Railroad Blues

Since the very birth of the blues, the train has been a source of great inspiration for musicians. From the steam engine imitation tunes of pioneering harmonica players to wonderful variations on classic folk songs, this collection highlights how the railroad helped shape the blues.

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. The band was formed by Flint, MI, guitarist/songwriter Mark Farner and drummer Don Brewer, both former members of a local band called Terry Knight & the Pack. They recruited former ? & the Mysterians bassist Mel Schacher in 1968, and Knight retired from performing to become their manager, naming the group after Michigan's well-known Grand Trunk Railroad.

Rising like a Phoenix, which was the title of one of their previous albums, perhaps Mark Farner is sending a subliminal message with opening track "Good Times" that his "Bad Time" is over? The song "Testify," track three, sums up this very good album from Mark Farner, Don Brewer, and bassist Dennis Bellinger replacing the MIA Mel Schacher. It's a hooky rock tune with Farner's religious overtones. All these tracks are strong, from "Can't Be With You Tonight" to the glorious ending of "Wait for Me."

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.

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.