''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 1968 in Flint, Michigan, by Mark Farner (vocals, guitar), Don Brewer (drums, vocals), and Mel Schacher (bass). The band achieved peak popularity and succ ...

. The album was released on November 15, 1971, by Capitol Records. Like previous Grand Funk Railroad albums, it was recorded at

Cleveland Recording Company Cleveland Recording Company was a historic recording studio located in the Carnegie Hall building at 1220 Huron Road in Cleveland, Ohio. The studio produced many hit records in the 1960s and 1970s by artists such as James Gang and Grand Funk Railr ...

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 branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

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" or "One from many") – is a traditional motto of the United States, appearing on the Great Seal along with '' Annuit cœptis'' (Latin for "he ...

("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 Shea Stadium (), formally known as William A. Shea Municipal Stadium, was a multi-purpose stadium in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park, Queens, New York City.

to celebrate Grand Funk beating

The Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developmen ...

' 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. It was first known for its ...

'' 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, also commonly called The MC5, is an American rock band formed in Lincoln Park, Michigan, in 1963. The original line-up consisted of Rob Tyner (vocals) Wayne Kramer (guitar), Fred "Sonic" Smith (guitar), Michael Davis (bass), and Dennis ...

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

Fusion Fusion, or synthesis, is the process of combining two or more distinct entities into a new whole. Fusion may also refer to: Science and technology Physics *Nuclear fusion, multiple atomic nuclei combining to form one or more different atomic nucl ...

''. In ''

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newspaper, alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf (publisher), Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, th ...

'', Robert Christgau 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 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 years. I ...

wrote a new review for ''Rolling Stone'' for the record's 2003 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.; born February 6, 1962) is an American musician. He is best known for being the lead vocalist and lyricist of the hard rock band Guns N' Roses, and has been the band's sole constant member since its incep ...

and Lynyrd Skynyrd's

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

, Schacher sprints through fuzz-toned walking basslines, and Brewer guarantees the ' funk' promised in the disc's title." William Ruhlmann of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

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 singer, guitarist and songwriter, best known as the lead singer and lead guitarist for the hard rock band Grand Funk Railroad, and later as a contemporary Christian musician. Earl ...

Personnel

– organ, guitar, harmonica, keyboards, vocals *

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

– bass *

Don Brewer Donald George Brewer (born September 3, 1948) is an American drummer and singer. He is the longest serving and only remaining original member of rock band Grand Funk Railroad. Early life Brewer was born in Flint, Michigan, on September 3, 19 ...

– percussion, drums, vocals *

– producer, cover art concept * Kenneth Hamann – engineer * Craig Braun – artwork, design * Tom Baker – arranger and conductor on "Loneliness"

Charts

Album Singles

References

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