I like Stryper. I never understood the crap they got because of their views on Christianity. Most interviews focused on that aspect and very rarely on the music.
“To Hell With The Devil” was released in 1986. It went platinum in the U.S, and it remained the best-selling Christian metal album until P.O.D.’s “Satellite” in 2001, which I also have.
To Hell With The Devil
The drum beat from Robert Sweet is simple but powerful. The chord structure is standard Am to F to G, but the guitar leads and harmonies make it unique.
How good are just the vocals and drums in the first verse?
And make sure you check out the leads from Oz Fox and Michael Sweet.
Calling On You
The lead break reminds me of “Sweet Child O Mine” but this was released before.
I’m always a sucker for melodic rock songs like this.
Free
It’s the same message as “We’re Not Gonna Take It”, “Stand Up And Shout” and the like.
The Intro lead break gets me playing air guitar and they end the song with it, just in a different key.
They even borrowed from “Reason For The Season” for the vocal melody.
Honestly
It just wasn’t my thing. The sound of the piano reminded me of the music in TV shows I didn’t like.
But it sold the album.
The Way
The Judas Priest and Iron Maiden influences of Oz Fox are shining through on the riffs here. A metal tour de force.
Sing-Along Song
It’s got that “Turbo Lover” feel in the Intro/verse.
Holding On
It’s “Hungry For Heaven” in the Intro and the Chorus harmonies are straight from the grooves on the Boston record.
Rockin’ The World
The Intro/Verse is familiar, but I can’t remember from where.
All Of Me
My least favorite track leads into my favorite track.
More Than A Man
If you like “Lights Out” from UFO, you will like this. The F#m groove is at the heart of both songs.
The lead break at the start also borrows from “Soldiers Under Command”.
“From Conception: Live 1981” was released in 2007. It’s not on Spotify but YouTube has it.
Like all things Dokken, there is a lack of transparency.
The album is advertised as 1981, but the band for the recording is Don Dokken on vocals and Rhythm Guitars, George Lynch on guitars, Mick Brown on drums and Jeff Pilson on bass. But Jeff Pilson didn’t join the group until 1982. Juan Croucier from Ratt is the bass player prior to that.
Regardless of the story behind it, it’s one of Dokken’s best live albums and it is virtually ignored. Maybe because it came out in 2007 or maybe because it’s early Dokken, pre “Tooth And Nail”. I
t’s early Dokken. Even Don Dokken is playing guitar on stage and apart from rhythms, Lynch and Dokken are doing harmonies together.
Paris
It kicks off the show. The energy drips from the speakers. I feel like I’m at the show. Acts today will not know this, but back then, acts would live or die based on their live show.
Listening to “Paris” and it’s easy to hear why they got signed to Elektra Records.
Goin Down
I like the AC/DC and UFO groove.
In The Middle
The groove from the bass and drums gives Lynch and Dokken a chance to decorate and decorate they do.
Finally after three sings Don addresses the crowd and tells em to “make some noise” as they have the mobile set up outside and they are recording the show.
Young Girls
The L.A Sunset Strip riff kicks off “Young Girls”. Listen to Motley Crue and Ratt and you’ll know what I mean.
Hit And Run
It’s got a similar groove to “In The Middle”, just a bit faster. And lyrically it feels like a Saxon song about a soldier fighting.
Nightrider
The best song on the album. A speed metal song. It’s played that fast, it feels like a NWOBHM cut.
All the critics that called em a “poor man Scorpions” needs to listen to this version.
Check out the harmony guitar playing between Dokken and Lynch. I keep repeating the song just to hear it. And you’ll be surprised by Dokken’s prowess on the guitar.
And there is a sing-a-long with the audience, think “Running Free“ from “Live After Death” but this was recorded before.
GTR Solo
Then we get a 3 minutes of George Lynch shredding away.
Live To Ride
It’s fast and it gets me playing air guitar. It also reminds me of “Ace Of Spades”.
Breaking The Chains
Don mentions that the song is doing the rounds on MTV so I don’t think it’s a 1981 recording because of that.
It sounds heavy compared to the recorded version.
There’s a “thank you, good night” and the crowd screams “more” for 2 minutes
Liar
Speed metal and the lead break is electrifying.
“Beast From The East” is the Dokken live album and then there is “From Conception”.
Crank it.
And in the CD there was some promo about the upcoming new album and release of a classic VHS tape on DVD.
It probably didn’t make a big impression on me, because I forgot I had purchased it, so I purchased it again and now I have two CD’s.
The most dangerous job in the world at that point in time was the Dokken guitar player spot. After George Lynch, the band went through Reb Beach and John Norum.
For “Hell To Pay”, released in 2004, there was another newbie, Jon Levin on guitars.
Production was once again handled by Don Dokken.
The Last Goodbye
The song is written by Don Dokken, Mick Brown and Jon Levin, who quickly announces himself with a bone crunching riff inspired by “Kashmir” over a rock steady groove by Brown.
Dokken has been dabbling with exotic sounds on previous albums and that spirit has carried through on this.
Make sure you check out the lead break from Levin.
Don’t Bring Me Down
Written by Dokken, Barry Sparks and Levin.
It’s fast.
This is Levin’s statement.
That lead break.
Wow. Just listen to it.
And he did something on that lead break, not heard on a Dokken album, a harmony solo.
Escape
Another Dokken, Brown and Levin cut.
This one is like a dark rock song, almost alternative but still delivered with hooks from the 80s, something they copped shit for, but to me that’s what’s special about the album. Sounding current and modern with a sense of pop melody in the vocals.
Haunted
Another Dokken, Brown and Levin cut and one of my favourite Dokken cuts from this version of the band.
Levin goes a bit high octane bluesy in the lead break and I like it.
Prozac Nation
It’s written by Kelly Keeling, Dokken and Levin.
A familiar riff and vocal melody rule this song.
Levin goes all chromatic for his brief solo spot light.
Care For You
Written by Dokken and Keeling.
Yeah I didn’t care much about this song and I was disappointed when the bonus track was this song in an “unplugged” setting.
Better Off Before
Another Dokken, Brown and Levin cut.
A groove metal riff kicks it off, very Disturbed like.
Dokken is bringing his sense of melody to it and the 2004 version of the band is definitely rocking.
Still I’m Sad
No relation to the Rainbow song.
It’s a cut penned by Don.
It’s got groove and I like it’s three distinct parts, the clean tone verses, the distorted melodic pre chorus and the anthemic Chorus.
I Surrender
Again, no relation to the Rainbow song.
This one is also a penned by Don. It percolates with a hooky riff as Don builds it vocally.
The Chorus riff reminds me of “Unchain The Night” and I like it.
Levin is also channeling Neal Schon on the lead break.
Letter From Home
Written by Keeling, Levin and Dokken.
The band is channeling The Beatles and Led Zeppelin on this one.
The lead break from Levin is excellent. Very Jimmy Page like.
Can You See
A Dokken and Levin cut. it’s got that Dokken 80s spirit from “The Hunter” but Don’s voice is low, almost monotone like which was slowly becoming his style.
And Levin brings it again for the lead break.
If this is your first Dokken experience, there is enough here to get you interested to hear more.
If you grew up with Dokken in the 80s then this is a good listen.
At the peak of making it from a B level act to an A level act in the late 80’s, they broke up. Then they realised that they are better together than apart, so in the mid 90’s they gave us one of their best records in “Dysfunctional” and one of their worst in “Shadowlife”. Lynch was subsequently booted or he left, depending on whose story you believe, and Reb Beach was hired to “Erase The Slate” and kick start a new era for Dokken in 1999.
But that version of the band didn’t last long. Beach was out and Pilson went to court against Don Dokken over his actual departure and the dissolution of the partnership band agreement. Dictator Don was finally in full control of his name.
In 2002, “Long Way Home” was released. It is the only Dokken album to feature Europe guitarist John Norum, who also worked with Don on his solo project “Up From The Ashes” and the first to feature bassist Barry Sparks who had done time with Michael Schenker, UFO and Yngwie Malmsteen. This album also started a “sort of” trend on using song titles from earlier albums as album titles on future releases.
Production duties on the album were handled by Don Dokken.
“Sunless Days”
Looking at the credits, its written by Don Dokken, John Norum and Kelly Keeling.
Keeling had previously done work with Norum on one of his albums and was enlisted here to help write the album and do some vocal production duties. Also if you are a fan of Blue Murder, Keeling spent over 2 years with John Sykes on the “Nothing But Trouble” album, only to leave the band or be fired, on the day of the shoot for the “We All Fall Down” video.
A foot stomping riff, similar to “Change The World” from the “Erase The Slate” album kicks off this song. It’s a riff that Norum would tweak and use in “Start From The Dark” from Europe.
And this is the first album, when Don decided to keep his voice in the bass/lower baritone range.
“Little Girl”
Written by Dokken, Keeling and Mick Brown. Dokken was fascinated by adding sounds which I call, “The Beatles” sounds or the “Led Zep” sounds. This song is evidence of that fascination.
“Everybody Needs (To Be with Someone)”
A cut written by Dokken and Brown.
It has a vocal melody that is inspired by “Action” from Sweet. Instead of singing “everybody needs a piece of the action”, you just sing, “everybody needs to be with someone”.
“You”
Written by Dokken, Norum and Keeling, the heavy groove gets me interested.
“Goodbye My Friend”
A cut written by Don. It’s just an acoustic guitar and an excellent piano riff which sticks around after the song is finished because it mimics the vocal melody on occasion’s.
If anything, Don sounds very Eric Clapton’ish, like the Unplugged Clapton.
“Magic Road”
A Dokken and Norum cut.
One of my favourites.
Musically, Norum brings his love of 70’s classic rock to the song with his bluesy riffs. Something which he would also do with Europe, especially on the “War Of Kings” album.
“There Was a Time”
Its written by Dokken and Keeling. Another song with a strummed acoustic guitar, a simple drum beat and an catchy vocal melody.
“Heart Full of Soul”
An excellent cover from The Yardbirds.
“Under the Gun”
Written by Dokken, Norum and Keeling it’s a classic Dokken cut, with a feel and tempo like “Lightning Strikes Again”. Another favorite.
“I’ve Found”
Written by Dokken and Keeling. It’s another great track, just acoustic guitars and Beatles like vocal melodies.
If there is a fault on this album, it is the lack of opportunities Norum has to fly, because like most albums in the early 2000’s it suffered from a lack of lead guitar.
But it’s still a good listen and tracks like “Sunless Days” and “Under The Gun” could be in a best of set list.
The saboteur known as George Lynch was out, clearly because he was smoking something very different musically, because if you hear his attempt at a Lynch Mob record in the same year, called “Smoke This” it was clear he was not thinking clearly.
And sadly, it is the only Dokken studio album to feature Reb Beach, Lynch’s replacement and the last one to feature long time bassist Jeff Pilson. In other words, Dictator Don was taking control of the empire that carries his surname. Pilson even took Don to court over it.
In the same way that “Shadowlife” had all songs written by the band members, “Erase The Slate” has the same listing. Production is also carried out by the band members.
For Dokken to release this album in the major markets, they needed to have three labels in place. CMC International did the North American market, SPV/Steamhammer did the European market and Mercury did the Japanese market.
Compare that to today,
Record it and release it to streaming services within a week. There are no gatekeepers.
“Erase the Slate”
It’s fast, on par with “Tooth And Nail” and “Kiss Of Death” for great album openers.
Make sure you check out the lead break from Reb Beach.
“Change the World”
Another head banging riff to start the song.
The verses sound like “Empire” from Queensryche, as the bass and drums groove, while a clean tone guitar plays arpeggios, before it cranks in with a distorted riff. Think “Jet City Woman”.
“Maddest Hatter”
Stupid lyrics from Don, but then again, he’s never been known as a great lyricist. Musically, the song is excellent, full of great riffs and leads.
“Drown”
The doom and gloom does remind me of Alice In Chains musically, but the vocal melodies are straight from the 80’s hard rock scene.
“Shattered”
A great song. The riffs, the vocal melodies and the powerhouse drumming all connect. At first it reminded me of Lynch Mob, then Winger, then EVH, then Metallica. There is a lot happening.
“One”
A bad idea to cover Harry Nilsson. Then again, they had no management and had total control of their independence, so no one was there to question things.
“Who Believes”
Oasis brought back The Beatles in a big way and suddenly bands in the 90’s incorporated the Oasis/Beatles feel.
Make sure you check the solo out.
“Voice of the Soul”
The riff is excellent. Credit to Mr Pilson for it. And the chorus is addictive. Overall, the song reminds me of “Streets” and “Gutter Ballet” Savatage.
“Crazy Mary Goes Round”
These kind of lyrics in 1999 did nothing for me. Regardless Mick Brown takes the lead vocals here. Musically, it sounds like a Van Halen cut in the intro, with a late 60’s blues/rockabilly feel in the verses. If John Kalodner was in charge of the track list, this song wouldn’t make it.
“Haunted Lullaby”
Reb Beach plagiarises his Winger days and “It’s Not Love” for the riffs and I like it.
And Wild Mick Brown brings the power on this one.
Make sure you check out the head banging riff before the solo and then the solo itself. Afterwards hail at the altar of Mr Beach.
“In Your Honor”
An acoustic track, a ballad which follows that Oasis/The Beatles vibe.
The Japanese version has two bonus tracks in “Upon Your Lips” and “Sign of the Times”.
“Upon Your Lips”
It has this “Lights Out” from UFO feel. Make sure you check out the lead break.
“Sign Of The Times”
It’s like a ballad and it should not have been left off the main album. “In Your Honor” and “Who Believes” are very similar and one should have made way for this.
Dokken’s tour in support of the album was recorded and released in 2000 as “Live From The Sun”. I don’t have this album, but will review it as Beach does play a few Lynch tunes on it.
The next studio album “Long Way Home”, released in 2002, featured former Europe guitarist John Norum.
And here are some final words from Jeff Pilson.
“If there’s one record for me with DOKKEN, it would be the ‘Tooth And Nail’ [1984] record, just because we were still very hungry.
We did a record in 1999 called ‘Erase The Slate’ that I was actually very, very proud of, with Reb Beach on guitar. A fabulous record.
Then there was a DIO record that I did called ‘Strange Highways’ [1993] that I still think was just a hugely underrated record, because when it came out, people were expecting a more traditional DIO record, and I think over time, people have come to appreciate it more.” Jeff Pilson
A guitarist in a band I was in, worshipped Yngwie. And he sort of pissed me off, strutting around like he was elite, making fun of all others who didn’t like Yngwie and because of him, I hated Yngwie to start off. I wouldn’t give in and say anything positive about Yngwie to him.
It wasn’t until I left the band, that I gave Yngwie some time. And when I heard the albums “Marching Out” and “Trilogy” I was hooked. Good music is good music and good riffs are good riffs.
And “Trilogy” is full of good riffs and good leads and I still class “Marching Out” as one of “the” metal albums of the 80’s.
It would become a normal thing for each Yngwie release, but I was pretty bummed when the singer from the “Marching Out” record, Jeff Scott Soto was out, replaced by Mark Boals. Then I was bummed when Boals was replaced by Joe Lynn Turner and bummed again when Turner was replaced by an unknown Swede called Goran Edman.
I guess the singer problem is solved now, as Yngwie can’t really fire himself.
Malmsteen gets a lot of praise here, but let’s not forget Boals on vocals, a cross between Ronnie James Dio and Ian Gillian.
“You Don’t Remember, I’ll Never Forget”
A great opener.
The riff is simple and the keys give it a melodic rock tone.
For me the piece d resistance is the G# diminished arpeggio lead between the verse and the chorus. Its so fun to play and it connects the two sections.
And the lead break is one of Yngwie’s best. He shreds but it’s perfect for the song as he doesn’t overplay, full of melody, scalar runs and sweeps.
At 3.20, just after the solo, it goes into a slow breakdown and it builds up again into the Chorus.
And while the chorus melody keeps going, Malmsteen is wailing away in the background.
“Liar”
It’s a very Euro sounding riff. Early Europe had songs like this.
It’s more like Uli Jon Roth Scorpions merged with Blackmore’s “Speed King” and “Highway Star”.
In the verses and chorus, Malmsteen jams on a pedal point, embellishing it with scalar runs on the 4th or 8th bar of the riff, while the keys and bass outline a chord progression.
“Queen In Love”
The intro riff immediately got me to grab my guitar and attempt to learn it. It’s a great head banging riff in Em to jam to.
The sweep-picked diminished arpeggios before the main solo are excellent and fun (also frustrating) to learn. And the main solo is also one of his best.
“Crying”
An instrumental.
There is an acoustic guitar which outlines a sad rhythm, guitar track, while another acoustic guitar plays a classical like lead over it.
Eventually it morphs into an electric lead break but it wasn’t needed.
“Fury”
Who would have known that Malmsteen would utter these words many years later while intoxicated on an airplane?
This isn’t a favourite but it is fun to jam to.
“Fire”
The intro is great to play. It feels like it came from the fingers of EVH as its got this major key vibe, sort of like “Dance The Night Away” but don’t think the songs sound alike, they don’t.
Actually the way it moves from A to E, G to D and F to C, the hand placements are more “All Right Now” than anything else.
“Magic Mirror”
The intro.
Its head banging stuff. Malmsteen nailed the combo of metal riffs and keyboard embellishments in this song.
“Everyone is searching for the meaning of our life”.
We still are searching.
“Dark Ages”
Sweden’s Melodic Death Metallers would be proud of this.
Its doomy, heavy and ready to sink wooden ships, in a time when darkness ruled.
“Trilogy Suite Op:5”
I didn’t get why it needed to have Suite Op:5 added.
An instrumental.
While the first part is all shred like and fast classical arpeggios, it’s the middle section which hooked me.
From the 3 minute mark.
You need to hear that movement. Its classical music at its best and Malmsteen showcases his acoustic guitar skills.
Then when the distortion kicks in, it goes into a Uli Jon Roth style of groove, which is the foundation for more shred and a keyboard solo.
Finally, my Metallica and Slayer loving friends, couldn’t get past the album credits which state; “Produced and Conducted by Yngwie Malmsteen”.
Yes that one world, “conducted” was enough to make people not listen to Malmsteen. But if you want to hear some great melodic metal, very Rainbow like, then crank it.
The Living End is Australia’s answer to Green Day, The Offspring and The Clash. But more technical and rockabilly.
The group formed in 1994 in Melbourne by Chris Cheney on guitar and lead vocals (also their main songwriter and a bonafide guitar hero), along with Scott Owen on double bass and backing vocals. In 1996 they were joined by Travis Demsey on drums.
Their self-titled debut album came out in 1998. The album reached No. 1 on the ARIA Albums Chart and remained in the top 50 for 63 weeks. In Australia, it is certified 4x Platinum.
And they had momentum coming into this album as they broke through to the mainstream with their EP, “Second Solution / Prisoner of Society”, released in 1997.
“Prisoner of Society”
A groovy “Peter Gunn” like riff kicks it off and then the fast punk starts from the 15 second mark.
Well we don’t need no one to tell us what to do Oh yes we’re on our own and there’s nothing you can do
It was a new anthem for a whole new generation of kids growing up in the 90s, in the same way songs like “Were Not Gonna Take It”, “Stand Up And Shout” and “Bang Your Head” became anthems for the early 80s generation.
Check out the guitar playing from the 2 minute mark which leads into a rockabilly solo.
“Growing Up (Falling Down)”
It’s a got a fast galloping riff.
Open up your eyes And maybe then You’ll realise the truth is in The thoughts you hold And not the obstacle in front of you
It’s the same advice that the billion dollar self development industry peddles out around “fear holding you back”. But this is 10 years before the industry started taking a hold on the best sellers charts.
“Second Solution”
I like the ska reggae start before it moves into a jazzy punk song.
Can that be a thing?
Well it is.
Make sure you check out the lead break.
Lyrically, you get the scene described as a dark street at night, a crime is committed and the police are after the criminal.
“West End Riot”
The Intro is excellent, it sounds like the soundtrack to a crime noir film.
The verses remind me of “Let There Be Rock”, just bass and drums, waiting for a vocal melody.
Make sure you check out the unique 12 bar blues swing rock jazz solo.
“Bloody Mary”
That “Peter Gunn Blues Brothers” vibe comes back again and I like it.
Make sure you check out the riff after the solo at the 2.20 mark. George Lynch and “It’s Not Love” would be proud.
“Monday”
It sounds like a alternative pop song, almost happy like for a serious subject about the Dunblane School shootings in which sixteen pupils and one teacher got killed and fifteen others injured by a lone gunman, who then turned the gun on himself.
“All Torn Down”
I used to cover this song circa 1999/2000. The Intro is metal like and I like the ska/reggae influenced verses and melodic rock Chorus.
Lyrically it deals with how our cities skylines are changing, as history is torn down for bigger and shinier buildings to be put up.
Save The Day
It’s a speed punk metal song with a rockabilly anthemic chorus. Volbeat gets a lot of press for these styles but The Living End did it years earlier.
Sleep On It
It’s a rock song in the verses (think “Kryptonite” but years before the Three Doors Down version) and punky in the chorus.
Check out the guitar lead.
And also check out the palm muted guitar riffs in the bridge.
Closing In
An instrumental. Technical and avant- grade. Almost progressive like jazz music but it’s still rock.
So if you need any more reasons to check out The Living End, guitarist Chris Cheney uses a beer bottle to play slide guitar live.
I got on board The Wallflowers train in the 90’s. When this album came out, I had a 140 minute commute to work and home and I listened to mix CD,, purchased CDs and a lot of radio.
“One Headlight” was everywhere. They even made Bowie hip again in the 90’s with their cover of “Heroes”. If you don’t believe me, go and check all of the accolades the song has received post 1996.
And who knew that The Wallflowers released their debut album in 1992 on Virgin Records. They then lost the label deal and went back to playing clubs. By 1994, they got a new deal with Interscope Records.
Music is a lifers game. You don’t quit when the times are tough. Jakob Dylan was never going to quit. He grew up with music in his life. But others in the band didn’t have the same perseverance. In between the debut album and this one, they changed bass players, drummers and during the recording lost their lead guitarist.
And through all the struggles, Jakob Dylan created a 4x Platinum selling album.
“One Headlight”
A galloping groove, a memorable vocal line and southern rock country guitar licks dominate.
We can drive it home With one headlight
It connects immediately, as I had a Nissan Pulsar that had a wiring problem and one of the headlights kept switching off. Hit a bump and I have two headlights. Hit a bump and I have one headlight.
Man, I ain’t changed, but I know I ain’t the same
Truth.
We don’t change our views or habits that much, but as we got older we are not the same spirit. Death changes us. Relationships change us.
“6th Avenue Heartache”
It’s like a Tom Petty cut and it’s also one of the older songs that was written pre-90’s.
And it’s a whose who of musicians. Mike Campbell from Petty’s band does slide guitar on this and Counting Crows vocalist Adam Duritz does backing vocals.
Sirens ring, the shots ring out A stranger cries, screams out loud I had my world strapped against my back I held my hands, never knew how to act
Jakob Dylan describes the streets, much in the same way Nikki Sixx described L.A in “Wild Side”.
And check out the descriptions in the last verse.
Now walkin’ home on those streets The river winds move my feet Subway steam, like silhouettes in dreams They stood by me, just like moonbeams
Can you picture it?
“Bleeders”
It’s got a strummed riff that feels like it’s ascending and it makes me feel good.
But this ain’t my first ride It ain’t my last try Just got to keep a-movin’ on
That’s right, it’s okay to fail, it’s okay to be disappointed. Don’t let it get the better of ya. Just keep on moving on. That brighter day is just around the corner.
“The Difference”
This one reminds me of “Born To Run” from Springsteen and I like it.
The only difference That I see Is you are exactly the same As you used to be
Great lyric.
“Laughing Out Loud”
Another “Born To Run” vibe.
Laughing out loud When I didn’t ever know just what it was all about
I’ve been in situations like this before when I was the joke but I didn’t know it. I wish I knew back then what I know today, that it’s so easy to change my situation as nothing is absolute.
Well I’m doing time inside a grapevine Little things amuse little minds
You know the grapevine of rumours and b.s. Each day, there is a different topic. I have it at work, at the football grounds, in society, within the family and so on. The grapevine is everywhere.
“God Don’t Make Lonely Girls”
It’s a rock song, in the Mellencamp/Adams way.
“I Wish I Felt Nothing”
Great title. The barroom country rock ballad feel is back.
Say when you’re alone It’s better cause nobody knows you When no one’s your friend It’s better cause nobody leaves you So you turned your back On a world that you could never have
Easier said than done, because humans like to belong to a tribe.
And then the band just disappeared. But they didn’t really disappear. The press abandoned em, in the same way the press abandoned other artists and genres. And the rise of the internet, made it easy for other artists to participate and suddenly, the market is flooded with new music and peer to peer sharing.
The follow up album “(Breach)” came out in 2000, and it went unnoticed in Australia.
I never heard from em again, until this year with the release of “Exit Wounds”, which got me googling the band name and I was surprised to read that there was another three albums by the band after “(Breach)” and three Jakob Dylan solo albums in between plus a lot of soundtrack work for movies and TV shows.
What do you do when you want to do an “unplugged” album but MTV doesn’t care for you?
In Dokken’s case, it’s simple.
Do a few unplugged shows, record em and release it. Now this CD was originally released for the Japanese market. It was successful there and it got an international release in 1995.
My CD version is a double and it was released in 1999 in Australia with the album “Shadowlife” attached to it.
But this review will be solely for the “One Live Night” album. “Shadowlife” is up next.
In the CD booklet, you open it up and see the cover to the Shadowlife album and lyrics to the live Album. It’s bizarre to say the least and I already had the “Shadowlife” album purchased separately.
Now it’s not all unplugged as Lynch does plug in for his solos.
Into the Fire
No one in the audience had any idea that the opening song was “Into The Fire” based on the opening strummed chords.
But when the arpeggios started, it was recognizable and the audience was on board.
I wasn’t sold on the plugged in lead break. I wanted Lynch to recreate a lead suitable for an unplugged setting.
“Who would have thought?”, said Don Dokken at the end of the song.
Yes, who would have thought.
Unchain The Night
Great song all round.
The Intro is excellent and I like the sinister acoustic verse riff.
But…
The electric leads over the verse riff detract instead of enhancing.
How powerful does the Chorus sound in this setting?
And the outro.
They are strumming Em to D to C and back to D and the vocal melody is hooky. The electric guitar comes in for the outro lead and it works. It’s restrained, but I still would have preferred an acoustic lead.
The Maze
Don introduces this song as one that Mr John Kalodner selected. For those that don’t know, Kalodner knew how to spot a hit.
But the 90s era was a different beast to the 80s era and a hit was harder to find especially when every promotion avenue ignored bands like Dokken.
Nothing Left To Say
Like the album version and Lynch delivers an acoustic lead like the album.
Perfect.
From The Beginning
The ELP cover works well here.
Tooth And Nail
They’ve rearranged it into a blues rock tune, almost Bad Company like with Wild Mick Brown on vocals who sounds like Jon Oliva from Savatage.
And it works.
But… why the lyric lead. An acoustic lead would have served this rendition well.
Just Got Lucky
You get to hear how poppy the Chorus vocal melody is in this setting.
I Will Remember
An instrumental from Lynch’s solo album “Sacred Groove”. It’s like a ballad with a lot of melodies and some super fast shred. A nice intermission.
Alone Again
How do you get the wall of electric sounds to sound so serene and haunting without losing the essence of the song?
They got it right on this one.
I like how the piano is the dominant instrument this time around. When you go unplugged, you need to be creative.
In My Dreams
This song works in any setting. The melodies are that anthemic it doesn’t matter if there distortion or acoustics.
Nowhere Man
I would have preferred a few Dokken cuts but everyone was trying to see if they could have a hit like Tesla and “Signs”.
It’s Not Love
It’s got that blues rock 70s vibe in the Intro. And the crowd has no idea the song title.
Then someone (I think its Mick Brown) yells 1, 2, 3 and 4 and the riff starts.
A perfect closer.
And no songs from “Back For The Attack” are on it. I guess they have their reasons.
This is the sound of Dokken fighting tooth and nail to stay alive in a hostile market place.
In 1992, three years prior to the release of “Dysfunctional”, George Lynch was still appearing in the Guitar mags I purchased like Guitar World, Guitar One and Guitar School.
But in 1995, he was nowhere to be seen. The album came out and there was nothing.
That’s how quickly the mags replaced Mr Scary with the dudes from Counting Crows, Smashing Pumpkins, Korn, Dave Matthews Band, Oasis, Rage Against The Machine and others.
I have a motto in life. To take care of what brings in my bread and butter. Anything else that I would want to do after, will be a spin-off from that.
And it looks like the guys in Dokken had a similar motto. Let’s focus on what brings in our bread and butter first.
But before we get to the album, you need to understand these guys.
The “Dysfunctional” album was pretty much written before George Lynch joined the project. Even George Lynch stated the same in an interview on the Guitar International website.
“Most of this record, “Dysfunctional”, was finished by the time I got there. In fact, everything but the guitar parts were pretty much done.
Everybody in management and in the band kept feeding me these horror stories of who they would get to replace me if I didn’t come back – you can guess the names.
Well, when I listened to the tracks, I could tell that Jeff [Pilson, bass] and Don [Dokken, vocals] had written a lot of the songs with me in mind. I mean, there were parts in certain songs that I had done on other Dokken records – and even Lynch Mob records- years ago.”
“Dysfunctional was a great album. I mean they (Lynch and Pilson) had nothing to do with that album. I wrote that album by myself. There wasn’t a George, Jeff, Mick effort. They joined Dokken at the last minute. And I basically wrote it, produced it.”
“I felt guilty for bringing George back into the band for “Dysfunctional” & the money & the big record deal & I was just miserable & he was miserable, he made all of us miserable, it was just a very un-happy band”
In a separate interview on the Legendary Rock Interview website, Don Dokken further added the following;
“I remember when we got back together in 95, we were in Japan and I thought we were older, wiser and could get on with our careers but the same old shit was happening, he was playing behind his amps and just screwing around and the band was just not playing good in general.
I asked George flat-out “What can I do to make you happy? What is the problem that you just can’t seem to get on board no matter how well things are going?” and I will never forget it, he just looked at me and pointed his hand up to our backdrop, this 30 foot backdrop that said “Dokken” and he said, “That’s the problem””.
This is the way George Lynch described the “Dysfunctional” reunion;
“There is a huge market for the band, mostly overseas, and since things collapsed over at Elektra, I needed to keep my options open if I still want to have my solo career. That was one of the things that brought me back into the band. It was kind of like, ‘You do this deal with Dokken for two records, and you can still go out and do solo records at the same time.’ In fact, I was told that I’d be in a better position to do solo stuff. John Kalodner [Columbia’s A&R chief] is passionate about Dokken, but he also told me that he wants us on Columbia. That aspect of the relationship makes me pretty happy.”
Dokken in 1995 was not an arena act.
Whether they wanted to be together or not, it didn’t matter to me as they delivered a great rock album worthy of being called a classic Dokken record.
Inside Looking Out
There was no escaping the influence of the Metallica self titled album, Soundgarden and “A Vulgar Display Of Power” from Pantera.
Those grooves became the norm. And when they got merged with the riff from Mr Scary, well that’s “Inside Looking Out” in a nutshell.
Hole In My Head
It sounds exotic, almost 70s like with a verse riff that Zakk would use for Ozzy.
Check out the lead breaks from Lynch.
The Maze
It’s like ELO merged with The Beatles.
Too High To Fly
It’s like a blues jam session and someone decided to press record.
Then when it starts to build from the 38 second mark, it’s desk breaking, head banging time.
And how good are the verses?
The bass and drums play, while Don sings and Lynch comes in when Don stops. Brilliant.
It reminds me of “Lost Behind A Wall” which then reminds me of “Turbo Lover”.
Nothing Left To Say
This is a great song. A hit. Better than acoustic songs like “More Than Words” or “To Be With You”.
The acoustic guitar solo is not long enough.
Shadows Of Life
What a riff and drum groove to start the song?
This is classic Dokken, but down tuned and heavy and how good are those backing vocals in the Chorus.
Long Way Home
It’s the Mr Scary riff again.
Check out the lead break from Lynch.
But my favorite section is that bridge section after the Chrous. It’s very Queensryche like.
And that head banging riff from 3.55. Tool would build a career on riffs like this.
Sweet Chains
It’s like the “Dream Warriors” intro merged with “Tangled In The Web”.
destroyerofharmony 