Track Listing

1. Sin's A Good Man's Brother
2. Aimless Lady
3. Nothing Is The Same
4. Mean Mistreater
5. Get It Together
6. I Don't Have To Sing The Blues
7. Hooked On Love
8. I'm Your Captain
9. Mean Mistreater (Alternate Mix)
10. In Need (Live)
11. Heartbreaker (Live)
12. Mean Mistreater (Live)

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #5950 in Music
• Released on: 2002-08-27
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered

Album Description
24-bit digitally remastered reissue. The title cut powered this record to number 6 in 1970! Includes 4 previously unreleased bonus tracks, 'Mean Mistreater' (Alternative Mix), 'In Need' (Live), 'Heartbreaker' (Live) & 'Mean Mistreater'(Live). Capitol Records. 2002.

Customer Reviews

Closer to Nome - Alaska Later...... ;)
I'm back again folks. Yes. I hear cheering and foot stomping. Is that for me? No? For Grand Funk Railroad? Drat!
Let me begin by saying that your own beloved Metamorpho never had to suffer the indignity of early teen confusion and later teen indecisiveness. Why? Because Metamorpho is pure spirit and not given into earthly trials and indulgences when young. Rats! I've missed a lot! ;)

Ahhhhh....... I welcome you to raging hormones and alpha male heaven with this "Closer to Home" selection. But why should Metamorpho, such a sedentary creature at heart, be prompted to write about a premier power trio from the late 60's - 70's? Simple. Pure jealousy. And I will entertain your questions later. But, this is the stuff my dragon listens to while locked away in my castle, thinking of his fine lady dragon. Say what you will, but my dragon has funk and soul. Attributes which are essential if your going to be a pet of Metamorpho. Surprised? You shouldn't be. After all, I have strict requirements which must be met. Feel priviledged? I'm letting you all read this, aren't I? And, need I say, such generosity gets my picture on many a dart board throughout the land. Now, that's power folks!

Now, getting to "Closer to Home", which, I feel, is the pinnacle of their powers. Everything fits right, as far as their motifs, their execution and the various grooves they choose to employ. What is this music exactly? Certainly a bit of white funk, sprinkled with rock, grit, and attitude and swagger. Remember here, we are going for the strong male stance, but with some begging but never weakness. The most Grand Funk will admit to is the wolf in sheep's clothing with "Mean Mistreater". However, it is the pose that matters. Feigned weakness gets you to where you want to go. Not true weakness. That would defy the basic foundation on which this music was built. And we can't have that! Now, put those placards down!

Regardless, this is a very fine musical offering and, perhaps, their very best. This is one that I lost long ago, only to seek out this current version again. Despite all the infectious, funky grooves here, I just had to seek it out for "I'm Your Captain". And, everything is perfect here. You begin with that wonderful wah-wah into the groove of the acoustic guitar, which sets the stage for the scenario. The ship, the captain, are allegorys for a relationship that is threatened by a stranger. Mark Farner makes it very clear that he's not giving up without a fight. But, what sets the song so much forward than the others is the breaks or, rather, passages that the song goes through. There are waves, sailing sounds that perfectly match the music in so many ways. Closer to Home - a sailor closer to the shore or a wayward lover closer to his love? I don't consider Mark a genius by any means, however, this song employs a lot of devices found in many literary compositions. So, applause is appropriate.

In all, I would have to say that this selection more than satisfied a need within the growing up, and yearning community that was only superseded by the likes of Led Zepplin. But, to understand the allure of Grand Funk, one need only to look at the raw enegy and power of the live tracks included here. By no means were they confined to being a studio band. And, I think a lot of their success and fame were due to their live performance.

In closing, high marks for making this a high water mark. (Sorry folks - I couldn't resist the ship-water allusion). But, if you like that power trio sound, this is different. Not your blues fused Cream. Not your pedal metal of Blue Cheer. But, funky, groove based combination of electric and crude manifestations of sexual energy towards the goal of unfulfilled love. Well, we all have to work towards something in our lives!

Now, if you will excuse me so I can get back to that movie that I put on pause, it seems like, ten million times, to review this selection for you. You think reviewing is easy for me, don't you? Well, maybe. Certainly as easy as a cabernet sauvignon without a testy (or was that testosterone?) waiter nearby. Ah well........cheers.

Steam rolling along ---Metamorpho ;)

Closer To Home Has Arrived!
The bottom line: A wonderful remaster chock full of liner notes, photos, refurbished packaging and, most importantly, sonic restoration!

Having become acquainted with GFR in the '70's, I began to purchase various GFR albums in the mid-'90's. While I appreciated GFR's raw and energetic brand of rock, their catalogue of albums sounded "audibly flat," one dimensional, and were in dire need of restoration by the '90's decade. The Grand Funk Remasters collection remedied the situation: Mark's soulful vocals soar once again and his varying guitar tones are distinct, Mel's basslines punch through with authority, and Don's snare cracks, high-hats, tom-fills and cymbal strikes are once again crisp and pristine.

I am VERY SATISFIED with upgrading to the GFR Remasters collection.

Closer To Home, the album, is a piece of rock and roll history that every rock enthusiast should include in their collection. This is GFR in all their raw and gritty garage-rock glory! The remaster includes four additional ear-worthy tracks for the GFR completist.

Tracks: Sin's a Good Man's Brother, Aimless Lady, Nothing is the Same, Mean Mistreater, Get It Together, I Don't Have to Sing the Blues, Hooked on Love, I'm Your Captain/Closer to Home

Bonus Tracks: Mean Mistreater (Alternate Mix), In Need (Live 6/25/70), Heartbreaker (Live 6/25/70), Mean Mistreater (Live 6/25/70)

Remastered version a big upgrade for a CLASSIC record
I've always thought Closer to Home was Grand Funk's best album, but unfortunately I also felt the sound was quite possibly the worst of any Grand Funk record, with the possible exception of their first one, On Time. Terry Knight would certainly not rate on anyone's list of greatest rock producers in history; he did alright on a few Grand Funk records, but really botched some others, Closer to Home being among them. I don't normally upgrade from an original release to a remastered CD, but I thought this one was certainly worthy of an upgrade so I picked it up last night at a local independent retailer. I was very pleasantly surprised with the results. Everything is much more clear as opposed to muddy on the original, especially Mark Farner's guitar and voice. Songs which benefit the most from this new remastered version: I Don't Have to Sing the Blues and I'm Your Captain (Closer to Home).

There are four bonus tracks, starting with an alternate studio mix of Mean Mistreater. When I first heard it, I thought, "why did they leave out that organ part on the original? This sounds better." Reading the liner notes, it's obvious I'm not the only one who feels that way: "On this long-awaited, fully-remastered CD reissue, we are treated to a Mean Mistreater bonus track that features Mark's organ part as well as the electric piano. Why they chose to strip the organ part off the song when the album's track order was set in stone is something of a mystery. Many will no doubt now agree that the track sounds even better with the organ part intact."

Three LIVE bonus tracks follow: In Need, Heartbreaker and Mean Mistreater. In case you Funk fans are wondering, all three were recorded 6/25/70 at Orlando Sports Center, Florida. They are different live versions of the same three tunes which appeared on Grand Funk Live Album, all three of which were recorded only two days earlier at Jacksonville Coliseum, Florida. Great stuff, but I could have done without three versions of Mean Mistreater on the same record.

The Closer to Home remaster is a must have for any Grand Funk fan. FYI the entire Grand Funk collection (or most of it anyway) was remastered in 2002. I'm just now getting around to picking some of them up, but they also did a great job on Live Album, Phoenix and Survival.