Grand Funk Railroad

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Chief Longwind Of The North

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Was anyone here a huge Grand Funk Railroad fan besides me. I was introduced to their music in the early seventies with the album "E-Pluribus-Funk". Shortly after that, I purchased the two album set = "Mark, Don, & Mel,1969-71", which was a phenomenal set with 15 great songs and a 10 minute incredible drum solo by Mel Schacher.

What I don't understand is how such an innovative band that made songs like "Paranoid", and "Inside Looking Out", make such a wimpy cover of a song like "Locomotion". I disliked the original version, and really disliked GFR's version. I also hated "We're An American Band", and "She's Some Kind of Wonderful". These songs, and a few others sounded so much like the band sold out to pop, and lost that manic, raw, energetic, edgy sound that made them such a powerful rock presence in the first place.

Yeh, I just heard "Locomotion played on one of my cable rock stations and after 30 years of hearing that (IMHO) terrible song, I finally had to vent.:angry:

Ok, they're now playing Aerosmith's "Dream On". I feel better now.:mrgreen:

Anyone else had a favorite band that made what they considered real stinkers of songs? Example: Emerson Lake & Palmer made amazing music, but wrote some really bad lyrics in what should have been great songs, had they had intelligent words to go along with the amazing music.

Seeeeeeya; Goodweed of the North
 
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I have been a very big fan of GFR since I was in high school....some 35 years ago.
I was in a band that covered a lot of their songs. They had a falling out with their manager, Terry Knight, and were sued and for a long period of time they were not allowed to use the word "Railroad". I am sure they recorded a number of songs for their commercial appeal. I reckon they had to keep the groceries coming in.
Mark Farner left the band to pursue other interests.
BTW, The drummer was Don Brewer. Mel Schacher was the bassist.
I do miss the energy they brought to the stage.
I reckon the only constant in life is that things always change.
 
My bad. I knew that Don Brewer was the drummer, and the lead singer in "We're an American Band". He went on to play for Bob Segar's Silver Bullet band. I saw GFR rebuilt and playing at the Kewadin Casino in St. Ignace Michigan. They played new tracks that I'd never heard before. The new singer sounded fantastic. This was about three years back.

Seeeeya; Goodweed of the North
 
wow Grand Funk was one of my Faves and I was into anything ELP. I have managed to get back a lot of that music via MP3's over the years.
Saw Grand Funk a few years back at Casinorama and although Mark farner was not with them They had the lead singer from 38 special and his name escapes me. The concert was incredible with a lot of empahsis on Don Brewers drumming. awesome
 
GFR was one of my faves back in '71-'72. I saw them in concert at Kourakuen baseball stadium in Tokyo. It was pouring rain that evening and they played without any electrical failure. Surprising, the entire stage was not covered and soaked.
Another memorable concert was Led Zep. I saw their Stairway to Heaven concert at the Budokan.
After moving to L.A. I was in concert mode during the mid-70's. Tickets were cheap. Me and my buddies saw a couple of dozen concerts around that time, including Led Zep (again) at the Forum in Inglewood. Fun times....:))
 

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