Description:

This is a very hot live performance at Madison Square Garden at the end of 1972, just before the band changed its name to Grand Funk, with a four-piece band including an organist! In the days when there was no MTV and information on foreign music did not reach Japan in real time, the presence or absence of a concert in Japan greatly influenced the popularity of the band in Japan. When Grand Funk Railroad came to Japan in 1971, their show at Korakuen Stadium in the midst of a heavy thunderstorm determined their popularity in Japan and created the image that "Grand Funk is a live show! The following year, in 1972, the band performed at the Koshien Stadium in Tokyo. This is a broadcast recording of a show at New York's Madison Square Garden on December 23, 1972, the year after the band's visit to Japan. Originally, the band debuted with a trio formation of Mark Farner (vo,g), Mel Thatcher (b), and Don Brewer (ds), but from the album "Phoenix" released in October 1972, Craig Frost joined as a supporting member on organ. Frost became an official member on "We're An American Band" released in 1973, and the band's name was shortened to Grand Funk.The three-piece's solid and gruff performance was attractive, but the addition of the organ gave the sound a fullness, and with Farner's increased freedom, a kind of pop sense began to emerge. This live performance was made at a time when the band was beginning to show such a new image of grand funk. The entire recording seems to have been made for FM broadcast, but "I'm Your Captain" and the interview part in between seem to have been made for TV broadcast. Incidentally, "Ain't No Sunshine When You're Gone" and "Going Down" were performed by Freddie King, who was the opening act, and GFR did not participate, but they are also very hot!

Tracklisting:

1.Flight Of The Phoenix
2.Footstompin' Music
3.Into The Sun
4.Get It Together

Heartbreaker
6.Ain't No Sunshine When You're Gone [Freddie King]
7.Instrumental - Going Down [Freddie King]
8.Good To Be In New York City Jam
9.I'm Your Captain (Part One)
10.Phoenix House Interview
11.I'm Your Captain (Part Two)
12.Hooked On Love
13.Inside Looking Out