Grand Funk Railroad
E Pluribus Funk

THE REVIEW

While browsing on Debaser, I realize that a review of a hard rock masterpiece is missing.

To give you an idea, "E Pluribus Funk" for Grand Funk Railroad is like "Machine Head" for Deep Purple or "Paranoid" for Black Sabbath, "Master Of Puppets" for Metallica, etc.; ultimately, it perhaps represents their greatest creative expression.

For those who don't know (I hope there are few), G.F.R., together with Blue Oyster Cult, represents the American response to the British dominance in the heavy rock field during those years. This extraordinary trio composed of virtuoso musicians such as Mark Farner (guitar/vocals), Mel Schecher (bass), Don Brewer (drums), could hold their own in the seventies with much more famous groups, at least in Europe.

The blend of Blues, Funky, Rock that distinguishes them allowed them to create unique albums and remain ingrained in the memory of many people for their breathtaking live performances, as evidenced by the "Live Album" (1970), one of the best live albums of all time.

Snubbed by critics for being too simplistic, lacking any pretension, noisy and brutal, they managed to break through to people precisely because of these traits, even smashing the Beatles' record when it came to filling Shea Stadium.

"E Pluribus Funk" was recorded towards the end of 1971 but only saw the light at the beginning of the following year, astonishing everyone; by now masters at blending the musical styles from which they came, they produced a compact work that leaves nothing to be criticized; right from the initial track "Footstompin" it is clear that G.F.R. is in a state of grace, this frenetic rock 'n' roll completes the discourse started with "Are You Ready" on the excellent debut album "On Time" (1969), with the addition of Farmer's expertly played organ.

"People, Let's Stop The War", besides noble media purposes, has a funky rhythm with Mel's ever-thumping bass, a wah-wah that accompanies the entire piece, culminating in a beautiful rock blues interlude that gives chills; "Upsetter", carefree radio rock 'n' roll packed with harmonica solos, serves as an appetizer to "I Come Tumblin", a relentless hard rock where the bass and drums undoubtedly take center stage, leaving you breathless for the entire duration of the track, perfectly conjugating the verb of rock, the hard one, Mel Schecher then engages in a frenetic solo.

The inevitable blues arrives with "Nolies", a song of rare beauty with a superb interpretation by Farmer both vocally and on guitar; finally, it's hard to find the words to describe "Loneliness", a suite of almost nine minutes where the listener is struck by a whirlwind of emotions, a true masterpiece comparable in intensity to tracks like "Mistreated" by Deep Purple.