FARNER, MARK & GRAND FUNK RAILROAD - DVD-ROCK & ROLL GREATS [LIVE]

Details

• Release Year: 2004
• Genre: Music
• Plot: One thing that should be made crystal clear at the outset is that this is NOT a Grand Funk Railroad concert. As Mark Farner has stated over and over on his Web site, he has not performed with GFR since 1997. Rather, this is a show that the Farner band (I believe that they now call themselves N'rG) performed at the Middle Tennessee Rock Festival in Manchester back on 8/12/99, along with such acts as Iron Butterfly, Rare Earth, Mitch Ryder and other '60s faves. Farner here gets to demonstrate that he is still one of the best showmen of classic hard rock. He is a fine guitarist and keyboard player, one of the best singers around (although he sounds a bit hoarse on occasion here), dances well and, for his age, looks terrific. The songs in this one-hour set are all classic GFR, except for the Farner solo tune 'Judgment Day Blues,' a slow, heavy blues romp that features some incredible Farner riffs. This tune may actually be my favorite on the disc. But there are some other tasty treats, such as the comparatively rare 'Comfort Me' and 'Hooked on Love.' I'm not overly fond of medlies, but the one that Farner gives us here, 'Paranoid'/'Sin's a Good Man's Brother'/'Mr. Limousine Driver,' is too much fun to complain about. The crowd at this outdoor show did not look overly large to me, but that did not stop Farner, pro that he is, from really putting out at this gig. And my goodness, what an incredible back catalog of songs he has to choose from! This DVD has been nicely filmed, its only flaw being some incorrect song titles that scrawl by at the bottom of the screen. But for fans of Mark Farner and Grand Funk Railroad, no title cards are needed. We've been singing these songs for decades now, and hopefully, Mr. Farner will be for decades to come.... ; ;
• Runtime: 1:00
• Media Format: Movie