Grand Funk Railroad - Trunk of Funk

Well, my FunkChildren, it`s time to put the old records/CDs/tapes away; seal `em up and save `em for posterity; there`s plenty of reason to do that, and it starts with the brand-new TRUNK OF FUNK, and the first four CDs of the NEWLY REMASTERED (in 24 BIT, no less) GRAND FUNK RAILROAD CATALOG!!

"ON TIME", "GRAND FUNK", "CLOSER TO HOME" and "LIVE ALBUM" are all there in the best sense of every note, phrase, lick, lyric, kick drum, bass run up the scales and cymbal crash- OH, BABY- if you`re a diehard GFR fan, like me (and a few dozen other of my pals from around the world), your ears are gonna MELT and BLEED before you`re done with these CDs.

You`ll smile ear to ear all the while, too.

"ON TIME", the first release from GFR in `69, is just AWESOME from start to finish; the separation of the individual instruments, the definition, clarity and the BASS WHOMP!! that Mel Schacher hit us all with that got the world`s attention is all there, PLUS sonic enhancements- you`ll swear that this may be the first time you ever listened to this album like this, you can`t help it....it ROCKS. This may be one of the greatest BLUES/ROCK albums ever made, but because of Terry ("I`m not a producer") Knight`s incompetency behind a mixer, nobody ever knew it before now....take a listen and you`ll hear what I mean. It`s soooooo good, soooooo smooth and groovin`, even Todd is smilin` ear to ear and he had nothin` to do with GFR (yet....).

"GRAND FUNK" was THE DEFINITIVE `heavy metal` album that hooked us all. THAT BASS- whoa, baby- POWER CHORDS- rippin` vocals- and Mr. A$$KICKER lettin` it go on the drums made EVERYONE sit up and take notice that this was THE BAND to pay attention to. You ain`t gonna believe what this sounds like, unless you sit and roll a big, ol` fattie up and crack a Schlitz with the headphones on. Do it....and you can thank me later. OUT-FUNKIN`-STANDING. Four bongs!!

"CLOSER TO HOME"....for many of my brothers and myself, CTH was THE GFR album that got us back to "The World", mentally and emotionally, let alone physically. It did me. There`s a special place that no other record will ever be able to hold in my heart that this one has securely all by itself.

My God, I stood in the middle of the room when I played this, with tears in my eyes. This is timeless, historical, reverent and incredible music, my friends. It sounds as if you`re hearing it for the very first time, it`s soooooo good. This album should be mandatory listening for EVERYONE on this world. It`s fabulous. If this doesn`t grab you, you`re already dead. Wonderful from opening note to final fadeout. AND, those "bonus cuts" are hot as hell, too!

"LIVE ALBUM"....HOLY BACK-DRAFT, BATMAN, can this band - R O C K - or what??? You may THINK you`ve heard "live albums" before that melt the tweeters and shred the woofers- but man, you ain`t heard THIS ONE like this ever before!!!!!! Brace yourself, grab onto the chair- THIS was the record that the Memorex ad with the guy sitting in the easy chair being blown away facing the speaker was representing!! Even Terry (I`m STILL not a producer) Knight`s awful mix can`t take away what happens in this album right from the first chords of "ARE YOU READY?" (and you damn well better be, too) till it`s OVER. Finally, the PROPER ORDER of the show is revealed, too. This one is gonna rock yer (eye)balls off. Guaranteed to start a WHOLE NEW GENERATION of ROCK FANS to want MORE of this band (who, by the way, is reformed and out on tour NOW [minus Mark Farner, solo performer]- replaced by KISS veteran Bruce Kulick on guitar, .38 Special`s MAX CARL on lead vocals, and The Silver Bullet Band`s keyboardist Tim Cashion with, OF COURSE, Don "Mr. A$$KICKER" Brewer and Mel "The GOD of THUNDER" Schacher, the heart, rhythm and backbone of GFR from the start)!!

I can`t WAIT to get my hands on the next four remasters!! DAVID TEDDS & Co. has done yet ANOTHER incredible job (see "GRAND FUNK RAILROAD LIVE- The 1971 TOUR"). THANK GOD Capitol Records put Grand Funk Railroad`s remasters in the capable hands of such DEDICATED GRAND FUNK FANS as DAVID TEDDS and EVREN GOKNAR!!

GET THE TRUNK OF FUNK. GET THE REMASTERED CDs. GET READY TO ROCK LIKE YOU WERE 15 ONE MORE TIME.

You`re welcome!!

Grand Funk Railroad`s first album, On Time was recorded on 8-Track in June of 1969, just one month before their performance at the Atlanta Pop Festival. Capitol records signed them on the spot after the show and the On Time album was officially released in Sept of 1969. The album includes standards such as Are you ready, T.N.U.C, Into the sun and Heartbreaker, which are songs that Grand Funk played many times live during their career. Other classic GFR tunes are Anybody`s Answer, Time Machine, High on a horse, Call yourself a man, Can`t be too long and Ups and downs. This was a great debut album for the power trio from Flint, Mi and it sounds much better now since it`s been re-mastered.

The second album by GFR was simply called Grand Funk. It`s red cover with live pics of Mark, Don and Mel became known as the Grand Funk (Red Album) by their fans. This album was a better recording then On Time and featured Grand Funk in their most raw state. Their hard grinding blues resonated a feeling that was very down to earth and realistic. The band spent a total of three days to record this album and did little overdubbing on it. Many of the songs on the Red Album can be considered as vehicles for their concerts, because after all Grand Funk was best known as a live band. Songs such as In Need, Paranoid and GFR`s version of Inside looking out were concert favorites. The album starts off on a bang with, Got this thing on the move. A great jam tune that features Mark`s fuzz tone Messenger guitar right in your face, along with Don`s hard driving drumming and Mel`s great bass work, all working together in unison. The album also includes the songs, Please don`t worry, High Falootin woman, Mr. Limousine driver and Winter and my soul. There are also two bonus tracks which include and early version of, Nothing is the same and an alternate track of Mr. Limousine drive. The best way to listen to this CD is just crank it up, then lay back and feel it. It`s the ultimate garage band album.

Closer to home is the Grand Funk album that put them over the top. When GFR released the album in June of 1970, they rented a giant billboard in New York`s Time Square to help promote it. This did help the band, because along with Grand Funk`s constant touring, the album broke the top ten list and went on to sell over three million copies. This was Grand Funk`s best album musically up to this point in their career and it also featured their spellbinding song, I`m your captain. A song which touched millions and gave hope and peace to many of our military men and women in Viet Nam. This album was more R&B in feel and also showed some gospel roots as well. The Closer to home re-master also includes unreleased tracks of Mean Mistreater, also live versions of Heartbreaker, In Need and Mean Mistreater as well. Mark, Don & Mel played great together on this album and were very harmonious as well. Closer to home is a true rock anthem. This is without doubt the most explosive album ever released and the sound GFR get`s on this CD is both awsome and sensual. The hard driving rhythm and blues that Grand Funk played is best captured on this album, without any overdubbing of any kind. It is wild, fun and can easly drive you into a frenzy. This is another album that you just have to crank up and feel the great vibes that are coming out at full force. The album erupts with Are you ready. A song which features Don Brewer on lead vocals and Mark Farner`s screaming guitar work, while Mel Schacher keeps the rhythm going with his superb bass play. Paranoid kicks in with raw energy and sustain, then GFR goes into thier song In Need. A great live song which features a wild and searing guitar solo by Mark. Heartbreaker and Mean Mistreater then take the band into a more solemn tone and then they break into their awsome jam tune called, Mark say`s alright. T.N.U.C is a song that features Don Brewer`s fantastic drum work, because of the great drum solo by Donnie B. It`s also a hard driving tune that`s full of excitement and energy. It`s the ultamate free form rock song and one of their best known live tunes. They always had the fans in the palms of their hands with this song too. Grand Funk then finishes off with Into the sun. A great song with a melody and feel that takes you on a trip of rapture and leaves the fans craving for more. It is the ultimate live album by the best concert band of all time.