Customer Reviews

Survival

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If you only want one GFR CD in your collection, my advice is to choose this one. I love the original LP (I have 2 copies of that), and having it in CD is worth the price. The additional 'bonus' tracks are not as polished, they're obviously (in my opinion) 'works in progress', and they sound it. After listening to the bonus cuts, I have become thankful that the band did not stop at those versions - The addition of these bonus versions would be interesting to a hardcore GFR fan - maybe - but to me they are weak seconds to the original album cuts. Bottom line - buy this CD for the original album and you won't be disappointed.

I think the previous reviewers of this great album said it best. So I won't repeat what they've written. So allow me to romanticize the past and tell you my story of Grand Funk Railroad's album, "Survival."

When this album came out, I think I was 7 or 8. Since my brother was always sneaking out of the house at one in the morning to smoke weed with his delinquent friends (after all, it was the early seventies), I would swipe his records while he slept off his hangover the following day. I would sit and listen to all that great music on our Sears stereo console cabinet that was practically the size of Janis Joplin's coffin!

As we 40-somethings remember, albums were great! Unlike boring CD's that are so bland and sterile, albums were big and featured really cool cover art that jumped out at you! You just had to have it! Even if the music sucked, the cover art was cool and it looked great in your bedroom! I can remember sitting around with my friends in my bedroom, just studying the cover art and liner notes, as if it were the FBI studying the JFK assassination film. To top it off, there was always some kind of media that accompanied albums (posters, fold-out lyric sheet, band post cards, etc...).

"Survivor" came with 3 individual 8"X10" color posters of each band member, which I swiped immediately from the album and put them up on my bedroom wall. Heck, he was so out of it that I don't think he ever noticed.

And so it was one evening in 1972, my hard working, hippie hating, "rock n'roll-is-the-root-of-all-evil" dad, returned home from a hard days work and saw the band pictures on my wall. The pictures, which featured each band member dressed as cavemen and clutching bones with meat hanging off them, saw them and exploded.

I'm not sure if Amazon.com will allow me to repeat the profanity that was uttered from dear ole' dad, but suffice to say that my dad cursed for a solid 30 minutes without repeating the same curse word twice.

For some reason, he didn't make me take the posters down. I guess my dad was cooler than I thought. Those were the days.

"Survival" has probably passed the test of time better than any of the other Grand Funk albums. "I Can Feel Him in the Morning", a song that sounds like Farner is singing about God, has to be one of their greatest songs. Remember the first time you ever heard it? Did you know what Brewer was going to do on the drums and did it sound great? "Gimme Shelter" was borrowed from the Stones. I didn't realize it was a Jagger-Richards song until I bought "Hot Rocks". "Comfort Me" and "Country Road" are also highlights on this album. Some of the song "I Can Feel Him in the Morning", sounds like Farner is singing about Vietnam. It was still going on at the time and Grand Funk skirted political issues until "We're an American Band", which I think only a teenager can appreciate.

Hi Jerry, Actually Don Brewer Sings I Can Feel Him In The Morning. You can refer to Marks Book for that info. Don also wrote the Lyrics and MArk wrote the Music.

Again I just love this CD

Is survival GFR best album, Well most GFR Fans will pick either Live Album, We're An American Band or Closer to Home as there best work, but to me it was and will always be survival. This album was and is a whole departure from GFRs early head banging ways, this album has some much soul and is a searching and introspective album. Each song is like bush strokes on a canvas of a brilliant overall work. While there are no songs on this CD that the rock and roll world would consider classic's, there are two absolutely brilliant songs on Survival, that most of the world is missing out on, Mark Farner's great composition Comfort Me and Don Brewers Great composition I Can Feel Him In The Morning (Don;s Lyrics and Marks Music). In Comfort Me what he have is basically a Heavy Rock version of Amazing Grace, "I was found after losing my way, safe and sound after many of day" This song is about the unconditional Love that God has for Us his children. On I can Feel Him In the morning we have a song about Felling God's presence even in the most terrible of circumstances "Bring me Down To The Battle field, let me hear the shells flaying By," such as war. This song is clearly the best written GFR song and one of the best in rock History; the lyrics are so deep and so connected to the heart and spirit. I just love this album from Cover to Cover. Country Road calls out to that simple life and what is important in life. All You Got Is Money is an interesting song about what Having money can cause in ones life. I Want Freedom is a clarion call to Americans to make sure we keep our freedoms the founding fathers gave us. And the cover's Gimme Shelter (a sledge Hammer Version) and Fellin' Alright (a very well done cover) all are both good songs. Those songs alone make this CD a must have, but it is also a remasterred CD that sounds beautiful and has Bonus tracks. The Bonus tracks are I can't get along with society a song about censorship a Jam that is an early version of Footstompin Music that sounds a lot like the way they played it Live on the 71 tour. Country Road, The original unedited version which is almost like a classical composition with four movements, it starts off with the song in its recognizable form with different lyrics and goes on to a cool 60s sounding keyboard heavy movement, then on to a Guitar heavy movement and back to the final movement with is the familiar song with the Familiar vocals, it is very cool, but slightly disjointed movement from one section to another (BUT I LOVE IT). And All you got is Money a very heavy version with different lyrics and no screaming at the end, it is very cool. Lastly an unedited version of Fellin' Alright in which Mark and Don sing in a lower key, very cool stuff. The CD also has new Liner Notes and cool Pictures. This is my favorite Rock Album of all Time and I would highly recommend it to anyone.

I was probably 12 years old when this LP was originally released. I loved it then, and now with extra tracks, I love it even more.This LP was a slight departure from the "in your face" approach of thier previous recordings. They played this one a bit more thoughtful and melodic, especially side two (on the lp). Songs like "I want Freedom" and "I Can Feel Him In The Morning" give the LP and almost surreal feeling. Of course thier cover of The Rolling Stones "Gimmie Shelter" finishes off the original lp with a bang. But here we have bonus material to give you a different hindsight on that period in the band's development.All in all, I have to say this is one of my favorite GFR albums. So why only 4 stars? Because even as a kid back in the 1970's I felt that "All You Got Is Money" was a horrible song. It should have never made the LP. I can see where Mark Farner might have been concerned with greed at the time, The band was becoming more sucessful with each new release. But where money grubbing hangers-on might have been a concern of Mark Farner at the time, it was not much of a reality for the fans. Think about it...GFR was a "Peoples" band. Mark Farner was a spokesperson for a new generation of young people who were mostly opposed to the mindless slaughter going on in Vietnam, and the abuse of federal and local political power of the estabilshment of the late 60's and early 70's. I don't see how he could think his fans would relate to a song about people who prey on the "well to do". Most of us were far from rich, and had no concept of the notion. The song had no realtion to the generation, or the culture of the fans he was addressing at the time. I admit, he might have had a different concept in mind, but it did not come across well, and did not fit well with the feel of the rest of the LP. It's the only bad song on the record, and IMO, it should have been left off and something else should have been used in it's place. It just does not fit.Otherwise, I have fond memories of this record. I'm glad Capitol finally got around to giving it a shot on CD. And with the bonus tracks, it's even better.

I own the original album, from my teen years, and this is so grand, including the additional remix tracks at the end. Slip it in the car CD changer and romp up the bass and forget the Interstate. There is no comparison.

They hit you hard with the opening to "Country Road". You can't sit still to "Feelin' Alright" nor "Foot Stompin' Music".

Who needs the Stones? Survival is so much better.

I just love the cover. period. near perfect Seventies man!WOW! and I love the title and the vibe Man ,the production and engineering is Like a bong hit rush and theres a groove of catchiness in the tunes . C OUNTRY ROAD IS no JOHN DENVER its more like a band of freeks escaping the decay,MARK FARMER i think hes a genuis hes got one of the best voices in ROCK AT THE TIME , HES NEGLECTED CAUSE THE WIMPY FREEKS AT ROLLINGSTONE in san FRANCISCO AT THE TIME COULDNT RELATE and were prejudice even though they preeched peace and love , THEY COULDNT recognised good at that time if their life depended it .Ill tell u this bROTHER, i put this on with a load of stuff from the day on a car trip, Yes TALES FROM T GARDENS SOFT MACHINE 2 IRON BUTTERFLY METAMORPHOSIS,THIS stood out to my wifes ears i think. She atleast mentioned it.

I am & always will be a Grand Funk Railroad fan, let's face it way back when these guys were at their peak no one could touch them... They were one of the greatest American rock bands of their time without a doubt...By 1971, Grand Funk broke The Beatles' Shea Stadium attendance record by selling out in just 72 hours so what did that say about them at the time... Anyway, with all that being said, Survival is definitely one of the better albums in their discography. They do an excellent version of Dave Mason's "Feelin Alright" & The Rolling Stones "Gimme Shelter" both of which could easily give the original versions a serious run for their money... Overall their other songs stand out just fine, making this album definitely worth having if you are indeed a serious Grand Funk Railroad fan...

The band pulled out the stops here , the cover didn't even hurt sales and for good reason the music is great and the version of 'feelin alright' just lays it down, other songs are minor rock classics too. "i can feel him in the morning' and others just do it correctly. This one saw them getting more proficient too in songwriting in general but they had already created some true classics on other discs so that's a good thing.

This album, for some reason, is my favorite GFR album. I was 17 when Survival was released. I had it on an 8-track, which was horrible as songs were cut off to switch tracks. I just listened to this album and it truly reminded me of how often I played it, as every track came back to me. Country Road, Gimme Shelter, I Cane Feel Him In the Morning, All You Got Is Money- Just great stuff. Classic rock fans should check this album out. Definitely worth it.