DC Drive – DC Drive (1992 EMI of Canada)
I saw DC Drive (from Detroit, get it?) open for Harem Scarem back in spring 1992. They were good live: the first single “You Need Love” rocked well enough, and lead singer Joey Bowen did “the worm” across the stage. He was a good frontman for a band like this. Their gimmick was that they mixed “rock and soul” and had a full time sax player. However, there is nothing overly special here, nothing that Little Caesar didn’t do, and perhaps better. I recall in a M.E.A.T Magazine interview that DC Drive boasted that they had more genuine soul than The Black Crowes; I would take issue with that.
Notably, DC Drive was produced by Vini Poncia, probably best known to rock fans as producer of the Kiss disco-era albums*. Poncia has several co-writing credits here as well. It’s a pleasant CD, fairly keyboard-heavy, with a couple good songs, but quite a bit of filler. It’s funky, but in that radio-friendly way that you remember from a couple decades ago.
The lead single “You Need Love” was good; “Streetgirl Named Desire” likewise. I also enjoyed the ballad “Fool In Love” sung by bassist Doug Kahan. I like the shameless pop of “All I Want”. If Bryan Adams recorded it, it would have been a hit. But the biggest problem with this album is how dated it sounds. A “rock and soul” band shouldn’t sound pigeonholed to eras past like this. It sounds like backing music to a 1991 buddy cop comedy. Joey Bowen has the goods when it comes to putting feeling into his singing, and guitarist Michael Romeo has a sweet tone. Unfortunately what the album really lacks is memorable songs.
DC Drive came out of the ashes of a previous Detroit band, Adrenalin. One odd thing about DC Drive: Even though they were from Michigan and were signed to a big label (Capitol), they were only signed to a Canadian record deal. The album wasn’t released in the US for another year, with a different track order, and minus one song (“Get Up and Dance”). The Canadian release enabled the band to at least get a footing in right next door to home, but it wouldn’t help in the long run.
Basically, the only reason I own this CD is because I saw the band live and it’s sort of a souvenir. Plus I found it for under 2 bucks. Otherwise this is pretty limp and bland, despite the sax (which isn’t always audible) and soulful Detroit roots.
For 90’s hard rock completists or anybody who remembers the song “You Need Love”. Otherwise don’t bother.
2/5 stars
* Poncia was brought into the Kiss family by drummer Peter Criss. Peter was probably inspired to work with Poncia due to his prior resume with Ringo Starr.
mikeladano.com 
Never heard of this band. More genuine soul than The Black Crowes!? Jings! that’s quite the claim.
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Yeah and needless to say I don’t agree. But it was the 90’s…the Crowes hadn’t come out with their second record, and to the cynics they may have appeared to be just a band of Izzy Stradlin clones.
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I bet when the Crowes dropped Southern Harmony all the members of DC Drive slapped their foreheads …
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Yeah, and every record thereafter too.
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Vini Poncia! I always wondered what happened to the guy.
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He’s in my basement, don’t tell anyone or you’ll get in trouble too.
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He’s still remastering Dynasty 34 yrs later! In Mikes basement or in a van down by the river!
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ON A STEADY DIET OF GOVERNMENT CHEESE!
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I’ll just leave this here. Sorry all I could find was what appears to be someone’s camcorder recording off the TV.
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He’s in Tahiti with Bruce Lee and Jim Morrison, sipping drinks on the beach.
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Pffft. Black Crowes…I’ll pull a 90s expression out there and say AS IF?!
I played K the song over b’fast. His initial response was sounds like Motley Crue. I said it sounded like Lou Gramm.
Actually, this band doesn’t know what it wants to be. It is indeed pigeonholed in an early 90s buddy cop movie.
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I can’t say I hear Motley Crue here, but Lou Gramm, absolutely for sure.
Ah well.
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i started singing Whitesnake is this love nothing special but a much more solid album than most successful bands. Vini Poncia is not given enough credit as a musician or songwriter. Love all the Kiss stuff.
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You are right, and you will see that when I review my Gene Simmons Vault set, as there was a Vini Poncia song in there, unreleased!
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I gotta be honest here, I have never heard of this band. Lebrain does it again!
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OK I played enough of the video to know I didn’t need to hear the rest. More soul than the Black Crowes? My entire ass. It’s plain ol’ rock-pop.
The best part, for me, was watching that guy dance around like he was being electrocuted. Bahahaha.
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I know eh? Gotta give him the dancing.
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“A “rock and soul” band shouldn’t sound pigeonholed to eras past like this.” Great quote and quite accurate.All the greats make music that transcends time don’t they?
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Never heard of this band before either, which is kind of weird because back in the day I used to find every little obscure melodic rock band that had a video out. I can’t remember them being played on Headbanger’s Ball Europe either which was the only way I got to find out about all these rock bands back when.
This song was really bland and if the rest of the album are in the same vein, I don’t need to hear anymore. I guess DC Drive were one of the bands that killed the genre.
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Yes the rest of the songs are in the same vein but not as catchy.
Ah well. It was a good concert at least and Harem Scarem were and still are awesome.
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Beg to differ from mikeladano’s opinion – For the brief time that DC Drive were around, they set Detroit (and surrounding areas) on fire. With a live show that was as “big arena” level as it was intimate. Better than (originally known as) Adrenalin – better than The Rockets or Romantics. The early 90s saw Detroit being eaten up by Space-Rock, ska-Punk and Hip-Hop and DC Drive was a breath of fresh air that took us rock & rollers back to the days of Bob Seger and the J. Geils Band. They had the cockiness of Cub Koda and the energy of MC5.
Speaking about the “Black Crowes” debate – two totally different feels as BC was more of a slinky, southern style of Rock and DCD was more of a straight forward Rock band with a lean toward Soul (Pickett meets R&R)
As far as the album goes – I consider it a “great” LP. “You Need Love” “Young Guns” “Streetgirl Named Desire” “Into You” and riff bender “Don’t Let It Get You Down” – not to mention the ballad “All I Want” that should have sent them to stardom (if you like “Second Chance” by 38 Special, you’ll love this). Maybe I’m just feeling whimsical or reliving days gone by, but this CD played in my car for months on end and years to come. Do yourself a favor and buy one off Discogs and make your own decision.
Peace
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Hey Steve, I certainly appreciate and value informative comments like this!
I am definitely not the expert and I absolutely appreciate anyone who feels differently about an album or band. And you clearly know your stuff here.
I enjoyed seeing them live here in Ontario and I’d have gone to see them again.
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No worries – Music is such a “personal” thing that we should all be tolerant and civil when it comes to talking about it. Glad you got to see them and thanks for taking me down memory lane.
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Have a great weekend sir!
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