Customer Reviews

Jam: The Graham Central Station Anthology

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Graham Central Station, with Larry Graham on bass and Lady Chocolate doing some monster vocals was always one of the greats for pure funk music. Harder than the Ohio Players, more underground than Earth Wind and Fire or the Isleys, the Station's influence is clear on successors such as Prince, Rick James and Red hot Chili Peppers, among others.
This compilation certainly has a lot of filler (most of the 2nd disc, in fact), but it deserves 5 Stars plus for getting such funk classics as Release Yourself and Feel The Need onto CD. The bass/drums/keyboard combinations of GCS are a generation out there from Larry's earlier work with Sly and the Family Stone. If your feet don't move during thiese tracks, you need to see a doctor.
We've Been Waiting, an acapella treat, is a sheer joy, and hard not to sing along with.
NowDoUWant2Dance percolates, with a popping rhythm that reminds you of everything you enjoyed about 70s funk music. (It's a shame that the album this came from, "Mirror" probably will never see the light of day on CD, because it was one of the greatest funk albums of all time).
Anyone who thinks funk is merely a thick bass line needs to hear this disc to understand the evolution of the genre, and to listen to it being executed by one of the greatest (and most underrated) bass players in history. It's a shame that Larry Graham will probably be best remembered for the syrupy "One In A Million", than for his true talent.

finally a Complete Overview on Graham Central Station&some extra tracks.Larry Graham is a Strong Band Leader with His Group here but His Bass does all the talking from start to finish.70's era GCS is Nasty Stanky&FUNKY."the Jam' Alone puts alot of Groups out of Business Showcasing GCS'S Chops How many Groups Nowadays would be as Bold??Larry Graham deserves madd Props because the Average Act would just be happy after they played with SLy&THe Family Stone but thank Goodness Larry Graham didn't He kept The Funk Going.Slamming Grooves&Laid-Back Ballads.

After reading Sherance M. Brothers "smbrothers24" reveiew i just had to say as
a major P-FUNK fan bootsy collins is just as good a performer
but nowere nere as good a bass player
im not her to beat you up we are booth big fans i can tell
so ill go on.

He is credited with the invention of the slapping
technique, which radically
change the way the bass would be played.

Larry Graham pioneered the art of slap-POP
So-called "Machine-gun bass" (just ask marcus miller,
Flea, Stanley Clarke, John Norwood Fisher, P-Nut,)

and please guys ( Reviewer:Karl Miller "kemspeaks ) never discount his vocals,
people are still talking about his octave range
(witch i think is 5 i may be wrong)
Lou Rawls, has a four octave range.

a very good CD
and two of the best Reviews came from

Reviewer: Karl Miller "kemspeaks

Reviewer: Lindsay Robinson it aint knitpicking that stuff needs to be heard.

/// feel free to email /// nubian124@yahoo.com

Much of former Sly & The Family Stone member Larry Graham (Central Station)'s first few albums picked up on the "take you higher" vibe of Sly's greatest music, with a run of energetic, bass-driven funk tracks...Larry and the Family Graham wouldn't be that inaccurate of an alternative title. To me, the peak came with the 1975-1977 tracks (THE JAM through EARTHQUAKE).

After that, somehow the funk seemed to get diluted in various trends of the day, from disco (STAR WALK) to pop/soul ballads (ONE IN A MILLION YOU), albeit I do appreciate the latter track more now than when it was first released. An indication how how times change is that on the early-1980s track SOONER OR LATER a synthesized bass is heard, not Larry's trademark plucking and popping.

The album ends with a faithful-to-the-original 1990's concert remake of Sly's HIGHER, which in a way brings it all back home. Overall, this is by far the GCS collection to own, even if the group's initial consistent vision gets obscured on parts of the second disc--five stars for half of the tracks here, three for the remainder.

Larry Graham is quite impressive. Though, better known for his heavy funk bass playing, he's actually quite a versatile artist. He can do heavy funk, or sweet love songs and anything in between. This anthology shows the talent and the greatness of Larry Graham. He's also got a great voice. I recommend this anthology to any serious funk fan, it rocks! Oh and I should mention that it has excellent linear notes!

After the dissolution of Sly & The Family Stone due
to Sly's increasing levitation towards self-destructive
substance abuse which killed his brilliant creativity
earlier than it should've...
It stood to a handful of artists and musicians who were
influenced by what that megalithic band had started in
their hey-day, to carry on the banner of the FUNK
into the 70's and 80's!!

The Ohio Players, Mandrill, Tower of Power, Cameo, etc.
all had their own recipes, Earth, Wind & Fire had their
own refined eclectic pop-freindly version,
The Isley Brothers had theirs, Parliament / Funkadelic
and Bootsy's Rubberband carried the funk banner high and proud,
and then of course there was that genius kid out of
Minneapolis named Prince that took it well into the 80's!

But right up there with all of those names, and from the
actual source of the early funk meteorite was one of
the most influential bassists of all time....
Larry Graham, whose percussive and funky bass style
(thumpin'-slappin'-pluckin') was one of the main ingredients
to Sly's catchy lyrics, harmonic hooks and rhythmic flights
of the imagination!
Larry took it upon himself to form one of the baddest,
most influential and most underated bands of the 70's...
"Graham Central Station!!"
Their music was just as infectious as Sly's but with an even deeper
funk edge, which probably kept them from reaching the pop audience
that Sly had, but trust me...black folks was feelin' 'em big time!
They used to put on a hell of live show as well!
The best of all their albums from 1973-1980 is on here
and in addition to Larry's innovative bass playing you also
hear early forays into electronic instrumentation with the use
of the "funk box", an early drum machine, as well as synthesizers
and moog bass around the same time as people like Stevie Wonder,
P-Funk and others were introducing them to black music.
The grooves are infectious, the ballads lush,
the overall feeling joyous!
I am so glad that Warner Brothers decided to re-release their
catalogue and this strident compilation that captures the esscence
of what GCS was all about!--Buy It & Let The Funk Take You Higher!!

The Jam: Larry Graham & GCS is right on point and a pumping collection!
A very influential band and performer showcased here with high energy funk overhauls, "The Jam," "It's Alright," "Can You Handle It" etc. Cuts that seldom if ever found the radio but crank just the same are found here as well. Peep "Tis your kind of music." "Your Love," has a nice southern soul "Hot Fun In The Summertime", feel. The track "People" was sampled by Santana among others on his widely successful "Supernatural." "It ain't no fun to me", "Love & Happiness" and "Happ e 2 c u again" would have been nice but that is personal preference and knitpicking.

Disc 2 is interesting hearing the publics taste evolve and
the recording artist riding the change. In this case you get the chart topping ballad, "One in a Million You," disco "Starwalk", and a bit of doo wop "My radio sure sounds good to me" thrown in for good measure.

If you dug Sly, dig great bass in your face funk, or some smooth soul crooning, you will find something to savor here. Excellent, excellent photos and detailed info. Finally a decent collection for a band that should be mentioned right in line with Parliament, EWF, Isley's and other 70's soul conquerers.

Larry Graham is one of the greatest artists of all time! Every album GCS ever released has had at least one major hit song on it. This set does a GREAT job compiling the best songs his band ever released, including one of the best hard rock cuts ever, "Earthquake", and his funk rock opus, "The Jam". Not only does this 2 cd set define GCS, but it also defines an undescribable era of music!

Larry surely does know how to put
you in the mood with his many,many
smooth,and mind mellowing songs.I've
been a fan of his for a long time.

This is the definitive anthology of Graham Central Station. Larry Graham's spin-off band from the innovative Sly & The Family Stone does not disappoint. All of my favorites are included in this compilation -- and that's a lot of good hits! If you've never experienced Graham Central Station, this set is a great introduction. You will LOVE it!