We're An American Band

Sound DNA

• Rock
• Hard Rock

• crunchy
• triumphant
• heartland

About

Michigan power trio Grand Funk Railroad, after huge successes that included headlining Shea Stadium despite relatively little airplay, entered a second career phase in 1973. Hiring a fourth member in keyboardist Craig Frost and enlisting Todd Rundgren to produce <i>We’re an American Band</i>, their seventh studio album, the group topped itself with a number-one single in the title track. Though the catchy ode to rock life was just polished enough to reel in a whole new fan base, the album cannily strutted between the toughness of earlier discs — few groups of the era were as macho as these guys — and prog-rock textures that allowed Frost to shine without putting guitarist Mark Farner in the back seat. Despite the patriotic bent of “American Band,” Grand Funk’s antiestablishment leanings were hardly damped down: “Creepin’” suggested grass-roots action, perhaps of a violent nature, to “take . . . in hand” ecological villains, while “Loneliest Rider” mourned U.S. exploitation of Native Americans. This remastered edition includes an acoustic version of “Stop Lookin’ Back.”

via Apple Music

Tracklist

Credits