Grand Silence

Phoenix is the sixth studio album by the rock band Grand Funk Railroad. It was released in 1972 on Capitol Records. The album was produced by Grand Funk and marks the band's first album not produced by Terry Knight. "Rock & Roll Soul" was released as a single and went to #29 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1972.

Having made several changes in their business and musical efforts in 1972, Grand Funk Railroad made even more extensive ones in 1973, beginning with their name, which was officially truncated to "Grand Funk." And keyboardist Craig Frost, credited as a sideman on Phoenix, the previous album, was now a full-fledged bandmember, filling out the musical arrangements. The most notable change, however, came with the hiring of Todd Rundgren to produce the band's eighth album. Rundgren, a pop/rock artist in his own right, was also known for his producing abilities, and he gave Grand Funk exactly what they were looking for: We're an American Band sounded nothing like its muddy, plodding predecessors.

Iron Will (2008). Perhaps more than any other popular music style, heavy metal has the most subgenres. But besides Manowar, "he-man metal" has been a subgenre explored by few others - a style so testosterone-heavy that only the toughest and proudest of specimens are allowed entrance into the proceedings. However, circa the early 21st century, another similarly styled loud and proud outfit, Grand Magus, triumphantly arrived on the scene (undoubtedly via horseback, with swords drawn and ready for battle). As evidenced by their 2008 release, the appropriately titled Iron Will, the chaps fit the aforementioned description oh so perfectly - given their stellar song titles such as "Like the Oar Strikes the Water" and "Silver into Steel," their galloping guitar riffs, and singer Janne "JB" Christoffersson's manly roar…

Shinin' On is the eighth album by Grand Funk Railroad and was released in 1974. Although not as successful as its predecessor, We're an American Band (1973), it peaked at #5 in the US and was certified gold, and its first single, a cover of "The Loco-Motion" topped the U.S. charts. The original cover was done in bi-visual 3-D and included the required blue and red lensed glasses to view it. A Quadraphonic mix of the album was available in the Quadraphonic 8-Track cartridge format. The title song was featured in The Simpsons' 7th season episode "Homerpalooza" on May 19, 1996.

The title says it all: Although not steeped in heavy metal riffs or gothic sound effects, this 1976 effort from Grand Funk Railroad creates a mood gloomy enough to rival the darkest moments of Black Sabbath. By this point in their career, the band was feeling run into the ground and this is reflected in the mood of the lyrics: the title track is mournful rumination on the inevitability of death and "I Feel for Your Love" explores the depression created by the end of a relationship. The result is an album that feels like an anomaly in the Grand Funk Railroad catalog: the album's dark mood sits at odds with the group's normally energetic style and, thus, robs it of a lot of its punch.

Closer to Home, the trio's third album, was the record that really broke them through to the commercially successful level of metal masters such as Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath. Rather than rushing headlong into their typical hard, heavy, and overamplified approach, Grand Funk Railroad began expanding their production values. Most evident is the inclusion of strings, the acoustic opening on the disc's leadoff cut, "Sins a Good Man's Brother," as well as the comparatively mellow "Mean Mistreater." But the boys had far from gone soft. The majority of Closer to Home is filled with the same straight-ahead rock & roll that had composed their previous efforts.

One of the 1970s' most successful hard rock bands in spite of critical pans and somewhat reluctant radio airplay (at first), Grand Funk Railroad built a devoted fan base with constant touring, a loud, simple take on the blues-rock power trio sound, and strong working-class appeal…

While British blues guitarist Otis Grand's albums have received critical acclaim in Europe, somehow they slipped through the cracks in the U.S. market. Originally released in 1994, Nothing Else Matters was reissued in 2003 as part of the Sanctuary Blues Masters series. On this date, Grand pays tribute to guitar hero T-Bone Walker; Grand's original composition, "5 to 99 Blues," employs Walker's famous riffs and he performs sincere covers of "All Night Long" and "Looking Good" from the Magic Sam catalog. Lending a hand on the disc are Curtis Salgado and Sugar Ray Norcia, who split vocal duties; the House of Blues Horns; and Kim Wilson of the Fabulous Thunderbirds, who blows harp and sings on his self-penned track, "Things I Forgot to Do." Nothing Else Matters is an enjoyable modern blues date that's not afraid to celebrate vintage influences.

In 2007 bassist Anneleen Boehme was one of the founders of LABtrio, which is considered as one of the most acclaimed Belgian jazz bands of the past decade. Just like her companions Lander Gyselinck and Bram De Looze, she quickly asserted herself in the most diverse contexts. Now Boehme is launching her "dream project": Grand Picture Palace. A jazz quintet and a string quartet that blend different worlds together. Boehme leads and plays bass and has been writing eight compositions that break through genre walls, music both powerful and elegant, showing how jazz and classical music can balance each other without cliches. All recordings were made in the early summer of 2020 in the studio of mentor and fellow musician Nicolas Rombouts. The self-titled album 'Grand Picture Palace' will be released on February 19th 2021.