If Grand Funk was once a publicist's tool, this new live album shows the extent to which they have become a producer's tool. If once their reach exceeded their grasp, they are now not reaching at all.

In the studio, a patient craftsman like Jimmy Ienner (who also did some work here) can bring forth from this group the occasional brittle guitar work, something approximating an R&B groove, and effective vocals. When the material is good ("We're an American Band," "Some Kind of Wonderful," "The Loco-Motion"), the results are pleasing pop hard rock.

Live, it's another story. The groove is replaced with a sort of lumbering monolith that's not always sure where it's going. The vocals are painful and organist Craig Frost and guitarist Mark Ferner seem way out of their league when attempting anything more ambitious than scales. Years after the quantitative improvement that became evidence with E Pluribus Funk, the musicianship here isn't much superior to that of their early live album—and this stuff has none of the raw, explosive energy that substituted for talent or imagination in those days. After two giant steps forward, Grand Funk seems content to stand perfectly still, as if they had reached their limit and there was nothing left to do but stay there. (RS 199)

JOHN MORTHLAND