simply put, Live: The 1971 Tour is an excellent way to kick off the re-issue promotion.

Grand Funk Railroad's first four album virtually define the band's initial phase — raw, intense and without apology. These were the days before the 'American Band' adage took hold. On Time, the band's debut, gets a crispy send-off while dropping the dated resonance. The bonus "original" versions of "High On A Horse" and "Heartbreaker" do little to add to the proceedings, but are nice touches nonetheless. For the band's self-titled second album, the sound is increasingly heavier and the arrangements are leaps and bounds ahead of its predecessor. On the Grand Funk album (aka The Red Album), tunes like "Got This Thing On The Move," "In Need" and "Inside Looking Out" reveal an inclination for a unique brand of hard-edged power that was only beginning to submerge the rock and roll culture. Closer To Home is a sonic breakthrough. The pan-and-scan on "Sin's A Good Man's Brother" and the four bonus tracks — an alternate mix of "Mean Mistreater" and three more "live" tunes from 1970 Orlando, Florida show — are enough to warrant its purchase. Finally, Live Album, in all its crunchy splendor, will have GFR fans clamoring for more. And more there will likely be as the other eight albums the band recorded for Capitol will be rolled out within the next six months — enough to fit in a customized trunk. To borrow the title from their 1981 reunion album, which will NOT be re-released, "Grand Funk Lives!"

~ Shawn Perry

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