THE GROOVEMAN'S COLLECTION

REVIEWS FROM MY VINYL COLLECTION

Tag: dan reed network

DAN REED NETWORK – Slam

June 21, 2022 /

Dan Reed’s first album was a great record but it didn’t sell that well with the R’n’B soul crowd (which I think it was aimed at), but it did great with a rock audience, especially in the UK and Europe. So, when second album Slam dropped, it was no surprise to see the tunes rocked up somewhat. Of course the funk and groove were still present, but with the added heaviness it was winner winner chicken dinner.

A near perfect example of how to make a funk rock record, and I’m sure Max Martin used this as a blueprint for his songwriting. I saw them a couple of times and they were an amazing live band. Tiger In A Dress is a perfect example of how the funk and groove are still there, but add the fat huge riff into the mix and man what a killer song. It’s not my favourite though, as that goes to Cruise Together. A dark brooding synth driven piece with an amazing vocal from Dan, the main vocal line and melody gets me every time; add to that some great guitar and it’s definitely one of the Network’s best tunes. Everyone should own this album.

10/10 from The Grooveman.

DAN REED NETWORK – The Heat

March 16, 2022 /

After having moderate success riding on the wave of the funk rock boom of the late eighties/early nineties (especially in the UK and Europe), Dan called it quits, shaved his head, and disappeared off the map. I was super sad as they wrote great tunes, were a killer live act, and Dan was a superb frontman.

This is the third album and the last studio album for nearly 25 years. I know there was a best of, a live album, and some little side projects – but that’s a long time between albums. To emphasize my point about writing great tunes, the opening song Baby Now I is a superb opener. It has a killer groove, beat, and one of those ear worm choruses that you can’t get out of your head. The heavy funk groove keeps a comin’ with Blame It On The Moon, and if you want to know where Max Martin got it all from – you need to hear this, a superb track. Mix It Up has an urban vibe (before that became a thing) and you definitely need your groove shoes on. The title track is next up and starts with a messed up Beatles style riff mixed up with the trademark funk rock groove – it works so well and a shout out to Brion James for a killer solo. Then the mood and vibe slows right down with the ballad Let It Go, before normal service is resumed With Love Don’t Work That Way with the return to funky town.

Sometimes covering an iconic track just doesn’t work, and that is the case here with their cover of Pink Floyd’s Money. Floyd’s version is so imprinted in my memory that any messing around with it is a no-no for me. Side 1 closes out with the unusual acoustic barroom blues of Chill Out. So if you’re counting, that’s 8 tracks on Side 1 and I think we could have jettisoned a couple of them. Life Is Sex brings back the funk and groove and we are back up and running. Ballad number two is next with The Salt Of Joy and it’s straight from the Bon Jovi book of ballads. Take My Hand would be best described as soft rock and it sort of feels lost. The Lonely Sun feels like a Dan Reed tribute to Led Zeppelin with the main riff of the song. Thy Will Be Done is one of my favourites on the record as the groove is killer, and I like the indie sounding guitars mixed with the usual Network sounds. Wake Up and Long Way To Go close out the album.

I would agree with the general assessment of the album that it’s the weakest of the first three. If they had culled some of the tracks (say by 4) then it would have flowed a lot better…but hindsight is a beautiful thing.

8.5/10 from The Grooveman.

DAN REED NETWORK – s/t

May 15, 2021 /

I’m not sure if anyone would put Portland, Oregon as the capital of Funk, but for a couple of years in the late eighties, it was Funk central – thanks to the Dan Reed Network. The band actually formed back in ’84, but it wasn’t until ’88 that they secured a record deal with Mercury. So what happens when you give a big rock production to the catchiest funk and R&B songs ever written? Well, the short answer is this beast of an album! The band were put together with mega producer Bruce Fairbairn, and engineer Mike Fraser. With those two at the helm, and some killer tunes, it was impossible not to score big.

Every song on this album screams hit – I kid you not! After the rap intro of World Has A Heart Too, the next three songs are just perfection. Get To You was released as a single and is a superb funk groove masterpiece. Ritual has a more rocky approach, but again is a great tune, and that is followed by Forgot To Make Her Mine – what a 1, 2, 3 that is. Bands would kill for just one of those songs. Tamin’ The Wild Nights is the obligatory ballad that was in the contract in the eighties. The side closes with I’m So Sorry which is a fantastic pop song. I think you would agree that was a pretty awesome first side.

Side 2 starts with the band’s big number of this record, Resurrect, and is contender for the “best song they did” trophy. This song as everything: it rocks, it seriously grooves, and it has one hell of a sing-a-long chorus and melody. I defy anyone not to move to this song. Baby Don’t Fade is a slowed down dirty funk tour-de-force – with a groove and melody to die for. Jeez I forgot how good this album is. Human is next and is more of a straight up pop tune – again, melody is high on the list of priorities. Halfway Around The World is the Side 2 ballad, again eighties contracts deems it so. Which brings us to album closer, Rock You All Night Long, and it does what it says on the tin, but with a funky groove.

The album after this, Slam, is also a great record, but then it slowly faded away and Dan went a bit fruit loops and new age, and disappeared for a long time. You guessed it, it’s another everyone should own one!

9.5/10 from The Grooveman.

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