Mark Farner - For the People

If you take the guitar riff from Santana's "Smooth" and shake it up in a blender with Edwyn Collins sublime "A Girl Like You," the result will be one of Mark Farner's best tracks since "Bad Time," a catchy pop tune he calls "Nadean" on what could be the Grand Funk lead singer's most important solo effort in the close to 30 years that he's been making music full-time without Mel Schacher and Don Brewer. The 11 songs on For The People contain more hits than misses, though, from the beautifully Hendrixian "Cry Baby" to the elegant and post-'80s-and-into-the-new-millennium "Girl." Sure the titles have been utilized by Garnet Mimms and The Beatles, respectively, but these are originals exuding the R&B that Farner is so enamored of, along with those pop sensibilities that he's totally capable of but has kept from his audience for much too long. Read More