Phoenix - GRAND FUNK***

Flight Of The Phoenix/Trying To Get Away/Someone/She Got To Move Me/Rain Keeps Fallin'/I Just Gotta Know/So You Won't Have To Die/Freedom Is For Children/Gotta Find Me A Better Day/Rock & Roll Soul

Phoenix was a relatively mellow album by the standard of the heavy rock band Grand Funk. Summer of Love sentiments are not what they are normally associated with. (US:7)

“A more strictly commercial sounding Grand Funk. Some good tunes here, elevated by shinier production values and smoother instrumental interplay. Early Grand Funk had a more distinctive vibe, but this is a decent enough early 70s mainstream American rock record, embracing dippy Summer of Love freedom sentiments.”

“Not Grand Funk's best recording but maybe their funkiest. That's not to say that this LP doesn't rock, with great guitar and Hammond on almost every track. As usual with GF there are lots of toe tappers and Rock & Roll Soul is a very cool tune.”

“Phoenix is aptly titled, because Grand Funk rose from under manager/producer Terry Knight's heavy hand to produce a great album. The songs seem very hopeful, and reflect a desire for personal as well as social change. The best songs here are the election-year anthem I Just Gotta Know and the party song Rock & Roll Soul, but the whole LP is great.”

“I think GFR should have kept up their previous sound for a while before doing this album. They could have waited a while before becoming packaged and domesticated. But in spite of the fact it is not the same type of sound that drew huge crowds while getting ragged by the media, this album stands up.”

“The overall tone of the album is more mellow than early Funk, but the vocal harmonies and smooth, funky arrangements of much of the remaining songs display the varied talents of the band; they don't have to just crank it up and grind and still produce great music. Rock & Roll Soul which finishes the album serves notice to all their fans that even though they are less raw, they can still crunch it with the best.”

“Record reviewers loved to hate Grand Funk, but that didn't stop people from buying their records and selling out their shows. Some of criticism may have been valid – as their songs tend to be somewhat simplistic. But kids in the late 60s and early 70s weren't always searching for complexity in their music.”