| Grand National | 
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| List Price: $13.98
Buy New: $8.68
You Save: $5.30 (38%)
Buy New/Used from $8.49
Avg. Customer Rating:   (based on 23 reviews)
Sales Rank: 3114
Category: Music
Artist: John Butler Trio
Publisher: Atlantic / Wea
Studio: Atlantic / Wea
Manufacturer: Atlantic / Wea
Label: Atlantic / Wea
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 5.5 x 4.9 x 0.2
MPN: 101649
UPC: 075678999642
EAN: 0075678999642
ASIN: B000N3ST4S
Release Date: March 27, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Tracks:
| • | Better Than | | • | Daniella | | • | Funky Tonight | | • | Caroline | | • | Good Excuse | | • | Used To Get High | | • | Gov Did Nothing | | • | Groovin' Slowly | | • | Devil Running | | • | Losing You | | • | Nowhere Man | | • | Fire In The Sky | | • | Gonna Take It |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Album Description
The pigeonholes that exist have long been a bad fit for John Butler anyway. Roots band, protest band, jam band, groove band . . . these labels may or may not have applied in the past, but the John Butler Trio of 2007 has come too far and seen too much to sit in anybody else's niche. "GRAND NATIONAL" is more about love than injustice, more about ass-shaking than finger-pointing, and more about maintaining the funk than any particular hairstyle. It's an album of sharp focus and wide variety that matches and surpasses monumental expectations.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 18 more reviews...
 Funkier than any jam band August 27, 2008
Honestly, the John Butler Trio has not gotten the stateside welcome that they deserve. In fact, "Sunrise Over Sea" was one of the best jam band releases to date. And it almost didn't get airplay in the United States.
Thus, the John Butler Trio is back to jam again with their third album, "Grand National," which is a delightful funk/roots band masterpiece.
With all the funk guitar riffs that John Butler pulls off, one can now officially call them the Red Hot Chili Peppers of the jam band scene. In fact, with the coolest banjo and electric guitar licks in the song "Gov Did Nothin'," John Butler is on fire.
Even though this album is less raw than "Sunrise Over Sea," the band makes up for it by bringing in a horn section in "Gov Did Nothin'" and a string ensemble in "Caroline." John Butler also switches to playing smooth and quiet raggae in "Groovin' Slowly," with a banjo and Sharon Birchall playing a snazzy bass guitar line.
The band is also playing with editing effects too. Probably the coolest sounds come in the introduction to "Devil Running," featuring guitar tracks played backwards before kicking the drums in. There's also moments in "Fire in the Sky" where the guitar sounds are bent out of tune and resonating with long echoes.
Most of all, though, John Butler is showing a softer, intimate side of his persona in this album. Songs such as "Losing You" and "Caroline" are touching acoustic songs with almost no other instruments backing him up. And even though "Fire in the Sky" features some menacing electric guitar strums, most of the rest of the song has beautiful consonant guitar strums and riffs.
This is a great album that shows more of the trio's persona, with both loud jams and some soft bluegrass songs. The loud songs in the first half of the album are complemented by some soft, peaceful jams. And while John Butler's lyrics are nowhere near as catchy as "You better treat yo' mama with respect" in the previous album, this is an album that shows that Butler can sound cool, even when he's not in a passionate mood.
Most Excellent June 9, 2008
This foot stomping, dance around the kitchen collection of tunes is lots of fun. Amazing what three guys can do! Don't miss the opportunity to see them in concert.
great band, great music May 26, 2008
What can I say? This music is fun to listen to. Over and over, and over. Absolutely superb musicianship, not overproduced. They rock, they jam, and they get funky... so if you like to rock, jam, and get funky, this album is for you. Their sound is one of a kind. While the mainstream music seems so focused on relationship problems, depression, drugs, lust, etc, the JBT sings about the good things - peace, family, dance, and making love. With some political statements thrown in the mix.
Grand National is a great experience and gets my recommendation.
a pleasure to listen... April 6, 2008
Grand National, the perfect cd for driving 100km on a sunny road, it's one of those cds that you can hear a thousand times, great songs, personally loved used to get high... absolutely would recommend.
Good grooves January 1, 2008
I heard JBT on our local progressive radio station and liked some of the grooves. I was looking for some new music and gave Grand National a whirl. It's excellent. It's easy to call them a jam band, but the mix of influences, including blusey slide guitar, funky grooves, a little celtic beat with a few rap-sytle vocals mixed in for some songs is very nice. Add some thought provoking lyrics and I love the combo. Now I'm jut deciding which JBT album to buy next.
Also, after listening to the disc for about a month, I was able to catch JBT live and whoa, they were awesome! Those 3 guys put out some serious sound. If you get a chance, don't pass it up.
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