Customer Reviews

Grand Funk: Live Album

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

One of the best (and most ignored) double live albums from the classic rock era shows GFR in their best element: The stage. Most of their early greats are here: Paranoid, Into The Sun, Heartbreaker, T.N.U.C., Inside Looking Out... most rockers consider these live versions superior (and certainly more soulful) than their studio counterparts.

The chief complaint with this particular import pressing is the atrocious CD mastering job done by EMI Holland. Grand Funk's Live Album is a relic from the bygone age of "zero sweetening", where the raw performances are presented in their naked, unenhanced, uncorrected glory. Despite this, it sounded GREAT on vinyl. This particular CD pressing does a severe injustice to the original album: shrill highs, static-filled peaks, and fuzzed-out distortion far and above the original intent. A major disappointment to these ears.

If you GOTTA have this classic live album to satisfy an itch for some primo 1970 power trio antics, pick it up. But if you're a stickler for fidelity, seek out the much superior domestic pressing (now out of print but still available as a cutout).

"Just listening to all those pretty songs back in the 60's was fine. But it was always fun to turn the guitar amp up so high that there was no way you could controll it. But man it was,and still is. I always had this album under my arm,walking threw the neighberhood. I've looked every were for the cd. after reading some reviews I'm going to wait for the remasterd version to come out. It's still one of my favorites.

I'm in total agreement that this live album was one of the most "soulful" (to borrow uncledl's term) versions of Grand Funk Railroad's original vinyl recordings. Listening to this album again was like being there. Each time I listen to it I feel the energy and drive like I did when I was 19 years old! Can You Dig IT!!

Man... I gotta let you know that the mastering of this CD leaves allot to be desired. It is missing the richness and fullness of it's vinyl LP counter part. Uncledl's review below says it best. Please read that review.

This CD import is a disappointment, however, I had to have this album... My current vinyl version is scrap from the countless hours of play and abuse. I am happy to say that I have another near mint LP version of Grand Funk Railroad - Live Album on the way from a recent Internet purchase. I'm really looking forward to it's arrival.

This is great album to have in your CD collection, but think it over if fidelity is important to you.

ROCK ON Brothers and Sisters!!

This is the kind of album wich is impossible to listen to a reasonnable volume! The audience is hysterical and the band is just like a train rolling full speed. One the greatest Live album ever made. Powerful,energetic and still very groovy and melodic! This is a GRAND Grand funk.

If anyone wanted to know what it was about Grand Funk that drove the kids wild and the parents crazy, it is best captured here in an hour and twenty minutes of the band at their loud,driving best. When they recorded this albun "live" in the summer of 1970, they hadn't yet released their third album, "Closer to Home", and were still on the road supporting their second album, so most of the songs were from the first two albums. The real test of a good live album is how much the group expands on, and improvises on their studio material. A lot of the songs from the concert, like "Paranoid"' "In Need", "T.N.U.C.", and "Into the Sun" sound like they were "rushed" through, but compared with how slow the studio versions of those songs were, they actually sound better with the faster tempos. And in the case of "In Need", "T.N.U.C.", and "Into the Sun", they more than make up for it, with two minutes of extra guitar soloing from Mark Farner at the end of "In Need" extra drum soloing from Don Brewer on "T.N.U.C.", and extra bass improvisation from Mel Schacher at the end of "Into the Sun." One of the best things about this album that sets it apart from other "live" albums is that it is the entire concert-all 80 minutes of it-from start to finish, giving the listener a sense of having been there. It was never edited or tampered with in any way by record execs. It was Grand Funk as they really were in 1970, pulling out all the stops to give people more than their money's worth.

This was THE GRAND FUNK RAILROAD in all their rawist, nasty, sexual, high energy, Live bombastic Spinal tap Power Trio Glory. This is the Greatest Live Album of all time, there are no overdubs only a few tweaks with the audience noise. This was what GFR was all about, Mel Schacher Playing his BOOMING BASS behind the note. Don Brewer Playing his POUNDING DRUMS ahead of the Note and Mark Farner playing his wild rhythms and screeching leads on GUITAR anywhere; before, after, or in the middle of the note. That magic gave GFR a special sound all to thier own, It can't be faked or copied, its something natural to the three musicians. This album captured millions of fans for GFR who still reminisce about it to this day. It sounds great, nice and bass heavy like GFR in there power trio days were. By only comlaint is the audiance noise is a little scratchy sounding inbetween songs.

Better than the original 2 record set because you can listen from start to finish, just like the concert!

I have been listening to this album for over twenty years and every time I listen to it is like the first time. There is not a bad song on here. When I just want to hear some loud rock and roll, this is the album I put on.

This is the first album I ever bought back when I was a sophomore in high school. I also thought that I would never be able to replace it on CD. Thanks Amazon! These renditions of "Mean Mistreater", "Inside Looking Out" and "Heartbreaker" are awesome. The whole album is awesome. This live album is a must have in the collection of any true Grand Funk fan. It is still one of my top 5 favorite albums of all time.

Grand Funk Railroad is the most underrated band in music history. Appearing at the tail end of the British Invasion, Grand Funk was America's power trio answer to Cream and Led Zeppelin...and, during their prime, they outsold them both.

It's sad that, despite the records they set, they are still absent from the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, an honor they deserve more than these folks (each is a member of the RRHF): Louis Armstrong, Paul "String Bean" Ackerman, Hal Blaine, Charles Brown, Hank Ballard, LaVern Baker, Dave Bartholomew, Ralph Bass, Tom Donahue, Ahmet Ertegun, Nesuhi Ertegun, Milt Gabler, Little Willie John, James Jamerson, Bill Monroe, The Moonglows, Syd Nathan, The Orioles, Doc Pomus, Lloyd Price, Sam Phillips, Earl Palmer, Ma Rainey, Big Joe Turner, Allen Toussaint, Jerry Wexler, Jimmy Yancey