home
|
OUR NETWORK:
EZINE
|
LYRICS
|
FREE E-BOOKS
|
SHOP
OUR SERVICES:
SELL DOWNLOADS ONLINE WITH PAYPAL
SEARCH
Tracks
Artists
Albums
BROWSE LYRICS BY ARTISTS:
0..9
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
X
Y
Z
BROWSE LYRICS BY ALBUMS:
0..9
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
X
Y
Z
ALBUM: Closer To Home Lyrics
By:
Grand Funk Railroad
Read Reviews
|
Send this page to a friend
Aimless Lady
Get It Together
Hooked On Love
I Don't Have To Sing The Blues
I'm Your Captain
Mean Mistreater
Nothing Is The Same
Sin's A Good Man's Brother
Closer To Home Reviews
A must have for every hard rock fan
The Grand Funk Railroad was a band that constantly reinvented themselves, almost with each album. At the beginning there were considered a Heavy Metal band (White Noise) of course even that part of there career has been reclassified as classic hard rock because of what Metal music has advanced too but it cannot be said that GFR is at least not a grandfather of Heavy Metal. GFR's first two albums On Time and Grand Funk (what we GFR Fanatics call The Red Album) were extremely heavy and somewhat simplistic (also GREAT). So when Closer To Home Came out it singled a change. Now this "heavy Metal Band" is showing the ability to change and showing versatility and more sophisticated lyrics. Closer to home is more of a blues based album there GFRs pervious efforts and It also contains GFR magus Opus (Best song) in my opinion I'm Your Captain Closer To Home. Its wonderful song and singer Songwriter Mark Farner said it came to him in a dream and that he believe God gave him this song to be meaningful to people. It has been meaningful to me for over 30 years now and to millions of others as well. The song is just a beautiful blend of melodic Guitar chords (Mark Farner) a great lead bass line (Mel Schacher) and wonderful drumming along (Don Brewer) with great lead vocals by Mark and wonderful Harmonies between Mark and Don, take all that and include a great orchestra blended and you have an all time rock classic. Closer to Home is worth the price just for I'm Your Captain Closer To Home alone, but that is not all. This album is great from start to finish. Sin's a Good Man's Brother is a hard rocker with an infectious groove. Aimless Lady a cool Bluesy rocker. Nothing is the same showed more sophistication in lyric writing for the young band and it rocks as well. Mean Mistreater and is slow down for the band a bluesy song crying out for lost love. Get it together is a fun (mostly) instrumental a nice grove provided by the rhythm section and some nice guitar chops at the end. Hooked On Love has that Gospel feel that influences much rock n roll from the 60s and early 70s, a typical we got to have Love song and a very good one. And Finally I'm Your Captian/Closer to home which is GFRs magus opus as I said previously. IYC/CTH is one of rock n rolls classic songs and its simply a beautiful songs. Coming form GFR such a heavy band at the time it was a big surprise. This album shows GFR still with gritty power but also shows striking maturity for the three young man, Mel, Don and Mark. This is one of Rock N Roll's classic hard rock album by one of Classic Rock's best bands. I would recommend this album to any hard rock/rock fan and any metal fan who wants to see the beginnings of modern hard rock and metal.
A pause after Red Album, but still a good album
Grand Funk's greatest album, "Red Album," their sophomore effort, was an impossible act to follow. "Closer to Home" was consistently good, but simply did not hit the high spots that "Red Album" or the debut, "On Time," did. Still, this album was immensely popular due to the extended classic, "Closer to Home" (I'm Your Captain...). If you're just discovering Grand Funk, skip the "greatest hits" compilations and get the Japanese import of "Red Album" (the only way it's available) and the U.S. remastered version of "On Time." Then get this and "E Pluribus Funk" and you'll have essentially Grand Funk's best music. If you're a fan of later Grand Funk (Shinin' On or The Locomotion), get this early stuff and see what Grand Funk was REALLY about: power rock. The critics hated 'em, but those of us who bought the albums loved them then, and still do! Mark, Don and Mel, rock on!
One Great Album
The Grand Funk Railroad was a band that constantly reinvented themselves, almost with each album. At the beginning there were considered a Heavy Metal band (White Noise) of course even that part of there career has been reclassified as classic hard rock because of what Metal music has advanced too but it cannot be said that GFR is at least not a grandfather of Heavy Metal. GFR's first two albums On Time and Grand Funk (what we GFR Fanatics call The Red Album) were extremely heavy and somewhat simplistic (also GREAT). So when Closer To Home Came out it singled a change. Now this "heavy Metal Band" is showing the ability to change and showing versatility and more sophisticated lyrics. Closer to home is more of a blues based album there GFRs pervious efforts and It also contains GFR magus Opus (Best song) in my opinion I'm Your Captain Closer To Home. Its wonderful song and singer Songwriter Mark Farner said it came to him in a dream and that he believe God gave him this song to be meaningful to people. It has been meaningful to me for over 20 years now and to millions of others as well. The song is just a beautiful blend of melodic Guitar chords (Mark Farner) a great lead bass line (Mel Schacher) and wonderful drumming along (Don Brewer) with great lead vocals by Mark and wonderful Harmonies between Mark and Don, take all that and include a great orchestra blended and you have an all time rock classic. Closer to Home is worth the price just for I'm Your Captain Closer To Home alone, but that is not all. This album is great from start to finish. Sin's a Good Man's Brother is a hard rocker with an infectious groove. Aimless Lady a cool Bluesy rocker. Nothing is the same showed more sophistication in lyric writing for the young band and it rocks as well. Mean Mistreater and is slow down for the band a bluesy song crying out for lost love. Get it together is a fun (mostly) instrumental a nice grove provided by the rhythm section and some nice guitar chops at the end. Hooked On Love has that Gospel feel that influences much rock n roll from the 60s and early 70s, a typical we got to have Love song and a very good one. And Finally I'm Your Captian/Closer to home which is GFRs magus opus as I said previously. IYC/CTH is one of rock n rolls classic songs and its simply a beautiful songs. Coming form GFR such a heavy band at the time it was a big surprise. This album shows GFR still with gritty power but also shows striking maturity for the three young man, Mel, Don and Mark. This is one of Rock N Roll's classic hard rock album by one of Classic Rock's best bands. I would recommend this album to any hard rock/rock fan and any metal fan who wants to see the beginnings of modern hard rock and metal.
Another GrandFunkRailroad Great
Another great release,That has lots of GrandFunk hits.The sound quality is excellent.A real must have for every GandFunk fan.
Grand Funk always made music that hit CLOSER TO HOME
Some people might call it the ultimate oxymoron that I love a band like Grand Funk who was critically reviled back in its day, and also agree with the critics on albums they consider to be some of the best of all time. But I consider myself unprejudiced when it comes to liking most music, and I think some critics were when they hung Grand Funk out to dry because it seemed they had no long-term achievements ahead of them. That's what I think a band's music should be when they first start out: something they enjoy doing and aren't worried about changing the world. It seems to me Grand Funk were that kind of band, and not afraid of it. They were a band made of people for the people, and what is probably their best example of this is their 1970 album CLOSER TO HOME. To paraphrase what Grace Slick once said about the flower power era, "We thought we were going to change the world; but we didn't." Grand Funk embodied that mentality in my opinion. They had the ideals to change the world, but didn't exactly set about putting those ideals into action. However, the way they sang and felt about those views was inspiring enough to their legions of fans. Songs like "Sin's A Good Man's Brother", "Nothing Is The Same" and "Get It Together" are musical statements of caution from young men in their early 20s who knew that trouble was on the way, but weren't sure of when or where. The music on these songs is loud and heavy enough to have been made by acts like Led Zeppelin or Black Sabbath, big-name bands who also joined critics in their loathing of "talentless hacks" like Grand Funk. It's no surprise that a modern-day band like Monster Magnet would later remake "Sin's A Good Man's Brother" 20 years later. But Grand Funk didn't always preach to the converted, they had personal troubles with love and romance just as anyone else did. "Aimless Lady", "Mean Mistreater" (the first time Grand Funk wasn't at their best when they turned up the volume), "I Don't Have To Sing The Blues", and "Hooked On Love" (love the back-up singers on this one) are just as bluesy and heartbroken like any of Led Zeppelin's early music before they quit stealing from the blues. While radio may have been on the critics' side by giving Grand Funk's music little to no airplay, sometimes they found a song that was worth their time and attention, and it was on CLOSER TO HOME that they found it. The sweeping closer "I'm Your Captain" was a concert anthem before a single note was even played live, and the hard-hearted souls at AM radio couldn't overlook this gem. The only crime was that the coda called "Closer To Home" was the one that became a hit, but that was probably understood because at 10 minutes, the full song would have been too lengthy for most play lists. Nevertheless, this song is one most Grand Funk fans swear by, and for good reason. "I'm Your Captain" proved that a hard rock band could be melodic and beautiful without being pretentious, and the closing string arrangement (get out your candles and cigarette lighters!) will bring a tear to your eye no matter how many times you've heard it. CLOSER TO HOME was the album that began to open the commercial floodgates for Grand Funk, after their first two albums ON TIME and GRAND FUNK sold mainly to their longtime fans. When their LIVE ALBUM became their first top 5 entry on the album charts the next year, it was clear that critical roasting aside, Grand Funk was a band that deserved all the attention they were getting from a vast number of dedicated fans.
SEND THIS PAGE TO A FRIEND
››
All the lyrics on this site are the property of their respective authors, artists and labels. Commercial use prohibited. We use advertising proceeds to maintain our server.
home
|
