Grand Funk Railroad
The 1971 Tour
Unknown locations but appears to be multiple venues
intro
are you ready
foot stompin music
paranoid
I'm your captain/closer to home
hooked on love
get it together
tnuc
inside looking out
gimmer shelter
into the sun
return
It's hard to believe this but in 1971, GFR matched the record set by The
Beatles by becoming the second rock band to sell out New York's Shea Stadium.
But the also set a new record by selling out Shea in a faster time (3 days)
than The Beatles (7 days). In 1971, GFR was clearly at the top of the
game. Two years of touring, 5 gold records, sold out shows, and music that
was accessible to every working man/woman in America made them fantastically
popular. This was great GFR --- raw and energetic --- before the (Top
40) pop sound infiltrated the band's music. It was stripped down and
every note is visible. No tricks here -- it's the real deal. Critics
panned GFR but they kept touring and releasing music. And they became the
people's band, not the critics band.
I got this in trade and it appears to be a fan's tribute to GFR - someone
has assembled a few songs from various venues. The sound on this is mostly
FM or SB so I'm guessing that someone assembled bits and pieces from radio
broadcasts. Farner's guitar is perfect; Brewer's drumming is pedestrian
(for me anyway) and pandering to the audience's needs - but he delivers;
and Schacner's bass is a thumping. You'll want to turn this one up loud and
take a ride back to 1971 in the GFR Time Machine.