Now this is some pure, uncut rock. No, not crack cocaine. I’d even say it’s some excellent 70s rock, but it’s actually from a 1969 album called “Grand Funk”
Now, some of you might have heard some Grand Funk Railroad on the radio. They did have some hits. If you have heard those hits, then please forget all about them. Forget “We’re an American Band”, even though it’s a killer tune. Forget “Shinin’ On”, even though it was on The Simpsons and is a good tune. And for god’s sake forget “Bad Time” and even “Rock and Roll Soul”.
This band was the best when they started. They hit their peak on their second album, 1969’s “Grand Funk” Then it was sketchy… then after 1974 it was just awful.
They were a phenomenon, these GFR boys. They were the most popular band in America in the late 60s/early 70s. And the critics hated them too. They specialized in raw, energetic guitar/bass/drums rock and roll, and when they tried to fuck with that formula, things got bad.
But to listen to this second album is to listen to a start-to-finish masterpiece. Never mind the lyrics. The band tends to make about as much sense as that dumbass who’s been drinking all day and then smokes a joint and suddenly thinks he’s become some kind of teacher and leader of men.
Good god, their lyrics could be nastybad. Sometimes they tried to have a “message”, and they sounded even dumber. But man, they could sound awesome when they wanted to.
This song in particular is a good example of how their “message” lyrics are just kind of funny at best and wicked lame at worst. It’s about how you shouldn’t worry about getting a drug conviction because there’s lots of fellow hippies around, and they’ll be on the jury.
Come on. We all know how THAT theory panned out. But the words rhyme. Yes they do. And there’s an extremely funny line in the song:
If somebody says you look funny
‘Cause the way you dress to them ain’t right
Say “Hey can’t you see, you look funny to me?”
“But I’m just tryin’ to be polite.”
Gold. Actually, Red. That’s the colour of the album sleeve. The “gold” album was 4 years later.
Well, here I am again, out of things to say. Buy this album!