Today we harken back to the halcyon days of 1989 when, for a brief shining moment a number of bands made an earnest effort to live and preach multiculturalism - which of course made them, for all their ernestness, an easy target to look as dated as the naive hippies sounded in the summer of '66.And, yet, if you bear with me, can we, just for a moment, say that there is nothing funny about peace, love and understanding?
Dan Reed understands, and as a follow up to their eponymously titled first album, this Northwest based band enlisted funk-meister Nile Rogers to help produce their second album, Slam. While the politics may appear dated, Slam thrives on slick grooves, some great hooks and all the energy devoted to songs about loving your brother, getting along and hot sex.
Now this is the world that I wouldn't mind living in.
Make It Easy is a standout opener, from the minute that the needle hits the vinyl. Vinyl baby. Its 1989. While the debut album opened with a rap about treating each other with respect, Make it Easy is ten kinds of sex, and the groove puts it right in your face. Lyrics? It is what is says it is... oh hell, just watch the video. You like it, then read the rest of the review.
You with me so far? I have little tolerance for those that would say, I only respect bands that don't write hooks, because Dan Reed had hooks in abundance. Make It Easy, Slam and Tiger in a Dress all rock, and they're never ponderous. The band can swing, Dan's lead vocals have a confident charm (I would imagine that he was a good front man live), and the guitar work is solid. If anything, it is the power ballads that have dated poorly nearly 20 years on. Rainbow Child is an ernest one, as is Stronger Than Steel. But move on to the next track, Doin' The Love Thing, and we've moved back into religious sex territory. And again, the band can swing and rock.
Did I mention that I wouldn't mind living in this world?
Cruise Together, the 7th track in, is a stand out, building from sound effects and drums into a controlled bass and guitar combo that rides the back beat, builds and releases tension in a great bit of songwriting and arranging. Lover is a standout among the ballads, beginning not with the standard keyboard intro, but a clever bit of acoustic Spanish guitar that sets a beautiful tone for the song. Dan's vocals are pitch perfect, a well balanced song. And rather than ending the record with the lighter-in-the-air All My Lovin', the band throws out the fancy production for a rocking closer, Seven Sisters Road.
This album is solid enough, that even the slightly perfunctory songs, Under My Skin and I'm Lonely Please Stay are solid, and well played. Its a shame that grunge would raise its loud, ugly head and, for a while, sweep everything else out of its way. Dan Reed's Slam was a great record that was lost in the shuffle over time and it deserved far better. And that, my friends, is what Ripple Effect is all about.
Buy here: Slam
-the fearless rock iguana
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