''E Pluribus Funk'' is the fifth studio album by American rock band

Grand Funk Railroad Grand Funk Railroad (often shortened to Grand Funk) is an American rock band formed in Flint, Michigan, in 1969 by Mark Farner (vocals, guitar, keyboards, harmonica), Don Brewer (drums, vocals) and Mel Schacher (bass). The band achieved pea ...

. The album was released on November 15, 1971, by

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007), and simply known as Capitol, is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-base ...

. Like previous Grand Funk Railroad albums, it was recorded at Cleveland Recording Company and is the final album produced by

Terry Knight Terry Knight (born Richard Terrance Knapp; April 9, 1943 – November 1, 2004) was an American rock and roll music producer, promoter, singer, songwriter and radio personality, who enjoyed some success in radio, modest success as a singer, but ...

. The title is a play on the

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

motto of the United States of America,

E pluribus unum ''E pluribus unum'' ( , , ) – Latin for "Out of many, one" (also translated as "One out of many") – is a traditional motto of the United States, appearing on the Great Seal of the United States, Great Seal along with ''Annuit cœptis'' (L ...

("Out of many, one") and translates as "Out of many, Funk". The original release cover (designed by

Ernie Cefalu Ernie Cefalu (born 1945) is a contemporary artist and Senior Creative Director, currently working out of Los Angeles, CA. He is known for designing art for music albums. Cefalu attended the California College of Arts and Crafts (now California Co ...

) was completely round and covered with a silver-like film to resemble a large coin. The back side of the cover of this album included a die cast picture of

Shea Stadium William A. Shea Municipal Stadium ( ), typically shortened to Shea Stadium, was a multi-purpose stadium in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in Queens, New York City.The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

' Shea Stadium attendance record by selling out in just 72 hours.

Critical reception

In a contemporary review, Metal Mike Saunders of ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' wrote that most of ''E Pluribus Funk'' "pretty much sputters and wheezes, the whole first side sounding like nothing so much as one long nondescript song that never catches fire." However, he described the second side as "almost a success", thus ensuring that "in some ways ''E Pluribus Funk'' may be the best Grand Funk album to date." Nonetheless, by the end of the year he named it what "the

MC5 MC5 was an American rock music, rock band formed in Lincoln Park, Michigan, in 1963. The classic lineup consisted of vocalist Rob Tyner, guitarists Wayne Kramer and Fred "Sonic" Smith, bassist Michael Davis (bassist), Michael Davis, and drummer ...

wanted to be but never were" in a piece for '' Fusion''. In ''

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture publication based in Greenwich Village, New York City, known for being the country's first Alternative newspaper, alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf (publisher), Dan Wolf, ...

'',

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and later became a ...

said the album comprised Grand Funk Railroad's "usual competent loud rock with the usual problems--melodramatic vocalizations and lack of detail."

David Fricke David Fricke (born ) is an American music journalist who serves as the senior editor at ''Rolling Stone'' magazine, where he writes predominantly about rock music. One of the best known names in rock journalism, his career has spanned over 40 ye ...

wrote a new review for ''Rolling Stone'' for the record's 2002 reissue, as part of the band's remastered catalogue. He wrote "For most folks, a hits disc will suffice. But the best of these reissues show that, for a time, Grand Funk were the people's choice. And the people were right." In ''

The Rolling Stone Album Guide ''The Rolling Stone Album Guide'', previously known as ''The Rolling Stone Record Guide'', is a book that contains professional music reviews written and edited by staff members from ''Rolling Stone'' magazine. Its first edition was published in 1 ...

'', Nick Catucci favourably wrote that "Farner wails like a cross between

Axl Rose W. Axl Rose ( ; born William Bruce Rose Jr., February 6, 1962) is an American singer and songwriter. He is the lead vocalist and lyricist of the hard rock band Guns N' Roses, and has been the band's sole constant member since its inception in ...

and

Lynyrd Skynyrd Lynyrd Skynyrd (, ) is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Jacksonville, Florida in 1964. The group originally formed as My Backyard and comprised Ronnie Van Zant (vocals), Gary Rossington (guitar), Allen Collins (guitar), Larry Junstrom ...

Ronnie Van Zant Ronald Wayne Van Zant (January 15, 1948 – October 20, 1977) was an American singer, best known as the founding lead vocalist and primary lyricist of the southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd. He was the older brother of Johnny Van Zant, the cu ...

, Schacher sprints through fuzz-toned walking basslines, and Brewer guarantees the '

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African-American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African-Americans in the ...

' promised in the disc's title." William Ruhlmann of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

said the album's rushed production affected the music and wrote that Grand Funk "were still primarily a live band, able to achieve intensity, but with little sense of the varying dynamics and musical textures that might make a studio album interesting to listen to beyond being a souvenir of their live show."

Track listing

All songs written by

Mark Farner Mark Fredrick Farner (born September 29, 1948) is an American musician. He was the original singer and guitarist of the rock band Grand Funk Railroad, which he co-founded in 1969, and later as a contemporary Christian musician. Early life and ...

Personnel

– guitar, vocals, organ, harmonica *

Mel Schacher Melvin George Schacher (born April 8, 1951) is an American musician who is the bassist and a founding member of the hard rock band Grand Funk Railroad. Early life Schacher was born in Owosso, Michigan, and was raised in Flint, Michigan. He b ...

– bass *

Don Brewer Donald George Brewer (born September 3, 1948) is an American drummer and singer who is a founding member and longtime original drummer of the rock band Grand Funk Railroad. Early life Brewer was born in Flint, Michigan, on September 3, 1948, ...

– drums, vocals, percussion *

– producer, cover art concept * Kenneth Hamann – engineer *

Craig Braun Craig Braun (born June 1, 1939) is an American actor and former graphic designer. Famous for his album covers with Andy Warhol and Tom Wilkes, he and Wilkes won a Grammy in 1974 for ''Tommy'', an award Braun had been nominated for twice previously ...

– artwork, design * Tom Baker – arranger and conductor on "Loneliness" 2002 Remaster * David K. Tedds – produced & compiled for reissue by * Kevin Flaherty – supervising A&R producer * Jimmy Hoyson – bonus track mix engineer * Evren Göknar – mastering engineer * Kenny Nemes – project manager * Michelle Azzopardi – reissue creative direction * Neil Kellerhouse – reissue art direction, design * Steve Roeser – liner notes * Brendan Gormley – editorial supervision * Bryan Kelley – production * Shannon Ward – production

Charts

Album Singles

References

{{Authority control 1971 albums Grand Funk Railroad albums Albums produced by Terry Knight Capitol Records albums