Born To Die

Grand Funk Railroad’s tenth studio album, and their last for Capitol, is startlingly somber; the bandmembers (the founding trio of guitarist/singer Mark Farner, bassist Mel Schacher, and drummer Don Brewer, plus keyboardist Craig Frost) are pictured in coffins on the cover, and many of the songs dwell on political and social turmoil and morose introspection. “Talk to the people/But they just don’t listen,” Farner sings on “Talk to the People.” The plodding heavy rock of their early years is present sometimes, but a lot of these songs are uptempo and surprisingly, yes, funky. Still, the lyrics of songs like the title track, “Love is Dyin’”, and the ferocious “Politician” make Born To Die stand out as GFR’s angriest album.