Grand Funk Railroad
took longer than usual to make their fifth album,
Survival
, in early 1971, but when they came to make their sixth,
E Pluribus Funk
, that September, they spent less than a week at the effort. The rush shows. The album, made by a band by now popular enough to sell out
Shea Stadium
(depicted on the back of the album, its cover designed to look like a silver coin), consisted of a series of simple
rock
tunes with lyrics devoted to the joys of music itself (
"Footstompin' Music"
), social concerns generically expressed (
"People, Let's Stop the War,"
"Save the Land"
), and claims of romantic betrayal (
"Upsetter,"
"No Lies"
). Lead singer
Mark Farner
wailed in his limited tenor, joined in unison by drummer
Don Brewer
, and the rhythm section played in plodding lockstep.
Farner
added guitar and organ parts that emphasized the simplicity and repetitiveness of the musical patterns.
"Loneliness,"
the concluding track, made a failed attempt at grandeur by adding a symphony orchestra. Six albums in,
Grand Funk
were still primarily a live band, able to achieve intensity, but with little sense of the varying dynamics and musical textures that might make a studio album interesting to listen to beyond being a souvenir of their live show. ~ William Ruhlmann