A Tribute to Grand Funk Railroad
...An American band
© 2000 Record Heaven Music
Raggedy Ann-Arizona
© 1999 Raggedy Ann Music
Raggedy Ann is a solid rock band that most definitely would have been part of something big in the late 80's. The musicianship is solid and the songwriting well crafted.
I've heard comparisons to bands like Tesla and others, but feel the band is unique enough to stand up on their own. Title track 'Arizona' has a very cool rhythm going along with great melodies. 'Let it Roll' is a very upbeat number. The first 3 tracks can be heard in MP3 format by clicking here. The third track is called 'All I need', and is true to the sound of the album thus far. 'Volunteer' reminds me a bit of Marq Torien of the Bulletboys vocally. Well penned tune that would be good for radio. '68' reminds me of something you might here on 'Heartbreak Station' by Cinderella. This is a favorite of mine on this disc. 'Rocket' is a rockin' number with those Torien sounding vocals. Brian Carson has a pretty solid voice on this disc. 'Lion's Eye' has some cool rhythms and good pound in the low end. Another consistent track. 'Lonely Game' closes the album on the lighter side. Very good melodies. You'll more than likely remember this tune after one listen.
Raggedy Ann is a good band with a lot of potential to make some noise in the future. You can get this album by going to this link. Very good hard rock that will restore your faith that there are still good musicians and songwriters out there.
Record Heaven has been working hard on some very cool tribute albums recently. The Grand Funk Railroad tribute is the first and is a very fun listen.
The album opens with a cool sounding intro called 'Intro 2001'. This leads into the very cool track 'Some kind of wonderful' redone by The Manny Charlton Band. Judging by the way this first song was done, you get the feel that this will be a very cool tribute. One of the more famous Grand Funk tunes, 'We are an American Band' is done by Keecane and remains faithful to the original. One of my personal favorites, 'Mean Mistreater' is done by none other than Kelly Keeling. The song flows with the necessary emotion. Another well done tune is 'People let's stop the war' by Motherlode. The band gives a fresh feel to the tune. I really liked the authentic feel of 'Stop looking back'. A lot of the tunes are like this. I've never liked tributes that take the songs and change them too much. If you like to hear some good guitar playing, check out 'Shinin' On' done by Vick LeCar's Blue Moon. This is one of my favorite tracks for overall guitar sound. Kind of nasty sounding. The groove on 'Upsetter' done by Co-Stars tends to be rather catchy. The album wouldn't be complete without 'Queen Bee' done by Kelly Stevens. One of the coolest songs the band did. also really enjoyed 'I'm your Captain'. Very nice harmonies.
This really is a cool tribute done for a cool band. The package is very nice and the artists make the album flow as if it was one band throughout the entire album. My hat's off to all for a job well done. If you are not familiar with Grand Funk, check this out. It is very well done.
