After the surprisingly dark and subdued
Born to Die
,
Grand Funk Railroad
's original lineup rallied to record one more album in 1976. Also onboard was an unlikely choice of producer,
avant-garde
rock
king
Frank Zappa
. As odd as this marriage may seem, the end result is one of the best albums in the
canon.
Zappa
's production forsakes the high-gloss style that dominated the rest of their mid-'70s output, instead opting for a live-in-the-studio approach with minimal overdubs. This style works well, allowing the group to funnel the solid songcraft they had developed during their hitmaking years into a loose, energetic soundscape that harkens back to the finest moments of their early power-trio output. Indeed, songs like
"Can You Do It"
and
"Out to Get You"
(featuring a guest guitar solo from
) crackle with the kind of
hard rock
energy that had been lost on
All The Girls in the World Beware
. However, the songs do not get buried under the power-trio theatrics:
"Just Couldn't Wait"
is a dynamic fusion of
pop
hooks and
firepower that highlights the group's oft-underrated harmonies and
"Release Your Love"
injects catchy singalong choruses to a
country
-inflected slice of
. Another highlight is
"Miss My Baby,"
an anguished, epic
power ballad
that shows off the group's sound at its most subtle and atmospheric. To sum up,
Good Singin' Good Playin'
is an album that will please the group's fans and may even win over other
classic rock
enthusiasts with its combination of well-crafted songs and gutsy, no-frills production. ~ Donald A. Guarisco