DAN REED NETWORK - ‘Let’s Hear it for the King’

As a reviewer I try to approach things honestly. Despite being a massive fan of the band’s work and having loved seeing them live again since they re-formed, their first album release after re-forming, ‘Fight Another Day’, left me a bit cold and I didn’t think that the next, ‘Origins’, added much to the originals. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not someone who wants things to stay the same – there was just something missing. However, from the drip-feed release of singles from their new album, ‘Let’s Hear it for the King’, it was clear that something very special might be happening … and it has. 

Promotion for the new album started back in October, but was delayed as the tour which had been booked to promote it was also delayed due to the pandemic. Since then it’s been frustrating for the band and fans alike waiting for the album to be released.  

First single ‘Starlight’, influenced musically by Dan’s love of AC/DC, started with a suitably Angus Young-style riff and Thunderstruck-style backing vocals, soon got very funky and with a “crazy boy, crazy girl, what we gonna do?” chorus which I found myself singing in my sleep. As a song, ‘Starlight’ showed much promise and more than hinted that something was brewing. ‘Pretty Karma’ took us somewhere different with a much harder modern/contemporary rock sound, but equally memorable spiralling chorus taking us “back around, back around” and written about the politics, factionalism and social problems in the States which are coming back to bite and building on the social messaging which became more prominent in 1991's ‘The Heat’.   

More recently ‘Homegrown’ dropped - a track which I loved the moment I heard it. Finding DRN at their most soulful, this somehow mixes hard rock, funk, soul and more modern r’n’b in a very potent combination. Then just before album release the title song, ‘Let’s Hear it for the King’ arrived. Written about the hypocrisy of the rich and famous, “Let’s hear it for the king … he’s just like us, except for that peach coloured four-wheel drive and double decker blow job bus. Let’s hear it for the queenie … she’s no better than me or you except for those twenty four servants bathing her feet in Egyptian perfume” it pulls no punches and is unlike anything DRN have released before providing a wonderful sonic assault on the senses mixing scorching guitars with dub step and EDM-influenced keyboards. Truly wonderful stuff. 

Now, getting to the album itself. At 13 songs and 57 minutes long, this review would be at risk of becoming more the length of a thesis if I was to do a track-by-track review. So, I won’t. I’ll simply pick out a few more highlights which could in itself suggest there are lowlights – be assured there are none. 

For long-term fans, ‘Supernova’ simply has to be heard. Teasing fans with a half-spoken/half-sung intro of “Mind and body, mind and body baby, mind and body, I got your body on my mind” borrowed from ‘Mind and Body’ from their debut ‘Breathless’ EP (released way back in 1986) it is clear DRN are back and mean business. This is one massive slice of deep funk rock. Despite recovering from a crappy virus which floored me this week I was hooked, up and dancing forwards, backwards and in circles around our kitchen and dining room. I could almost picture Melvin laying down the bass with Dan as the master of ceremonies, fishing rod in hand, casting his line and hook out, waiting to see who bites and then reeling us in with long-term fans around the world dropping what they’re doing, getting into a groove and, in a Pied Piper-esque manner, dancing towards the source of the funk. Yes, it is that good. 

Brion James’s ‘I See Angels’ provides a mellower and chilled out reprieve. ‘Where’s the Revolution?’ and ‘Stumble’ bring the funk in style. ‘Are You Ready’ is a harder and faster pace, dare I say it floor filler, and the soaring ‘Unf**k My World’ is simply wonderful.  

In the late 80’s DRN got lumped in with others playing funk/rock - Extreme, Electric Boys, Living Colour and Stevie Salas Colorcode, but, to me, DRN were way above the competition – no-one brought the sounds and feel of Sly Stone, Parliament, Funkadelic and Prince and mixed this up with hard-hitting rock music and social messaging in the way that they did and the sound they produced was unique. There can’t be many finer moments in rock music than Dan asking “Class, class, could I have your attention please? Thank you” followed by the deep funk groove and “let’s rock it up” of ‘Get to You’. 

As anyone who knows DRN will be aware, the playing is of the very highest level throughout. Dan’s vocals are on point, bringing soul and emotion to every word, switching from singing to speaking with ease and drawing the listener in. Where many rock bands have two guitarists (and some even have three … yes, three), Brion James more than covers lead and rhythm guitar playing in his distinctive funk rock style. On bass, Melvin Brannon Jr is simply Mr. Funk, living, breathing and bringing the funk to their music in a way that few are capable of. Dan Pred’s drums are as solid and tight as ever, proving a tighter than tight rhythm section with Melvin, and Rob Daiker’s keyboard and synths complement and never detract from his bandmates.  

The (in-house) production is also excellent – produced by Dan Reed and Rob Daiker (who also mixed it). This is genuinely an album where the bass is so deep that if you turn it up it will make your windows or furniture vibrate. Try it, I did. 

As a reviewer, I’m struck that I first got into DRN as the result of reading an interview and review in ‘Sounds’ in 1989 in advance of ‘Slam’ being released. The initial description of a mix of Bon Jovi and Prince, coupled with the band’s multi-racial composition and their approach to life, immediately caught my attention and I went into Virgin and bought their self-titled debut and an advance US import of ‘Slam’ on the strength of the review. Since then I have been hooked and my impression of their music was only consolidated seeing them at Glasgow Mayfair on their first headlining tour of the UK in 1990. That was and remains one of the best gigs I have ever been to. Fast forward 32 years and it’s a bit bittersweet writing this review today – on a day when I was due to be seeing them playing tonight in The Dreadnought in Bathgate touring in support of the album. Sadly, the tour had to be cancelled due to one of the band recovering from surgery. While many were disappointed, health always come first and we can only wish a good recovery. 

Back to ‘Let’s Hear it for the King’. In summary - it rocks, it funks, it grooves and, yes, it very definitely slams. A very fine return to form for DRN, their best work since 'The Heat' and with a number of songs as good as anything they’ve released. Re-finding their sound in a way which long-term fans will love, this is much more than just a return to their roots and also defines a unique and more modern/contemporary sounding form of rock music with the potential to attract a new generation of fans … and as would be expected, with lyrics as hard-hitting as the sound.  

Time to get your groove on and get lost in the wonder of the music. Let’s Hear it for the Dan Reed Network. 

GMcA