Search - Dokken :: The Definitive Rock Collection (2CD)

Kevin C. (FatBack) from LELAND, NC
Reviewed on 10/16/2009...

If you are a Dokken fan, this is a must have. Excellent.

Great for Dokken fans wanting more than just the hits.

Kevin H. Dudley | Roanoke, VA (USA) | 01/10/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Dokken always gets lumped in with all of the mostly awful hair bands of the 80's, when in truth, they predated all of that and were actually much heavier than a lot of those hair bands.



Dokken's first album came out in 1983 (Breaking the Chains) and they split up for the first time after 1988's live album Beast from the East. During this time, they would also release 1984's Tooth and Nail, 1985's Under Lock & Key in addition to 1987's awesome Back for the Attack.



the band would get back together in the mid 90's to release a couple more albums before George Lynch would leave the band again for good this time. Don Dokken has kept the band going with the original drummer Mick Brown still in the band and a rotating lineup of guitarists over the years.



But the prime stuff by this band is the stuff from 1983 to 1987. Which is what this new 2 disc retrospective draws the most from.



People who have had the 1999 The Very Best of Dokken CD will want to upgrade mainly if they're a more hardcore fan. I still think that for the more passive fan just wanting the hits, the 1999 best of CD is still better for that.



Basically on here, you get half of Breaking the Chains (tracks 1-5) six tracks off of Tooth and Nail (6-11) and six tracks off of Under Lock and Key (12-17) on disc one.



Disc two gives you 6 out of the thirteen tracks off of Back for the Attack (1-6), 4 tracks from Beast from the East (7-10), two tracks from 1995's Dysfuntional (track 11 & 12)) and one track from 2004's Hell to Pay (track 13).



Disc one clocks in at 71:44 and Disc two clocks in at a little over 64:00.



The tracks have been remastered and sounds great. Since none of their older albums have seen any kind of remastering treatment, this is most welcome.



A small beef is that they didn't max out each CD. They left the 1990 solo Don Dokken track Mirror, Mirror from the previous best of CD which is odd as it's a great song. Sure it's not actually Dokken, but they could've balanced that out with a song from Lynch Mob or something. I hate it when I buy a greatest hits CD or an anthology of some sort and they don't max out the CD's as much as possible to the 80 minutes limit.



Another thing is that there aren't any tracks from their later 90's albums Shadowlife, Long Way Home and Erase the Slate on there. Considering that they didn't max out CD 2, they could have at least put one track from each of those on here to make it a true career spanning anthology. Those albums aren't the greatest (well, actually Shadowlife is pretty terrible and Long Way Home is boring), but there's a great track or two on each one.



But those are the only small beefs I have with this set. It is a great reminder of how great this band once was and even though they get lumped unfairly in with the mostly awful hair bands of the 80's, this also shows how heavy they truly were.



Recommended!"

Dokken's best compilation to date

R. Gorham | 11/08/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"THE BAND: The main players through the glorious 1980's - Don Dokken (vocals, guitar), George Lynch (guitars), Jeff Pilson (bass), and Mick Brown (drums & percussion). Most notable additional members throughout the years include - Reb Beach (guitars), John Norum (guitars), Greg Leon (guitars), John Levin (guitars), Juan Croucier (bass), Barry Sparks (bass).



THE DISCS: (2006) 30 total tracks on 2 discs clocking in at approximately 135 minutes (71 minutes on disc-1, 64 minutes on disc-2). Included with the discs is a 14-page booklet containing song titles/credits (no song lyrics), a 6-page band intro from writer Bryan Reesman (articles appearing in Spin Magazine, Billboard, Razor, NY Times, Metal Edge, etc), 4 band photos, and what songs came from which albums and year released. This compilation follows the band from 1983-2004. Label - Elektra / Rhino.



ALBUM REPRESENTATION: Breaking The Chains (5 songs), Tooth And Nail (6), Under Lock And Key (6), Back For The Attack (6), Beast From The East (4), Dysfunctional (2), Hell To Pay (1).



COMMENTS: The label almost had it here. Don't get me wrong - this is an outstanding collection of Dokken tunes here on this "Definitive Collection". However, like all compilations there are hits and misses. The band's first compilation, "The Very Best Of Dokken" (1999), is now a stale fossil and trade-in worthy at the local CD store - as all songs except one (Don Dokken's solo "Mirror Mirror") are here. THE GOOD: Most all Dokken is good Dokken... and the staples are all here - "Breaking The Chains", "Paris Is Burning", "Just Got Lucky", "Into The Fire", "Alone Again", "Unchain The Night", "The Hunter", "In My Dreams", "It's Not Love", "Heaven Sent", "Burning Like A Flame", "Dream Warriors", "Too High To Fly", and Lynch's trademark jam "Mr. Scary". There are some wonderful deep album tracks included here like "Live To Rock (Rock To Live)", "Nightrider", "Til The Livin' End", "Prisoner" and "So Many Tears". As Dokken was almost always great on stage (4 live albums to date), the 3 tunes from "Beast From The East" are personal well-chosen favorites. On all their classic 80's releases - Don had the soaring melodic vocals. George had the incredible guitars - groovy rhythms and ripping solos. Jeff Pilson was always the consumate pro on bass (as he would later prove testing his metal with Dio, MSG and Lynch solo). To date, Mick Brown joins Don as being the only player to appear on all Dokken albums - steady or "crazy" as he's called - solid behind the kit and easily the band's backbone. Disc-1 is perfect - songs from their first 3 albums are extremely well represented. Disc-2 is good... not great. "Back For The Attack" and "Beast From The East" are presented in full force, but it's hit and miss after that. The digitally remastered sound is crisp to a fault. Chronological order on this set is a bonus. THE NOT SO GOOD: Most importantly - not all albums are represented here. The 80's material was on the Elektra/Asylum label. The mid 90's (specifically "Dysfunctional") was on Sony. The late 90's went to the Sanctuary Records label. Several albums on Sanctuary are strangely absent on this compilation. Why these albums - "One Night Live" (1996), "Shadow Life" (1997), "Erase The Slate" (1999), and "Long Way Home" (2002) - are passed over is beyond me. One song from "Hell To Pay" ("Escape") is here on this "Definitive" disc - which is on the Sanctuary label. So I have to assume it's not a "label" thing as to why these releases were skipped. There was plenty of room on disc-2 to add some music here... this really left me scratching my head and wondering why. Other than the absent albums mentioned above, there are just a few tracks are missing. None of them major hits, but some are minor hits or concert favorites - "Bullets To Spare", "Without Warning" (the cool intro to "Tooth And Nail"), "Hole In My Head", "The Maze", "The Last Goodbye" and one of my favorite newer tunes of theirs "Prozac Nation". OVERALL: I love Dokken (yes, even still today). Back in the mid 80's, I listened to Dokken just as much as my other favorites of the time - Van Halen, Iron Maiden, Aerosmith, Rush, etc. Dokken was so much more than your average hair band. If they were lucky, the 80's big hair/glam bands lasted for 2-3 albums before they died out. As of today, Dokken has 10 studio albums to their credit, plus 4 live albums (not to mention 9 Top-40 hits). Though their best material is well behind them, Dokken is still kicking around decades later. I think this is a true test of their writing abilities, musicianship, lasting power and drive. To date, this is the best Dokken introduction on the market - just not as "definitive" as it should/could have been (4.5 stars)."