What people search:
 | Title : Live: The 1971 Tour
Author : Grand Funk Railroad
Release Date : 20020702
Binding : Audio CD
Regular Price : $11.98
Amazon.com Price : $10.38
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Editorial Reviews :
Grand Funk Live: On Tour 1971 is a trip in the way-back machine to the very beginnings of arena rock, and it functions best if you keep that in mind. On Tour 1971 captures these prosaic rockers at the height of their powers, when they matched the record set by the Beatles by becoming the second rock band to sell out New York's Shea Stadium. Their artless, hard-charging playing and unfaltering energy--especially essential during those extended drum solos on 'Inside Looking Out' and 'T.N.U.C. '--capture the spirit of a generation in transition by shrugging off the baroque, meandering psychedelia and socially conscious trappings of '60s music and stripping it down to its bare, unvarnished, and unpretentious surfaces. Grand Funk Railroad were considered by fans to be a breath of fresh air--much like the Ramones would be later in the decade. But not everyone was a fan. After manager Terry Knight paid $100,000 for a huge billboard in Times Square in 1970 to promote their album Closer to Home, the backlash from critics and DJs caught fire, even before the band got off the ground. But GFR's popularity rose on the backs of fans. This mighty power trio toured the country relentlessly, bringing their artless brand of hard, blues-based rock to the masses time and time again. These 11 songs represent the band's swing through Chicago, Detroit, and finally Shea Stadium during a week in 1971, and they showcase the band in all their sweaty glory. Mark Farner tears into a song with the ferocity of a starved beast, his voice like Jack Bruce on steroids. Don Brewer, who began life as a jazz drummer, abandons all his high-brow leanings and thrashes out erratic, heart-topping beats, while former Question Mark and the Mysterians bassist Mel Schacher lays down a mighty foundation with his throbbing bass. This is head-banging at its finest, 15 years before the term was coined. While rather lacking in imagination, Grand Funk Railroad make up for it in sheer power. A raucous trip back in time, with the exception of their rather lackluster cover of the Stones’ 'Gimme Shelter.'
Buyer Reviews :
Grand Funk...loved by fans and scorned by critics were always at their best onstage. They debuted at the 1969 Atlanta Pop Festival as relative unknowns and were superstars overnight;packing out concert halls and selling truckloads of records. Their power is here now for all to savor on this collection of performances from the spring and summer of 1971.
For those of you familar with the 1970 'Live Album',you are in for the sonic ride of your lives! Not only are the recordings superior in sonic clarity to that album but what a difference a year of nonstop gigging made! Mark Farner working the stage like no other,his guitar playing making up in sheer energy and gut power what it may have lacked in technical perfection,Don Brewer, a vastly underrated drummer,driving the band with locomotive intensity,and Mel Schacher,diminutive in stature but mighty of sound with his overdriven,milkshake thick tone and deft bass lines.
They place their stamp on 'Gimme Shelter',nearly making it their own,deliver a version of 'Inside Looking Out' that stands head and shoulders above any performances before or since,fashion a sweet medley of 'I'm Your Captain/Hooked On Love/Get It Together,and give us an early version of 'Footstompin'Music'which had first been cut during the sessions for 'Survival',shelved and later recut on 'E PLuribus Funk' later that year.Sure,several of the songs are LONG..we're talking 1971 here folks! Grand Funk Railroad ruled the concert stage and the proof is right here...Their influence was huge,if not always given its due credit.
Their power was absolute....listen and experience for yourself!
(by William J Redford)
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