Okay, I'm only posting this because Grand Funk Railroad came up in our recent discussion's about Carly Rae Jepsen and Colbie Caillat, but I've been meaning to get the following sentiments off my chest for what seems like years.
But first -- the aforementioned Grand Funk Railroad. Covering "Gimme Shelter" in 1971.
Seriously -- listen to this under the headphones. And then demand combat pay for the experience.
And before anybody makes the point, I will concede that once Todd Rundgren got his hands on these clowns, they became listenable and/or entertaining.
In small doses.
But if you like the power trio version, there's no hope for you. None.
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24 comments:
that's great! let he/she who has not fantasized singing this song be the first to . . . wait nobody has not sung this song into the hairbrush.
it's a proven fact that music critics who wrote for the magazine that used to be Stereo Review do not like butt rock.
I will defend to the death the excellence of "Bad Time" as a reason for this band to have existed...
Beyond that, eh...
I love "I'm Your Captain."
Aw c'mon. They weren't that bad. It was that kind of music for the time. Hey, they were popular, made some dough. More than I could say for a lot of us.
I guess there's no hope for me. I actually saw them twice at the Garden way back with cronies who liked them too. Once with Freddie King opening, the second with Humble Pie, Clem Clempson on Lead Guitar.
In a short lived band I was in years ago, early/mid 90's, did a cover of We're An American Band. The drummere was still crazy for them. Go figure.
I can't believe I'm about to defend Grand Funk, but I can't find anything wrong with this song from "The Red Album", or their second, released in December 1969, and considered one of their most rockin'. I haven't heard it since I was 14. Great riff and arrangement.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpTsyTGH8Cc
Lovin' the love for the Funk.
They're better than Nickelback.
Defending Grand Funk? Wouldn't dream of it. Apart from the uncharacteristically mellow AND melodic "Bad Time" (which someone else also mentioned here earlier), it's an utter and complete dross. However, there are/were way worse things out there. Pink Floyd, to name but one. To be continued...
Turn on your radio today. Then listen to Grand Funk. Sorry. GF is far superior.
How were they any different than Kiss, really, excepting the makeup and costumes? Simple songs with lunkhead lyrics played by serviceable musicians. It ain't "Waterloo Sunset," but it ain't that bad, either.
And I'm not even much of a GF fan. Although Shriner is dead on about "Bad Time." What a great little pop song.
Huge fan of "Bad Time" here. Singable and melodic.
Not generally a fan of GFR, having been forced to grab the ass of the person in front of me too many times at weddings whilst doing GFR's wholly unnecessary version of "The Locomotion". (Rule of thumb [or ass, as it were]: Any ass publicly available is usually an ass you'd rather not latch onto. But I digress....)
The thought of GFR and Frampton together is almost too much to bear. Disaster narrowly averted.
"Bad Time" was great. And they were reasonably entertaining as a four piece live band.
But I saw the original trio -- on a bill with the Kinks and Mott the Hoople, if you can believe it -- and they were the worst thing ever. Not just the worst band, the worst thing.
And I defy anyone to listen to that Gimmie Shelter without contemplating random violence on puppies and little children.
BTW, I'm allowed to say shit like this because it's partly my blog and, more important, because I'm really old and increasingly cranky.
So fuck you you fucking fucks, etc etc etc.
:-)
Steve: do you remember that when one of us was about to do something tasteless, obnoxious, or in any way over-the-top, the way we would signal what was coming to the rest of the band was to shout "Grand Funk!"??
BTW:I think I was at that concert with you, and you're right. At least they opened. In darker days, they might have been the headliner over those bands.
Perhaps it's time to start getoffmylawn.blogspot.com?
Screw GFR. You saw The Kinks and Mott The Hoople on the same bill!? My two favorite bands. I could've died after that.
"because I'm really old and increasingly cranky."
You also thought Led Zeppelin at their peak was the worst thing you ever saw live and that was 40 years ago when you were 9.
;)
Hello all…no, please remain seated.
Steve said: ” if you like the power trio version, there's no hope for you. None.”
Well, actually, I am hopeless. But I’m pretty sure it has absolutely nothing to do with Grand Funk Railroad.
Okay, back on point…you’re right. This version of Gimme Shelter is dreadful. Irredeemably full of dread.
But, on the other hand, I still love “I’m Your Captain (to Sal: “I’m Spartacus!!!”)
Love the blog, Steve…
Regards,
RichD
Gotta admit, I liked "I'm Your Captain," too.
But I remember when "The Locomotion" became a big hit, I couldn't understand it: "Everything in this song is horribly painfully out of tune, including the singer!"
But I'll take that against ANYTHING using autotune.*
*With one BIG exception, the greatest performance of any song by anybody ever: Steven Colbert & Jimmy Fallon doing "Friday" -- http://www.latenightwithjimmyfallon.com/video/Stephen-Colbert-Sings-Friday-with-The-Roots-4111/1317553
Not a big 3-piece GFR fan back in the day, but I've come to enjoy some of their stuff, especially the E Pluribus Funk elpee (How can you go wrong with that name?) (or that cover?)
But that's not what I wanted to talk about. I've never heard a good cover of Gimme Shelter. In my humble etc., that's because the original is a great RECORD rather than a great song. The song is just ok - mostly one chord and a lotta apocalyptic nattering. The record, on the other hand, is fucking brilliant - from Keith's tremolo-drenched guitar to the razor-sharp rhythm section to Mick & Merry's battling-in-harmony vocals, to the amazing spot (on the word "murder") where Ms. Clayton's voice enters another universe entirely. There's no way that MarkDon&Mel (or anyone) could ever beat that.
I guess I'm hopeless too...I always liked GFR even though I realized that weren't technically that great. It's too bad they never had a proper producer, going from Terry Knight, who's probably responsible for the way this sounds, to Todd Rundgren who took them in a new direction (for better or worse)...never thought much of Todd, way over-rated if you ask me. His song "bang the drum all day" makes me want to go out and harm small children more than this song does....
so go ahead and be cranky and keep listening to "call me maybe" and I'll stick with GFR any day...
I lasted to the 1:25 mark...but it was rough going from the start. I'm going to agree with Maude, though: Gimme Shelter does not lend itself well to covers. That said, it was pretty awful all around.
Then again, I agree with Sal and the others: I love "I'm Your Captain." I even love their take on "The Locomotion," although that may be more out of a sense of nostalgia than anything else.
P.S. Can I just add that I hate Google's post-verification system more than anything GFR has ever done?
Dave- I was with you and Simels at the concert: Grand Funk were the headliners!
RichD- You are the best thing to happen to the comments section of Steve's and Sal's blogs in years, time to start your own blog!
GRAND FUNK SUCKS!!!! I guess it is a generational thing because I often feel the same about Zep.
ROTP(lumber)
Homer Simpson was right, that bass really rattles my bong! The album cover photo must have scared away millions.
steves has more stamina than I do ... the vocal started and I was outta there.
This is the kind of band I would have watched on tv during the "Midnight Special" days, only because there was nothing else on.
I attended one of the less-legendary Hyde Park concerts in London, in 1971 ... the bill was Heads Hands & Feet, Humble Pie, and GFR as headliners. The huge crowd was polite to Heads Hands & Feet, rocked out with Humble Pie, and got up as one and left the park in droves once GFR took the stage. I thought that fairly eloquent at the time...
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