Songoftheday 1/4/16 - When it comes to lovin' you I can relate, We're two of a kind I know how you operate...

"Ritual" - Dan Reed Network
from the album Dan Reed Network (1988)
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #38 (one week)
Weeks in the Top-40: 2

Today's song of the day comes from the rock band Dan Reed Network, who came together in the mid-80's in Portland, Oregon under its titular singer/guitarist leader and drummer Dan Pred. They released their self-titled major-label debut album in 1988, and before Living Colour got noticed, this band was notable in the hard rock community for its racial and ethnic diversity, and with Loverboy and comeback-period Aerosmith producer Bruce Fairbairn on board, they were promoted by Mercury as a compliment to the Bon Jovi/Def Leppard crowd. Their breakthrough single "Ritual" had all the guitar crunch, and added the tribal drums in the beginning...

"Ritual" slipped into the American pop top 40 in May of 1988. Surprisingly, the record missed the Mainstream Rock radio chart altogether (which was pretty much whitewashed at that time).

That would be the last America really paid attention to the band, but Reed and the boys started getting noticed overseas, with second album Slam, produced by Nile Rodgers, started out with the track "Come Back Baby", which hit #51 on the UK chart. That was followed by "Rainbow Child", which climbed to #39 on the British top-40. Two years later in 1991, the act put out The Heat, but in the UK both singles missed the top-40 (with the topical "Mix It Up" stopping at #49), and the Network pulled the plug. They've reunited since for a few shows, while Reed has continued solo in a non-rock vein.

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Here's the Network performing live on the Late Show to promote the single...

...and in a recent concert in Britain in 2014...

Up tomorrow:  An EGO-award winner slumbers in solitude.