GRAND FUNK "SHININ' ON" RARE ORIGINAL FIRST PRESSING '74 w/ 3-D GLASSES & POSTER

$

20

GRAND FUNK "SHININ' ON" 1974 RARE ORIGINAL FIRST PRESSING w/ 3-D GLASSES & POSTER
GRAND FUNK "SHININ' ON"  1974 ORIGINAL FIRST PRESSING w/ 3-D GLASSES & POSTER COMPLETE w/ 3-D GLASSES, FOLD-OUT 3-D POSTER, DELUXE INNER SLEEVE LABEL: CAPITOL RECORDS SWAE-11278 RELEASED: MARCH 30, 1974 PRODUCER/ENGINEER: TODD RUNDGREN RECORDED AT MARK FARNER'S "SWAMP" HOME STUDIO MASTERED BY LEE HULKO ('LH' DEADWAX) LACQUERS: LEE HULKO AT STERLING SOUND NYC ALBUM DESIGN & ART DIRECTION: LYNN GOLDSMITH COVER ARTWORK: COMIC BOOK ARTIST NEIL ADAMS MANUFACTURED BY CAPITOL RECORDS INCORPORATED PRESSED AT CAPITOL RECORDS PRESSING PLANT JACKSONVILLE ('O' IN MATRIX) MATRIX (SIDE A): SWAE-1-11278 Z8 STERLING LH 2 0 MATRIX (SIDE B):  SWAE-2-11278 Z11 STERLING 0
CONDITION:  VINYL: EX   JACKET: EX-   INNER SLEEVE: VG+   
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I've been going thru my massive vinyl record collection these past few weeks and pulling out some LPs that I thought that someone else would want for their collection. I've been collecting records for over 45 years and it's time to pass some of them on to the next generation of collectors.
This week on EBay I am offering up this fantastic, clean, complete, original 1974 First Pressing of Grand Funk's classic album "Shinin' On".
This is my original copy, purchased back in 1974, shortly after it's release, that I've taken great care of for many years. See details on Condition below.
~~~~~~~~~~ This is a fantastic, clean, complete original pressing with the poster, original 'tour dates' inner sleeve, 3-d cover art and intact 3-d glasses.
A beautiful copy and rare to find in this excellent complete condition.
This album sold well and there are many 'used' copies of this album found in the bins, but they are almost always incomplete, damaged, or generally trashed.
The poster and inner sleeve are often missing, the glasses are often missing, damaged, or punched-out and 'refitted' back into the cover. If the poster is present, it often has pin-holes or 'dinged' corners. The vinyl is often found in well-played condition.
This record is my personal copy, purchased 'new' in the Spring of 1974, that I've taken great care of for many years. It is an original First Pressing, complete, and in fantastic clean condition. One of the best copies I've seen in decades.
I don't remember the details surrounding buying many of my records, but I can clearly remember buying this one. My buddy and I both purchased this album, together, on the same day. We went back to his house and he ripped open his copy, hung up the poster, tore out the glasses, and we had fun listening to the album and being amazed by the music and the 3-d artwork, which was certainly enhanced by various 'substances' as I recall.
I was a record collector, even back in 1974, and kept my copy sealed, took it home, carefully opened it, and put this copy away in my collection. It's complete, clean and a great album.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The mid 1970's were a time of very cool, wild, innovative, complex album jacket designs, and this record is one of the more interesting and amazing.
'Shinin' On' was originally released in a cosmic, psychedelic, 3-D printed cover. The album jacket art was printed in 3-D and came complete with a pair of 'built in' 3-D glasses, and a 12" x 24" 3-D poster.  I remember when this album was released, it was advertised as “The first 3-D rock ‘n’ roll album!”
Original pressings also came with a custom printed inner-sleeve with credits, photos, Fan Club Information and a listing of the 1974 Tour dates.
This early pressing has deluxe custom labels with the red text. There were also early pressings with standard black text, but the red is much cooler, and much rarer.
The front and back cover had amazing artwork, drawn by Comic Book artist Neal Adams, who worked for both DC and Marvel, and is most well known for his Batman and X-Men artwork.
An amazing record package that was very innovative and way ahead of it's time.
The cover/packaging concept & design was created by Lynn Goldsmith, a young photographer who also worked with Grand Funk to  direct their 1973 promotional film for 'We’re An American Band'.
Lynn Goldsmith went on to become a famous Rock photojournalist and her classic photos appear on many different album covers.
~~~~~~~~~~ This First pressing has the Price Code (0698) on the Spine and the longer text at the bottom of the back cover, with the additional "Factories Los Angeles, California, Jacksonville, Illinois, Winchester, Virginia...Recording Industry Association of America, Inc. a non-profit organization dedicated to the betterment of recorded music & literature"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ You can’t talk about 70’s rock music without talking about how popular and influential Grand Funk were.  The Iconic rock band from Flint Michigan shook the rock world with their unique mix of power riffs, hard driving beats, and classic lyrics. 
Grand Funk was one of the first bands with enough fan base to sell out stadiums, and have been called "America's first stadium band." 
In 1971, the band sold out New York's Shea Stadium in under 72 hours, smashing the record that the Beatles set in 1965.
In 1972, they added their buddy from Flint, Craig Frost on keyboards, updating and fleshing out their sound.
By the time this album was recorded, Grand Funk Railroad was made up of Mark Farner on vocals, guitar, and harmonica; Don Brewer on drums. percussion, and vocals; Mel Schacher on bass; and Craig Frost on organ, clavinet, piano, Moog and Mellotron.
By the first half of the 1970s, Grand Funk had become rock superstars.
When this album was released, the Spring of 1974, the band were already on an extensive US tour. Perfectly timed to coincide with the tour, the original inner sleeve to this album has one side that listed all their upcoming tour dates to let fans know when they were coming to their area.
'Shinin’ On' was the band's 10th album (8th studio) and was their first album after releasing the great 'We’re An American Band' in 1973. Although not as successful as its predecessor, it peaked at #5 in the US and its first single, a cover of "The Loco-Motion" topped the U.S. charts.
'Shinin' On' was Grand Funk's 10th album in a row to go Gold, among a great run of terrific albums.
It was produced by Todd Rundgren, who also produced 'American Band' and continued to steer the band in a more commercial direction. Todd even added some guitar work and backing vocals on this album.
Some fans felt that this album was the beginning of their slippery slope towards mediocrity, and history has pretty much proven them right, but this album is still full of classic Grand Funk songs and is considered by many to be the last of a great run of classic albums by the band.
Mark Farner has always been the nucleus of Grand Funk Railroad, and his performances on this record are fantastic.
The songs are tight, the vocals are excellent and Don Brewer, Mark Farner, Mel Schacher and Craig Frost took the band to another level, but kept their classic sound and style intact.
This album was recorded at Farner's 'Swamp' studio.
In 1970, Mark Farner purchased 200 acres in rural Parshallville, Michigan, and built his own home out in the country, away from Flint. Of course, he quickly added a state of the art recording studio and nicknamed it "The Swamp". It was a place for the band to hang out, relax, jam and record.
Several Grand Funk albums, including this one, were recorded there. Todd Rundgren liked 'The Swamp' so much, he recorded several other acts there in addition to Grand Funk.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The 8 songs on this classic album include:
Shinin' On To Get Back In The Loco-Motion Carry Me Through Please Me Mr. Pretty Boy Gettin' Over You Little Johnny Hooker
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The popularity of 'Shinin’ On' was fueled by it's #1 hit single, an updated and reinvented version of 'Locomotion', the old Little Eva pop hit written by Gerry Goffin and Carole King.
“The Loco-motion,” with it's stomping beat, chugging rhythm, and a screeching guitar lead from Mark Farner, became an international hit, giving the band much needed exposure and sales in Europe.
In America, their version of the song shot straight to #1 on the charts.
The song "Loco-Motion" had a very different style than the earlier heavier, primal, Flint Michigan sound of their previous albums.
Some long-term fans were convinced that this album was the beginning of the end for the band, as it had 1 or 2 tracks that showed the band moving into more of a pop rock/ R&B style, but this album is still packed with the old classic Grand Funk sound that people loved.
Other than that one cover, 'Shinin' On' featured all new great original Grand Funk songs. The terrific long title track and songs like 'Please Me', 'Gettin’ Over You', and 'Little Johnny Hooker' prove that Grand Funk still had a lot of power and drive left at this point.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 'Shinin' On' opens with the dynamic, powerful, six-minute title track. 
It's an excellent, hard-driving, heavy rock track with some spacey psych overtones. This song has some fantastic Craig Frost keyboard work, a great groove, and the band lets loose in the middle section, jamming a bit. 
The vocals are by drummer Don Brewer who was taking on more singing duties and songwriting duties on this album. Brewer has a great, powerful, rock voice which fits these songs well.
The excellent "Shinin' On" was issued as the 2nd single from this album.
“Shinin’ On” is followed by Mark Farner's “To Get Back In,” which has more of a Soul Pop, upbeat feel. Farner's guitar and Frost's Keyboard work blends very well and the band lets loose and does some jamming at the end of the track. 
Side one of 'Shinin' On' concludes with the moodier "Carry Me Through". Don Brewer handles the vocals perfectly, Craig Frost plays some cool Clavinet, and Todd Rundgren's production effects are all over this song. Interestingly, Todd Rundgren plays guitar on "Carry Me Through", while Farner switches places with Todd and plays keyboards.
The song fades out smoothly, nicely closing out the first side of this album.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Side Two of the album is more Rock and Blues oriented, steering away from the more Pop oriented songs of the first side.
The flip side of 'Shinin' On' opens with the rocking, upbeat "Please Me." It's a great rock and roll tune written by Mark Farner and Don Brewer. 
Next up is 'Mr Pretty Boy', a rootsier acoustic blues number, that contrasts the harder edged numbers on the album.
The bluesier 'Mr Pretty Boy' is followed by the lively, high-energy rock and roll song “Gettin’ Over You”, which shows the band at their best.
Don Brewer's drumming is great and the song is fantastic, turning into an instrumental jam during the second half of the track.
The album finishes up with Mark Farner's song "Little Johnny Hooker", his homage to John Lee Hooker. It's an amped-up, blistering, driving finish to the album, with Farner playing some fantastic guitar work.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ One of my personal favorite songs from the 'Shinin' On' sessions, the great "Destitute and Losin'" was left off the album, but made it's appearance as the B-side to the "Loco-Motion" single.
People always wonder why I collect 45's in addition to LPs, and songs like this are a great example. At the time, it was the only way to hear this great song.
7-inch 45 singles offered different mixes, different edits, and rare B-sides that were available in no other way, at least back in the day before longer format CDs and re-issues. "Destitute and Losin'" was later added to the CD version of "Shinin' On"
I also remember that when this album was released, there was a cool 'Quadraphonic' mix, only released on 8-Track at the time. Those tapes are quite rare and very interesting to hear on a vintage Quad system.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ THE HISTORY OF 'GRAND FUNK RAILROAD'
One of the 1970s' most successful hard rock bands, Grand Funk Railroad built a devoted fan base with constant touring, a heavy, loud, simple take on the blues-rock power trio sound, and strong working-class appeal. 
The band was formed by Flint, Michigan by guitarist/songwriter Mark Farner and drummer Don Brewer, both former members of a local band called Terry Knight and the Pack. 
They recruited former ? and the Mysterians' bassist Mel Schacher in 1968, and Knight retired from performing to become their manager, naming the group after Michigan's well-known Grand Trunk Railroad. 
They performed for free at the 1969 Atlanta Pop Festival, and their energetic, rocking show led Capitol Records to sign them.
Despite little FM radio support, the group's strong work ethic and commitment to touring produced a series of fantastic high-selling albums over the next few years; five of their eight releases from 1969 to 1972 went platinum, and the others all went gold. 
Manager Terry Knight promoted the band aggressively, going so far as to rent a Times Square billboard to advertise 'Closer to Home', which turned out to be the band's first multi-platinum album.
Due to mismanagement and financial issues, Grand Funk Railroad fired Knight in March of 1972, who promptly sued, and the band spent most of 1972 idle in court. Eventually, Knight and the band financially settled their differences.
Keyboardist Craig Frost joined the group for the 'Phoenix' album at the end of 1972. Following that album, the band's name was officially shortened to Grand Funk, and the group finally scored a #1 hit with the title track of the Todd Rundgren-produced 'We're an American Band'. 
The follow-up, 'Shinin' On', contained another number one hit in a remake of Little Eva's "The Loco-Motion." 
Their next album, 'All the Girls in the World Beware!!' was a flop, and interest in the group began to wane. Music was changing and Grand Funk's style was no longer considered cool or relevant. Disco and Punk were emerging on the scene.
In 1976, they went back to calling themselves Grand Funk Railroad, and worked with producer Frank Zappa to make 'Good Singin', Good Playin', but their days in the spotlight were over, and the band soon broke up.
Mark Farner went on to a long Solo career, the remainder of the band released an album as 'Flint' with guitarist Billy Elworthy, and Craig Frost went on to a long career with Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band. 
Grand Funk Railroad re-formed in 1981 with Dennis Bellinger on bass and released two albums, both of which went nowhere.
In 1997, Grand Funk Railroad reunited once again to record a benefit album titled 'Bosnia', which also failed to get any attention.
Mark Farner is the only original member to continue to make and sell records as a Contemporary Christian artist ,after finding God in the late 1980's. His version of "Isn't it Amazing" was a significant hit. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CONDITION: I tried to show good hi-resolution photos of the cover, poster, sleeve, labels and vinyl in my pictures.
As mentioned, I purchased this copy back in 1974, nearly 50 years ago, and have taken great care of it since.
VINYL: The vinyl looks excellent. Clean and bright. No serious scuffs, palpable scratches, or dings. It looks fantastic and I'm sure you'll be very happy with it. I almost never call records 'excellent', but this one is fantastic. Like the day I purchased it.
The Deadwax has the Sterling stamp and mastering engineer Lee Hulko's initials. The plating marks are all first pressing marks. See the full Matrix numbers above. This is the best sounding pressing of this record.
I tried to show some close-up pictures of the vinyl to show how good it looks. I'm sure you'll be pleased with it.
I haven't messed with it or cleaned it, other than my trusty 'DiscWasher' brush, in 50 years, since Nixon was in office. It could use a good deep cleaning to make it even better looking and better sounding than it already is, but it's a beauty. 
LABELS: This is pressed with colorful custom labels. The labels have the band's faces, cool artwork, and have the rare red text, not the much more common black text. Very nice, unique, custom labels for the time period.
The labels are clean and bright. No marks or damage. The spindle holes are still sharp and clean, suggesting minimal playing and my careful handling over the years.
The original 12" x 24" fold-out Poster is here. It is clean and bright, with no damage or pin-holes.
The original blue inner sleeve is here as well. This is the first inner sleeve with the 1974 Tour dates on one side and production credits on the other. Still in nice condition, with minor wear, as most inner sleeves have. A rare survivor.
JACKET: As you can see from my pictures, this still looks very nice for a nearly 50 year old OG copy.  This has the amazing 3-D artwork on the front and back and is still clean and bright. The glasses are intact, un-punched and the lenses are clean. Almost every copy of this album has the glasses damaged or missing. These are still clean and intact.
No ringwear, scuffs or damage. Corners are still quite nice, and the spine, with the original Price Code, is straight.
The back cover has the early, longer text at the bottom and the Fan club information.
There's some very very minor shelf wear, but the artwork is bold, bright and amazing.
Overall, I'll call the whole record VG++ to EX-, but the vinyl is very clean.
This record has been sleeved and stored properly for decades, and is still quite nice for an original pressing. One of the best I've seen.
This First Pressing copy is all original, and a real gem. I'm sure you'll love it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~ ** NOTE: I'm selling this rare 'Collector' record "AS IS" and "NO RETURN". It's rare and as described and I'm sure you'll be very happy with it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I’m recently retired and downsizing and letting go some gems and rarities from nearly 45 years of vinyl record collecting. Check out the many other fantastic 45s and 33s coming soon to my page!
All records have been carefully evaluated and graded by me. I visually inspect all records under bright light, personally gently clean them with a soft cloth and then, if unsure, play them on a modern high-end turntable to get a true picture of condition. Please look at all the high-resolution pictures I added. They are all my own and are of the actual record being sold. The pictures are part of the description and can show small details, label variations, and condition better than I can put into words. 
My grading is fair and honest. I have had over 3,400 happy and satisfied EBay customers over the years, with 100% positive feedback, and I have been buying/selling on EBay for well over 25 years, so please bid with confidence!
I'm a 0ne-man operation, this is a hobby, not my job. I do this for fun. I do this because I love music, love collecting vinyl and want others to share in that same experience. I take my time listening, researching, grading, listing and packaging. I will NOT sell any record that I personally would not want in my collection.
As you well know, packing and shipping rare records requires special care and attention, therefore, shipping cost within the lower 48 states is $5.00 on this item. If you would like insurance, or anything faster than Media/Economy Mail, please let me know and I can arrange it for you. I’ll work with you to make sure you’re happy!
I will gladly combine multiple records, or other items on my page, and make the shipping much less for you. I don’t inflate the shipping costs; they are what they are. I strive to keep them as low as possible. See my feedback for comments on my quality packing and shipping.
All items are packaged with sturdy cardboard mailers and appropriate padding. I take pride in my packaging and shipping and package all my records as if I were sending them to myself. I refuse to use cheap flimsy packaging material when sending my vinyl. I treat them as if they were my own and mail them the same way. 
All orders are processed and shipped within 2 business days of receipt. We package and ship our vinyl records with the greatest care, using proper packaging to ensure that your rare and collectible vinyl records arrive in pristine condition.
Payments can be made by any of the multiple options that Ebay offers.
I will be happy to exchange feedback with anyone I complete a transaction with.
THANK YOU for looking and reading if you got this far.  -- JOHN