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Again I just love this CD

Is survival GFR best album, Well most GFR Fans will pick either Live Album, We're An American Band or Closer to Home as there best work, but to me it was and will always be survival. This album was and is a whole departure from GFRs early head banging ways, this album has some much soul and is a searching and introspective album. Each song is like bush strokes on a canvas of a brilliant overall work. While there are no songs on this CD that the rock and roll world would consider classic's, there are two absolutely brilliant songs on Survival, that most of the world is missing out on, Mark Farner's great composition Comfort Me and Don Brewers Great composition I Can Feel Him In The Morning (Don;s Lyrics and Marks Music). In Comfort Me what he have is basically a Heavy Rock version of Amazing Grace, "I was found after losing my way, safe and sound after many of day" This song is about the unconditional Love that God has for Us his children. On I can Feel Him In the morning we have a song about Felling God's presence even in the most terrible of circumstances "Bring me Down To The Battle field, let me hear the shells flaying By," such as war. This song is clearly the best written GFR song and one of the best in rock History; the lyrics are so deep and so connected to the heart and spirit. I just love this album from Cover to Cover. Country Road calls out to that simple life and what is important in life. All You Got Is Money is an interesting song about what Having money can cause in ones life. I Want Freedom is a clarion call to Americans to make sure we keep our freedoms the founding fathers gave us. And the cover's Gimme Shelter (a sledge Hammer Version) and Fellin' Alright (a very well done cover) all are both good songs. Those songs alone make this CD a must have, but it is also a remasterred CD that sounds beautiful and has Bonus tracks. The Bonus tracks are I can't get along with society a song about censorship a Jam that is an early version of Footstompin Music that sounds a lot like the way they played it Live on the 71 tour. Country Road, The original unedited version which is almost like a classical composition with four movements, it starts off with the song in its recognizable form with different lyrics and goes on to a cool 60s sounding keyboard heavy movement, then on to a Guitar heavy movement and back to the final movement with is the familiar song with the Familiar vocals, it is very cool, but slightly disjointed movement from one section to another (BUT I LOVE IT). And All you got is Money a very heavy version with different lyrics and no screaming at the end, it is very cool. Lastly an unedited version of Fellin' Alright in which Mark and Don sing in a lower key, very cool stuff. The CD also has new Liner Notes and cool Pictures. This is my favorite Rock Album of all Time and I would highly recommend it to anyone.


Once, one of my least desireable GFR import CD's...   November 1, 2003
 6 out of 11 found this review helpful

...Now, one of their most desirable domestic remasters, thanks in large part to the very revealing bonus tracks. This is many people's favorite GFR album. But early on, it wasn't one of mine. To me, it was sort-of like, "Closer to Home, Part 2"--too introspective, not real exciting. Pretty good guitar riffs, but not a whole lot of "concert-ready" material (except, maybe "Gimme Shelter"). But I always took consideration that this was an album made during a period of a lot of heavy touring, and gave GFR the benefit of the doubt for having little inspiration at the time, and having to resort to remakes like "Feelin' Alright", and "Gimme Shelter" to fill an album out, and keep the wolves at Capitol Records happy. But as I have grown older, and sort of "mellowed-out", I've grown to appreciate this record more--if nothing else, but for the fact that the band wanted to show the critics, as well as fans, more of the melodic side of the group. And this album has some of Mark Farner's most beautiful songs, notably "Comfort Me" and "I Can Feel Him In The Morning", as well as some of his best songwriting ever. Not bad for a guy with little time to write songs! And with the re-mastered edition featuring previously-unreleased "Survival-session" bonus tracks, I've really begun to see this album in a whole different light!
First of all, this album originally never had any numbers on it that I would consider "catchy" enough to be a hit for Top 40 or FM radio at the time. I would imagine that the band was so out of ideas for singles, that they just put out remakes of "Feelin' Alright" and "Gimme Shelter" that sounded good, with Mark Farner putting his own unique "stamp" on them, but didn't do much on the charts. But GFR made a foolish decision not to include the previously-unreleased (now featured here) track, "I Can't Get Along With Society" on the original "Survival" album. Not only would it have fit in nicely with the rest of the songs on the original album, but it would have stood alone as one of the best, if not THE best, song on the album. And with the pre-Doobie Bros.-like, upbeat riffing of mark Farner and catchy lyrics, "Society" would have certainly been the band's next big hit after "I'm Your Captain". It was a bad move not to put that out, and the only reason I can think as to why, is that perhaps the lyrics may have been "too controversial". But it was a song that truly spoke of the way things were with young people in 1971, and perhaps would have been one of the most defintive rock anthems of the hippie generation, had it only been allowed to see the light of day.
Second thing about the bonus tracks here is that they certainly reveal that there was way too much editing out of the original album--more than perhaps any other GFR album. The unedited-extended version of "Country Road" especially--but also "All You Got Is Money" and "Feelin' Alright" had WAY too much taken out of them for the original album. Some of the best guitar riffs and excellent extra verses were removed from these numbers, that could have made what I thought in the beginning to be kind of a dull GFR album, much more exciting. "Country Road", in particular, could have been a much more exciting track to open this album had it been left in it's unedited state. Perhaps the only weak bonus track here is the one I thought would be the strongest--the "Survival-session" version of "Footstompin' Music", known here as simply, "Jam". It's always interesting to me to hear the evolution of a song from its infancy to the final recording that makes an album. As you might know, "Footstompin' Music" ended up on the next album "E Pluribus Funk", just as the final version of "Nothing Is The Same" came from the sessions for the "Red Album" and would end up on the next album "Closer To Home". I suppose, in either case, there wasn't much time to get it right before the album's release, but I can tell you that unlike "Nothing Is the Same", which sounded ready for the "Red Album" and worse on the final version for the "Closer to Home" album, that it was a wise decision on this song to wait 6 months for Mark Farner to temporarily retire his Messenger guitar, for a Gibson SG to record the final version of "Footstompin' Music". The Messenger guitar served Mark very well on many a GFR song, but for some reason, it just lacked the "punch" in the guitar solo of the "Survival"-session version of "Footstompin' Music", that the Gibson SG would fire up on the "E Pluribus Funk" album.
And Don Brewer's muted, towel-covered drums on this version didn't help things, either.
Once again, the bonus tracks are very revealing about "Survival".
From the excessive editing to the poor choice of singles, and keeping songs off the album, to the towels on the drum heads to "mute" the drums, producer/manager Terry Knight made a lot of really poor decisions on the original "Survival" album. But thanks to the new version of "Survival" with bonus tracks, you get to hear the album as it should have been--at least on tracks 7 through 12. Capitol records certainly righted a wrong here, doing this disc justice, and making it the best of all the GFR re-masters!


Another Gem In Grand Funk's Legacy   May 26, 2003
 5 out of 9 found this review helpful

The group that defined heavy rock and gave the power trio its definition released another gem in it's legacy. "Survival" is a stunning jaw dropping adventure into blues based power trio rock. The album opens with Country Road which sets the mood for the album. Mark Farner once again play's the infamous Messenger guitar which paved the way for that heavy, rough but sweet sound that came in the early years of Grand Funk Railroad. Mel's bass is once again at it's bone rattling sound. Don Brewer's drumwork is as always unbelievable. Many people have said that Don used pillows to give his drums that machine gun sound on the album. Grand Funk lays down hard driving tracks like "Country Road", "All You've Got is Money", "I Want Freedom" and of course "Gimme Shelter". Grand Funk blows The Rolling Stones away with their version of Gimme Shelter. Farner makes Richards look like a joke with his power and leads throughout Gimme Shelter. Brewer would give Charlie Watts a heartattack if Watts tried to keep up with Brewer's drumming. And Mel, well, Mel like always plays with all the power of the world. Mel Shacher really makes his mark on "Survival" and gives his case why he is the best bass player that ever lived. Think about it, where would Flea be if there was no Mel? GFR also blows Joe Cocker away with their version of "Feelin Alright". GFR adds a jam to the middle of the song and Farner displays his bluesy riffs, and leads. Overall, this album was yet another gem in the package of GFR's legacy. Also, check out the bonus tracks, they are well worth the money. The remastering is excellent and deserves a lot of praise to David K. Tedds.


so awfull its FANTASTIC/STONED groove   September 21, 2003
 4 out of 14 found this review helpful

lost , so seventies,so mid seventies.... like EARLY cow plod . FERMENTING a little mushroom HEAD SHROUD JUST A HINT . SO CANNIBAL[MIDWESTERN NO CRAP,DOWN TO EARTH GENUINE HOME GROWN,INDA GURAindian native return to spiritualGROOVE simple, still laced with acid rust garage spawnall american,MID CARRER SUMMATION DEFINATION TAKE YOUR PREVIOUS LATENT TENDENCIES AND SPIN yes this thing grooves ARE almost SPUN NUMBSKULL madDENNING/MEANnderin ... ploUGHING GENUINE TO fry sst, OR IS IT ssp? mind corrossive dribal, its almost ..SOAKED, like wow a time machine in time.BACK WHEN YOU COULD SLOP.naked TROLICKIN ,FROLICKIN THROUGH pastures of YOUTHFULL exhuberence,NEARLY INTUNEd, [IM STARTING TO getSCARED] freak flee from BAD TRIPS,,SMOKE HAZE,pass it around in a circlein a circle DOWN IN YOUR PARENTS BASEMENT.FRIENDSMESS your minds... head TRIPS ; lurkin within the GROOVES SPINNING,SCARY LIKE I DONT WANT YOUR MONEY PARANOIA , HONEYS,,homeism comfort me wraps of mellow yellow acoustic jello, sheets of bliss enduSEingcatharsis ,OR STUPOR.