We're An American Band: the new 3-CD collection from Cherry Red's Grapefruit Records is titled after Grand Funk (Railroad)'s 1973 chart-topping anthem.  The song penned by Don Brewer and produced by Todd Rundgren was a semi-autobiographical look at life on the road, complete with parties, groupies, and guest stars.  The story goes that the title phrase developed from a friendly argument between Grand Funk and Humble Pie about British vs. American rock.  Brewer insisted that wasn't the way it happened, but the resulting song indeed made the case for the U.S. hard rock scene of the day.  Grapefruit's collection, which closes with the title track, features 62 examples of the genre, all originally released between 1967 and 1973.  Some are from familiar bands, some unfamiliar; most of the songs from the marquee artists are hidden gems.  With this all-encompassing approach, the box traces the development of U.S. hard rock from the garage to the stadium.

Various strains of rock are featured on We're an American Band, including so-called "heavy" bands such as New York's Vanilla Fudge and San Diego's Iron Butterfly.  The first disc opens with the Fudge's slow, sludgy take on The Beatles' familiar "Ticket to Ride."  The 1965 Lennon/McCartney tune was so durable that, two years later, Carpenters would reinvent it once again in soft fashion as the brother-sister duo's very first single.  A similar reimagining happened when Bay Area band Blue Cheer gave Eddie Cochran's 1958 hit "Summertime Blues" a heavy makeover.  (The Who also made Cochran's song a staple of their live sets.)  Iron Butterfly, like Atco labelmates Vanilla Fudge, represented the gloomier, doomier side of psychedelia as can be heard on "Iron Butterfly Theme."  Other memorable psychedelic-era groups represented on this set include Los Angeles' Love ("Robert Montgomery"), San Francisco's Quicksilver Messenger Service ("Pride of Man"), New York's Blues Magoos ("Chicken Wire Lady"), and Ohio's Human Beinz ("April 15th"), but the compilers have also shone a spotlight on lesser-known acts including New Jersey's Omnibus ("Good Morning Day"), Santa Monica's Mass Confusion Rock Band ("The War Rages On"), and Seattle's Easy Chair ("My Own Life").

Among the more surprising names on this set is blues legend Muddy Waters, heard via his blistering cover of The Rolling Stones' "Let's Spend the Night Together."  The bold move infuriated Waters' original fan base but proved popular with Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, and the Stones themselves.  Though a rooting in the blues informs many of these tracks, the set showcases the various ways the young rock genre branched out.  Michigan's MC5 ("Kick Out the Jams") and Stooges ("I Wanna Be Your Dog") perfected the art of primal, thrashing garage rock.  Other bands such as Philadelphia's The Nazz (named after The Yardbirds' "Nazz Are Blue") were influenced by the British wave of hard rockers.  Nazz melded the blues-rock of Cream with the sonic assault of The Who, plus a dash of the sheer pop melodicism which would catapult the group's primary songwriter and guitarist, Todd Rundgren, to stardom.  (Solo Todd is here, too, with the blazing metal of "Is It My Name" from his eclectic 1973 masterwork A Wizard, A True Star.) They're represented here with "Under the Ice," one of their heavier cuts.  The Cream influence was even more explicit in the music of Mountain (the hit "Mississippi Queen"), co-fronted by that band's frequent producer Felix Pappalardi.

Another group called Nazz changed its name to Alice Cooper, and so Vincent Furnier and co. are heard here on the gloomy "Fields of Regret" from the pre-fame debut they recorded for Frank Zappa's Straight label.  Like Alice Cooper, ZZ Top - evolved from the psych-pop band Moving Sidewalks - and Blue Oyster Cult would go on to reach superstardom in the years following those covered in this box set. ZZ Top's cover of "Crazy Cajun" Huey P. Meaux's "Neighbor, Neighbor" and BOC's "Transmaniacon MC" have been culled from both bands' debut LPs.

We're An American Band should come with a sticker: PLAY IT LOUD! The searing guitars, thrashing drums, and thunderous bass sounds on these records, both familiar and unknown, chronicle the birth of American hard rock in majestic fashion.  The clamshell box houses each disc in an individual sleeve plus a 48-page book with David Wells' comprehensive, track-by-track liner notes.  Simon Murphy has remastered.  You'll find this set available now from Cherry Red/Grapefruit at the links below!

Various Artists, We're an American Band: A Journey Through the USA Hard Rock Scene 1967-1973 (Cherry Red/Grapefruit CRSEGBOX130, 2023) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

CD 1

1. TICKET TO RIDE - Vanilla Fudge (from Atco LP SD 33-224, 1967)
2. IRON BUTTERFLY THEME - Iron Butterfly (from Atco LP SD 33-227, 1968)
3. SUMMERTIME BLUES - Blue Cheer (Philips single 40516, 1968)
4. THE OSTRICH (Album Version) - Steppenwolf (from Dunhill LP DS-55029, 1968)
5. REMLAP'S CAVE PART II - The Savage Resurrection (from Mercury LP SR-61156, 1968)
6. MAN WHO PAINTS THE PICTURES - Fever Tree (Uni single 73024, 1968)
7. WHY SHOULD I CARE - The Sound Barrier (rec. 1968, originally unreleased)
8. PRIDE OF MAN - Quicksilver Messenger Service (from Capitol LP ST-2904, 1968)
9. MY OWN LIFE - Easy Chair (from Vanco LP 1004, 1968)
10. CHICKEN WIRE LADY - Blues Magoos (from Mercury LP SR-61167, 1968)
11. APRIL 15TH - The Human Beinz (from Capitol LP ST-2926, 1968)
12. PLASTIC PEOPLE - Wildwood (Magnum single 420, 1968)
13. THE WAR RAGES ON - Mass Confusion Rock Band (Malibu single 101, 1968)
14. BLACK SHEEP - SRC (from Capitol LP ST-2991, 1968)
15. LET'S SPEND THE NIGHT TOGETHER - Muddy Waters (from Cadet Concept LPS 314, 1968)
16. CRAZY WOMAN - Dragonfly (from Megaphone LP MS 1202, 1968)
17. HOT SMOKE AND SASAFRASS-Bubble Puppy (International Artists single IA-128, 1968)
18. GOOD MORNING DAY - Omnibus (rec. 1968, originally unreleased)
19. MISTER GENIE MAN - Society's Children (Cha-Cha single C-775, 1968)
20. BLOW MY MIND - Darius (from Chartbuster LP CSG 1102, 1969)
21. NIGHTRIDER- Kim Fowley (from Imperial LP 12423, 1969)

CD 2

1. KICK OUT THE JAMS - MC5 (Elektra LP EKS 74042, 1969)
2. TIME SELLER - Stack (from Charisma LP CRS-303, 1969)
3. UNDER THE ICE - Nazz (SGC single 45-006, 1969)
4. FIELDS OF REGRET - Alice Cooper (from Straight LP STS 1051, 1969)
5. OCEANS INSIDE ME - Stone Garden (Angelus single WR 4819, 1969)
6. I WANNA BE YOUR DOG - The Stooges (from Elektra LP EKS 74051, 1969)
7. DARK-EYED WOMAN - Spirit (from Ode LP Z12 44016, 1969)
8. JOURNEYS - The Litter (from Probe LP CPLP 4504-S, 1969)
9. ROBERT MONTGOMERY - Love (from Elektra LP EKS-74049, 1969)
10. DONOVAN'S MONKEY - Stalk-Forrest Group (rec. 1969, originally unreleased)
11. WICKED WOMAN - Coven (Mercury single 72923, 1969)
12. WELCOME TO THE VOID - Morgen (from Probe LP CPLP 4507-S, 1969)
13. BABYLON - Conception (Perfection single P-1001, 1969)
14. HOUSE OF THE RISING SUN-Frijid Pink (from Parrot LP PAS 71033, 1970)
15. SAD DAY - Fuse (from Epic LP BN 26502, 1970)
16. MISSISSIPPI QUEEN - Mountain (Windfall single 532, 1970)
17. NO PARKING (Live) - Gold (rec. 1970, originally unreleased)
18. DARK ROAD - Christopher (from Metromedia LP MD 1024, 1970)
19. SELF-MADE GOD - Brigade (from Band 'n Vocal Recording Service LP BVRS 1066, 1970)
20. DEATH OF A VIRGIN-Damnation of Adam Blessing (from United Artists LP UAS-6773, 1970)

CD 3

1. NEIGHBOR, NEIGHBOR - ZZ Top (London single 45-138, 1970)
2. TWISTED FLOWER - Cold Sun (rec. 1970, originally unreleased)
3. STARS IN THE SKY - Wildfire (Primo single WF 0021, 1971)
4. HELIUM HEAD (I GOT A LOVE) - Sir Lord Baltimore (from Mercury LP SR-61328, 1971)
5. TIME AND CHANGES - B.F. Trike (rec. 1971, originally unissued)
6. FACE THE CROWD - Demian (from ABC LP S-718, 1971)
7. ROAD RUNNER- Head Over Heels (from Capitol LP ST-797, 1971)
8. MONTREAL JAIL - Boomerang (RCA Victor single 74-0508, 1971)
9. EVIL - Cactus (from Atco LP SD 33-377, 1971)
10. R.T.C.D. - Bolder Damn (from HIT LP HRI 5061, 1971)
11. NEVER COMING DOWN - Estes Brothers (from EDCOM LP ED-71-01-LPS, 1971)
12. TRANSMANIACON MC- Blue Oyster Cult (from Columbia LP C 31063, 1972)
13. YOU CAN-Earthen Vessel (from NRS LP 2587-SLP, 1972)
14. THE QUEEN - Bang (from Capitol LP ST 11015, 1972)
15. MY TIME IS OVER-Sudden Death (rec. 1972, originally unreleased)
16. IT SWALLOWED THE SUN - The Flow (from private press LP, no cat. no., 1972)
17. SUICIDE - Dust (from Kama Sutra LP KSBS 2059, 1972)
18. LOVE JUMPED THROUGH MY WINDOW - Arthur Lee (from A&M LP SP-4356, 1972)
19. IS IT MY NAME-Todd Rundgren (from Bearsville LP BR 2113, 1973)
20. YOU KNOW- Stray Dog (Manticore single MPRO-1, 1973)
21. WE'RE AN AMERICAN BAND-Grand Funk (Capitol single 3660, 1973)