GRAND FUNK RAILROAD Phoenix V Rare Orig UK Psych LP

£ 23

$ 30

£ 23 Sold For

Feb 14, 2010 Sold Date

Feb 7, 2010 Start Date

£ 10 Start price

6 Number Of Bids

Great Britain Country Of Seller

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Description

Grand Funk Railroad

Phoenix

Very Rare Original UK LP released on Capitol Records in 1973. 1st UK Pressing on the Yellow Labels with 'Made by The Gramophone Co Ltd' credits and comes in a laminated Gatefold sleeve printed by Garrod & Lofthouse.

Matrix No's

Side One - EA-ST1 11099-1

Side Two - EA-ST2 11099-1

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.

They performed for free at the 1969 Atlanta Pop Festival, and their energetic, if not technically proficient, show led Capitol Records to sign them at once. While radio shied away from Grand Funk Railroad, the group's strong work ethic and commitment to touring produced a series of big-selling albums over the next few years; five of their eight releases from 1969 to 1972 went platinum, and the others all went gold. Meanwhile, Knight promoted the band aggressively, going so far as to rent a Times Square billboard to advertise Closer to Home, which turned out to be the band's first multi-platinum album in spite of a backlash from the rock press. However, Grand Funk Railroad fired Knight in March of 1972, who promptly sued; the band spent most of the year in a court battle that ended when they bought Knight out.

Keyboardist Craig Frost joined the group for the Phoenix LP at the end of 1972. Following that album, the band's name was officially shortened to Grand Funk, and the group finally scored a big hit single (number one, in fact) with the title track of the Todd Rundgren-produced We're an American Band. The follow-up, Shinin' On, contained another number one hit in a remake of Little Eva's "The Loco-Motion." However, following Grand Funk's next album, All the Girls in the World Beware!!, interest in the group began to wane. Reverting back to Grand Funk Railroad, they remained together in 1976 solely to work with producer Frank Zappa on Good Singin', Good Playin'. Farner left for a solo career, and the remainder of the band released an album as Flint with guitarist Billy Elworthy.

TRACKS ARE :-

Side One

1. Flight Of The Phoenix

2. Trying To get Away

3. Someone

4. She Got To Move On

5. Rain keeps Fallin'

Side Two

1. I Just Gotta Know

2. So You Won't Have To Die

3. Freedom Is For Children

4. Gotta Find Me a Better Day