Album Review — Dan Reed Network

Dan Reed Network — Origins

There are bands that should have been much bigger than they were. Shark Island is one that comes to mind. But my favorite band that never got their due was Dan Reed Network. They released three albums in the late 80s/early 90s. They did well outside of the U.S. but they never hit it big in their home country. Like many bands, the Alternative craze didn’t help them out but they seemed to be ahead of their time, crossing genres and never really finding a musical home. Reed disappeared for about a decade and returned with a couple of strong solo records. DRN returned in 2016 with “Fight Another Day” and now they are back with “Origins”, a half re-worked greatest hits and half brand new songs record.

The best part of this record are the new songs. The band recorded the songs in a live setting with an audience in different locations. The audience is featured vocally in the chorus of the opening song “Fade To Light”. It’s a strong mid-tempo song that has reminders of where the band has come from but definitely sounds like a band with a new place to go.

“Right In Front of Me” is another mid-tempo song that has a little more of a hook to it. Reed sounds excellent, maybe even better than he did on the original Network records. Back when rock bands had songs on the radio, this one could have been a hit.

“Shameless” has a little more guitar up front but ends up as another mid-tempo song. DRN always had a prominent keyboard sound and that continues here as the keyboard has a strong presence throughout.

My favorite new track is “One Last Time” which starts with a cool guitar riff. This one reminds me of the older DRN stuff the most out of the four new songs. The chorus is very catchy and the bridge/outro is the highlight of the record. I found myself playing this song over a few times which is something I usually don’t do. Just a great song.

The re-recorded songs range from being similar to the originals to a re-work of one of the band’s best known tracks. “Ritual” sticks to the original recording although Reed changes up his delivery enough to make it interesting. “Forgot To Make Her Mine” comes off a little heavier than the original with the guitar more up front. “Rainbow Child” has some minor changes but will sound familiar to fans. “Let It Go” sees the biggest changes as the chorus is remade and it’s a little more upbeat. It’s still a great song but I prefer the acoustic version.

For fans of the band this is a must have. The band sounds great and Reed is as good as ever. If there are any complaints it’s that it isn’t long enough. There could have been another 2–4 songs here to make this a full length record. But I really like the new songs and the re-recorded songs have enough in them to make them interesting.

If you weren’t a fan of the band this would be a good intro. They still have elements from the earlier records but they seemed to have honed their genre-crossing sound down to something more manageable. I hope the band follows this up with a full length release of new songs as I like the direction this band is going. They may never see the success they have deserved for so long but this sounds like this band still has more to say.

90 out of 100

Track Listing

1. Fade To Light *
2. Ritual
3. Right In Front of Me *
4. Forgot To Make Her Mine
5. Shameless
6. Let It Go
7. One Last Time *
8. Rainbow Child *

*Best Songs