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E Pluribus Funk

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E Pluribus Funk
Studio album by
Grand Funk Railroad
Released15 November 1971
RecordedSeptember 1971
StudioCleveland Recording Company, Cleveland
GenreRock[1]
Length35:55
LabelCapitol
ProducerTerry Knight
Grand Funk Railroad chronology
Survival
(1971) 		E Pluribus Funk
(1971) 		Phoenix
(1972)
Singles from E Pluribus Funk
  1. "People, Let's Stop the War" / "Save the Land"
    Released: December 1971
  2. "Footstompin' Music" / "I Come Tumblin'"
    Released: March 1972
  3. "Upsetter" / "No Lies"
    Released: April 1972
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Christgau's Record GuideC[1]
Rolling Stone[3]

E Pluribus Funk is the fifth studio album by American rock band Grand Funk Railroad. The album was released on November 15, 1971, by Capitol Records. Like previous Grand Funk Railroad albums, it was recorded at Cleveland Recording Company and is the final album produced by Terry Knight. The title is a play on the latin motto of the United States of America, E pluribus unum ("Out of many, one") and translates as "Out of many, Funk". The original release cover (designed by Ernie Cefalu) was completely round and covered with a silver-like film to resemble a large coin. The back side of the cover of this album included a die cast picture of Shea Stadium to celebrate Grand Funk beating The Beatles' Shea Stadium attendance record by selling out in just 72 hours.

Critical reception

In a contemporary review, Metal Mike Saunders of Rolling Stone wrote that most of E Pluribus Funk "pretty much sputters and wheezes, the whole first side sounding like nothing so much as one long nondescript song that never catches fire." However, he described the second side as "almost a success", thus ensuring that "in some ways E Pluribus Funk may be the best Grand Funk album to date."[4] Nonetheless, by the end of the year he named it what "the MC5 wanted to be but never were" in a piece for Fusion.[5] In The Village Voice, Robert Christgau said the album comprised Grand Funk Railroad's "usual competent loud rock with the usual problems--melodramatic vocalizations and lack of detail."[6]

David Fricke wrote a new review for Rolling Stone for the record's 2003 reissue, as part of the band's remastered catalogue. He wrote "For most folks, a hits disc will suffice. But the best of these reissues show that, for a time, Grand Funk were the people's choice. And the people were right."[3] In The Rolling Stone Album Guide, Nick Catucci favourably wrote that "Farner wails like a cross between Axl Rose and Lynyrd Skynyrd's Ronnie Van Zant, Schacher sprints through fuzz-toned walking basslines, and Brewer guarantees the 'funk' promised in the disc's title."[7] William Ruhlmann of AllMusic said the album's rushed production affected the music and wrote that 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."[2]

Track listing

All songs written by Mark Farner.

Side one
No.TitleLength
1."Footstompin' Music"3:48
2."People, Let's Stop the War"5:12
3."Upsetter"4:27
4."I Come Tumblin'"5:38
Side two
No.TitleLength
1."Save the Land"4:14
2."No Lies"3:57
3."Loneliness"8:38

Personnel

  • Mark Farner – organ, guitar, harmonica, keyboards, vocals
  • Mel Schacher – bass
  • Don Brewer – percussion, drums, vocals
  • Terry Knight – producer, cover art concept
  • Kenneth Hamann – engineer
  • Craig Braun – artwork, design
  • Tom Baker – arranger and conductor on "Loneliness"

Charts

Album

Year Chart Peak Position
1971 Billboard 200 5[8]
Australia 11[9]
Canada 10[10]

Singles

Year Single Chart Position
1971 "Footstompin'
Music" 		Billboard Hot 100 29[11]
Canada 43
Australia 83
1971 "Upsetter" Billboard Hot 100 73[12]
Canada 89

References

  1. ^ a b Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: G". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved February 24, 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
  2. ^ a b Ruhlmann, William. "E Pluribus Funk Review" at AllMusic. Retrieved 14 February 2012.
  3. ^ a b Fricke, David (3 April 2003). "Grand Funk Railroad: E Pluribus Funk". Rolling Stone. No. RS 919. Straight Arrow. ISSN 0035-791X. Archived from the original on 2007-11-05.
  4. ^ Saunders, Metal Mike (January 6, 1972). "Grand Funk Railroad: E Pluribus Funk". Rolling Stone. Retrieved June 22, 2021.
  5. ^ Saunders, Mike (December 1972). "Grand Funk Railroad". Fusion.
  6. ^ Christgau, Robert (December 30, 1971). "Robert Christgau's Consumer Guide (22)". The Village Voice. Retrieved 22 June 2021.
  7. ^ Nick Catucci (2004). "Grand Funk Railraod". The New Rolling Stone Album Guide. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-0-7432-0169-8.
  8. ^ Grand Funk Railroad, E Pluribus Funk US Chart Position Retrieved March 24, 2015
  9. ^ Grand Funk Railroad, E Pluribus Funk Australian Chart Position Retrieved March 24, 2015
  10. ^ Grand Funk Railroad, E Pluribus Funk Canadian Chart Position Archived 2015-04-02 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved March 24, 2015
  11. ^ Grand Funk Railroad, "Footstompin Music" Chart Position Retrieved March 24, 2015
  12. ^ Grand Funk Railroad, "Upsetter" Chart Position Retrieved March 24, 2015
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