From Grand Funk to Grace

The Authorized Biography of Mark Farner
by Kristofer Engelhardt (Collector’s Guide)
By Craig Regala

An authorized bio of the Christ-centric Farner by a Christ-centric friend. Once you get past that hurdle, it yields a ton of facts, an immense discography, and more proof that getting signed to a recording contract by a major is like dealing with venture capitalists. You were this musical entity, now, all of a sudden, you’re a possible profit center. Not that indie/farmclub level labels are more moral, they just don’t have the resources to either apply or not to the business profit center you represent. Or to crush other options by sheer legal/professional weight. All in all, From Grand Funk To Grace is written with too much “Gee whiz! Golly me!” tone, but really the information’s there, even if it’s been scrubbed and buffed. I suppose the Behind the Music luridness potential has more or less been removed with facts presented modestly… I mean, I wanna know about all those chiquitas in Omaha etc., not couched in “some adventures on the road” terminology. The book comes with a disc of Farner’s new music: Nothing much there, but not terrible. But let’s face it, no one listened to Grand Funk for lyrical content, messages, or guidance. And if you did, well, good luck to you, buck-o. A nice thing about this book’s slant is you don’t get the wistful mock remorse and excuses so many coke-choked old timers trot out as “it was the times.”
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