Dan Reed Network - Slam

Dan Reed Network - Slam
Dan Reed was on the cover of the first Kerrang! I ever bought, alongside touring partner, Jon Bon Jovi. Big things were expected for him and his Network but it never quite happened for them. They weren't heavy enough for the, then fashionable, funk metal scene yet they were too funky and multicultural for mainstream rock, so they never quite fitted in. The title track has a good, funky groove but it also highlights the album's main weakness as the guitars sound overly synthesized. This also makes the album sound more pop than rock. Indeed, some of the album has touches of Ultravox whilst All My Lovin', great song though it is, does remind me a little of Paul Young. Hardly, the reference points you'd expect from a hard rock band and, consequently, they were probably too light for the majority of rockers. The album has a dated feel to it but the songwriting is strong enough to still make it listenable.

Dan's strength has always been ballads and some of his finest moments are here. Lover is a particular high point, the hit that never was. Stronger Than Steel is a ballad which has a killer chorus, although the version here is much longer than it should be and I much prefer the shorter, stripped back, acoustic version which appeared on the Mix It Up compilation.

Doin' The Love Thing sounds like a slightly heavier Prince. I'm Lonely, Please Stay has a summery feel, the type of track you could imagine playing in an eighties teen movie. The closing number, Seven Sisters Road, shows how the quality varies across the album as it comes across like a poor man's Extreme, which is about as bad as I can imagine.

Overall, there are some weak tracks but there are also some real gems too. An album to listen to selectively.