Published on Sep 15, 1997
A few months ago, Grand Funk graced these pages – and I promptly
ripped their release
E Pluribus Unum to shreds.
Two albums later, less one overbearing manager and plus one
keyboardist in the person of Craig Frost, Grand Funk released
We’re An American Band, undoubtedly their strongest album of
their career. How this band could do such an about-face in less
than two years is amazing.
Now, I admit a touch of bias here. When I was growing up, an
aunt of mine had this album and listened to it a lot when I was at
my grandmother’s house. When she moved out, she let me pick through
her record collection, and I promptly snagged this one. It’s not in
too good of shape anymore – the title track skips way too much –
but its essence is there.
Mark Farner and company get a helping hand in the form of one
Todd Rundgren. Rundgren does more than produce the band here; he
revives them. The overall sound is vastly improved, and the
addition of Frost on keyboards injects some new blood into the
sound. No more just a noodling of guitar, bass and drums, the sound
is much fuller.
Likewise, the songwriting is vastly improved. Songs like
“Creepin'”, one of the “long” tracks that normally tend to get on
the listener’s nerves, seem to fly past. The bluesy feel of this
one locks you into a groove that refuses to let go. Similarly,
“Stop Lookin’ Back” shows off Don Brewer’s drum work, especially
the ending flourish. I especially liked the slight echo on the
vocals.
There are two well-known tracks on
We’re An American Band. The lesser-known, “Walk Like A Man,”
is an okay track, but tends to be one of the only two weak
performances on the album. I just don’t think there was enough
attention paid to this one; it could have been developed into a
much stronger track. The title track, on the other hand, is one of
the songs that will forever define ’70s rock. Maybe Frosts’s
keyboards could have risen past the “dit-dit-dit” rhythm in the
chorus, but the song is well written and performed. Farner’s guitar
solo is simply electrifying.
No, I
haven’t forgotten about Mel Schacher; it’s just that his
bass work, with the exception of on “Black Licorice”, tends to play
a lesser role in the songs. This is okay; maybe Schacher saw his
role on this album to be an anchor to the rhythm section.
Whatever… it works.
The only other weak performance here is the closing track,
“Loneliest Rider,” which seems to take itself a little too
seriously. Its portrayal of the American Indian is decent enough –
though I can’t think of any song with this theme that stands out as
awesome in my mind – but, like “Walk Like A Man,” needed a little
more development.
We’re An American Band is almost 25 years old, but it
doesn’t sound like it’s aged a day. Grand Funk definitely hit the
high point of their career with this album, and is one that belongs
in every true rock fan’s collection – in my case, with my almost
worn-out copy, it may be time to update it to CD.