POP MUSIC REVIEW : Dan Reed and Network Rock the Roxy

Dan Reed’s show at the Roxy on Monday bounced all over the place, jumping from genre to genre. While he gets points for versatility, the resulting lack of focus was a detriment.

But most of the time, veteran singer-guitarist Reed and his band, Network, did rock the Roxy--the packed house of partisans reacted as if he were Bruce Springsteen. And there were signs that the Oregon-based Reed could leap to a higher level if he’d scrap that jack-of-all-trades stance, incessantly alternating between funk, hard-rock, soft-rock and pop-folk.

At his best Monday, Reed was a hard-rocker, energized by currents of Princely funk. While not as dynamic and charismatic as the real hard-rock heavies, he has enough moves and vocal grittiness to stir an audience. But a little more snarl and less Mr. Nice Guy would help.

Reed was less effective when he switched to a softer, Mellencampian mode, wailing about pain of heartbreak and society’s ills. His show slumped at those moments, as the giddiness generated by his best funk-rock material faded and took time to re-establish.

Still, his live performances--even in his weaker areas--have much more vitality and flair than the vocals on his flat, overproduced albums (including the current release, “The Heat”). But that genre-jumping blurs his identity and doesn’t give fans of any style enough to care about.