Dokken Discography

I know there are others here who know more about the band than I do, but it's been a few years and no one has started a thread for their works. I have been a fan for 30 years now and felt I owed it to them. So, here goes.

Dokken formed in 1979 The lineup was Don Dokken (vocals), Greg Leon (guitar), Gary Link (bass), and Gary Holland (drums). The quartet toured Germany until they met Michael Wagener (producer) and recorded these tunes. The EP, called "Back In The Streets"
when it surfaced some ten years later and after Dokken had exploded in popularity, of course. It was released without Don's consent and is basically a boot. I have also heard that it was stolen. Not sure if it is still there or not, but for a few years the tracks were a free download from the bands official website. Anyway, here is some early Dokken tunes for ya ear:









This stuff is raw and unfocused, but it s the vanguard of the future of the band and their signature. It's a fun listen from time to time but I have never plunked down the money for one of the two versions of boots out there. At this point, I would get it simply as a collector's item.

The next installment - the debut album.



Originally recorded and released in 1981 on French label Carrere Records, and titled, "Breakin' the Chains" and with a slightly different cover color, this one is raw and very pre Glam. The track "Paris Is Burning" is a studio cut simply titled "Paris" and the song "Live to Rock" was titled "We're Illegal" on the original release. Also, Jaun Croucier (who later left to join Ratt) plays bass on this one. When the band got picked up by Elektra Records, this was re released with the aforementioned changes.

From 1986 to 1989, Dokken ruled my world and was my absolute fave band of my formative music years. Although I owned this on cassette and vinyl, I must confess, I never really "loved" it the way I did the two that follow. I can't really pin point the exact reason. Something just felt ...off with this platter. It felt like it was somehow unfocused and felt very 70's. That's not a bad thing to the 42 year old Sentinel, but to the 1987 version, it was. Lol. I always widhed it was heavier and had more riffs. It wasn't until about a decade or so ago I really began to appreciate this album and play it pretty regularly now as it's a quick and fun listen.

Faves:

Breaking the Chains
Nightrider
Seven Thunders
Paris Is Burning

So, what do you all think, HoM?

One of my favorite bands!  

I've got Back In The Streets and it's not bad for a rough demo from 1979, but without George Lynch it doesn't sounds like classic Dokken.  

Also, Dokken released a single in 1979 on Hard Records Of L.A. with two tracks - "Hard Rock Woman" and "Broken Heart."







I like Breaking The Chains and it's got at least two stone cold Dokken classics in the title track and Paris Is Burning.  I agree that it's a transitional album where Dokken had not fully realized their signature sound, but they were almost there.

Also, this was also released as being by Don Dokken with this cover:

I had authored a gigundo geeky full discography thread about Dokken here a few years ago but it got eaten by the board during a software glitch. D'oh!!

Fortunately, before the thread went kablooey I had recycled most of my album commentaries from it into reviews on RateYourMusic. So here's what I wrote about Back in the Streets:

BACK IN THE STREETS is not an official "piece" of the Dokken discography but is an interesting item nonetheless. Released on the "Repertoire Records" label around 1989, BACK IN THE STREETS was a widely distributed bootleg album of a 4-song demo that was recorded in 1979. Legend has it that this album came about when some bootleggers stole a copy of the demo tape out of producer Michael Wagener's car.

Don is the only member of the "classic" Dokken lineup to appear on the six-song EP (four of the songs are studio tracks, two are live). In fact, the band lineup shown on the album's cover isn't even the same one that played on the tracks. The "Back on the Streets" demo lineup was Don on vocals and guitar, drummer Greg Pecka, and bassist Steve R. Barry. The band shown on the cover is of a later lineup featuring Don (center, w/red pants and striped shirt), drummer Gary Holland (who would later join Great White) on the left, and guitarist Greg Leon second from left. (I have no idea who the guy wearing all black, all the way to the right is.)

I used to see this album on vinyl/cassette all the time back in the late 80s/early 90s, I may be wrong but I could almost swear I came across it in "real" record stores from time to time (usually labeled as an "IMPORT"). I would guess at that time the legality of this release was still questionable, which allowed some copies to trickle into legitimate distribution channels.

Either way, BACK IN THE STREETS is an interesting but far from essential listen. The production's not the best, of course, given that these songs were merely intended as demos, but you can still hear the raw talent that Mr. Dokken possessed at this early stage of the game.

Years later, copies of this long-out-of-print bootleg have become fairly pricey, but the band has made all the tracks available as free downloads from their website. Their rationale is that if fans want this material, they can get it straight from the band for free, therefore the bootleggers won't be profiting from them. If you wanna hear BACK IN THE STREETS for yourself, check'em out there. You have Don's blessing.

Aaaaand about Breaking the Chains:

In 1981, Klaus Meine of the Scorpions was recovering from throat surgery during the production of the BLACKOUT album, so a young Don Dokken was hired to fly to Germany and provide backing vocals and guide tracks that the rest of the band could work around while Klaus' voice healed. While he was there, he was able to get his own band a record deal with the French label Carrere Records (also home to Saxon at the time). The then-current Dokken (Don, guitarist George Lynch, bassist Juan Croucier and drummer Mick Brown) recorded and released the first version of their debut album, BREAKING THE CHAINS, in Europe in 1981. (The first vinyl pressing of the album was released under the name "Don Dokken," rather than simply "Dokken," but I have never actually seen a copy of this version, only pix of it on the net.)

Once Dokken returned to the States, their home area of Los Angeles was in the midst of a hard rock major label signing frenzy fueled by the breakout successes of Motley Crue and Quiet Riot. The band was quickly picked up by Elektra Records, who re-released BREAKING THE CHAINS in 1983. The track listing of the U.S. version differed from the Euro pressing -- the tracks were arranged in a different order and the song "We're Illegal" was replaced by "Live To Rock." In addition, the studio version of "Paris" was replaced by a live version on the U.S. edition under its full title, "Paris Is Burning."

By the time BREAKING...was released in the U.S., bassist Juan Croucier had left the band to join Ratt. He was replaced by Jeff Pilson, whose first duty as a new band member was appearing in the video for the album's title track. The "Breaking" video got its fair share of play on MTV and the band was quickly on its way.

BREAKING THE CHAINS is a solid, if unspectacular, debut record. The title track, "Live To Rock," "Nightrider," and "Paris is Burning" still hold up well today, however the irritating "Felony" ("fel-oh-kneeeee!") and "Young Girls" weren't even very good by 1983 standards and they have aged terribly. Overall, BREAKING THE CHAINS was a promising debut from this young band. They definitely had the chops but the songwriting wasn't quite "there" yet. Dokken would only get better from here.

I have never owned 'Back in the Streets' simply because it was always a bit of my price range. Used to see it in legit stores as an import, now I wish I had bought it for the collectability factor of it.

As far as 'Breaking the Chains', I discovered Dokken because MTV used to have this video in rotation and remember liking the tune alot.

That being said I did not get around to actually buying the album til 1988, and while I was a major fan of Dokken I could never get into this album.

Felt the songs for the most part were half baked, lacked the charisma and charm of later efforts. Overall not a great debut for a band I truly was into later on their career.

Never heard the Back In The Streets demo. I didn't even really know it existed.

As for Breaking The Chains, I had known the title track for years but it took me forever to get around to acquiring it (like within the last 10 years or so). And like most of you, I always thought it was a rather weak effort. I really only like the title track on it.

Not too impressed with the Back In The Streets demo. I never liked Breaking The Chains - I find the title track annoying. I didn't start to like Dokken until the next release

Ahhh, I forgot about the glitch a few years back. Thanks for the input, Fredo. If you wanna tackle this thread together, I am game.

Witchfinder wrote:

One of my favorite bands!  

I've got Back In The Streets and it's not bad for a rough demo from 1979, but without George Lynch it doesn't sounds like classic Dokken.  

Also, Dokken released a single in 1979 on Hard Records Of L.A. with two tracks - "Hard Rock Woman" and "Broken Heart."  







I like Breaking The Chains and it's got at least two stone cold Dokken classics in the title track and Paris Is Burning.  I agree that it's a transitional album where Dokken had not fully realized their signature sound, but they were almost there.

Also, this was also released as being by Don Dokken with this cover:

I know Keith posted those links last year and it was a cool experience hearing those. I have seen that cover in image searches when I look for wallpapers for my background. Right now my desktop background is the alternate "Tooth and Nail" cover with the hands reaching out of the black and not the water.

I used to have that alt T&N image as wallpaper on my Win2000 PC! I had no idea it was the alt cover though. Just found it online and thought it would look cool.

Used to be a Dokken fanboy but got a little burned out over the years. I'm with everyone else that anything before T&N was sorta underwhelming.

The only Dokken I own are Tooth & Nail, Under Lock and Key and Back for the Attack, with the one in the middle being my favourite. But I'll keep an eye on this thread.

Lari wrote:

The only Dokken I own are Tooth & Nail, Under Lock and Key and Back for the Attack, with the one in the middle being my favourite. But I'll keep an eye on this thread.

Be sure to add Don's 1990 solo album to your list if you haven't yet! It's right up your alley. In case you haven't heard it:



John Norum's playing on this album is phenomenal.

I must be one of the few that actually loves Breaking The Chains! I bought it when it first came out and have probably played it at least a thousand times since. Dig the guitar sound on it and LOVE that solo before Paris.


and yea, that DD solo album is pretty good! Billy White (ex-Watchtower) plays guitar on it as well.

chewie wrote:

I must be one of the few that actually loves Breaking The Chains! I bought it when it first came out and have probably played it at least a thousand times since. Dig the guitar sound on it and LOVE that solo before Paris.


and yea, that DD solo album is pretty good! Billy White (ex-Watchtower) plays guitar on it as well.

BtC has a decent classic rock vibe to it, and the songwriting is hooky enough. What's funny to me is, while the songs are weaker here, I prefer the album's mix over T&N.

Chewie did Billy share lead with Norum?

corplhicks wrote:

chewie wrote:

I must be one of the few that actually loves Breaking The Chains! I bought it when it first came out and have probably played it at least a thousand times since. Dig the guitar sound on it and LOVE that solo before Paris.


and yea, that DD solo album is pretty good! Billy White (ex-Watchtower) plays guitar on it as well.

BtC has a decent classic rock vibe to it, and the songwriting is hooky enough. What's funny to me is, while the songs are weaker here, I prefer the album's mix over T&N.

Chewie did Billy share lead with Norum?

Oh, yeah. The sound of Tooth and Nail is very dated. Especially, the drum sound.

corplhicks wrote:

chewie wrote:

I must be one of the few that actually loves Breaking The Chains! I bought it when it first came out and have probably played it at least a thousand times since. Dig the guitar sound on it and LOVE that solo before Paris.


and yea, that DD solo album is pretty good! Billy White (ex-Watchtower) plays guitar on it as well.

BtC has a decent classic rock vibe to it, and the songwriting is hooky enough. What's funny to me is, while the songs are weaker here, I prefer the album's mix over T&N.

Chewie did Billy share lead with Norum?

Yes he did..... and now that I look, he wrote about half the songs with Don as well.

chewie wrote:

corplhicks wrote:

chewie wrote:

I must be one of the few that actually loves Breaking The Chains! I bought it when it first came out and have probably played it at least a thousand times since. Dig the guitar sound on it and LOVE that solo before Paris.


and yea, that DD solo album is pretty good! Billy White (ex-Watchtower) plays guitar on it as well.

BtC has a decent classic rock vibe to it, and the songwriting is hooky enough. What's funny to me is, while the songs are weaker here, I prefer the album's mix over T&N.

Chewie did Billy share lead with Norum?

Yes he did..... and now that I look, he wrote about half the songs with Don as well.

Well hot damn, time to get the liner notes. For some reason I never paid attention to the second guitarist. The rest of the lineup was familiar to me at the time but his name didn't click.

Fat Freddy wrote:

I had authored a gigundo geeky full discography thread about Dokken here a few years ago but it got eaten by the board during a software glitch. D'oh!!

Yeah that flipping glitch.
We'd not get so much grief from the troll patrol about certain things if they'd seen what used to be there. We all put in a lot of work and there was a waiting list to boot.

Dokken was a favorite of mine when I was first getting into metal, but I never really extensively jammed any of their stuff besides Tooth and Nail and Under Lock and Key.

I taught myself "Breakin' the Chains" on guitar (I love how simple the solo is for how it sounds), but it and Paris is Burning are the only tracks I'm familiar with from it.

I'll be reading this thread but I doubt I'll contribute too much.

Quote :

Ahhh, I forgot about the glitch a few years back. Thanks for the input, Fredo. If you wanna tackle this thread together, I am game.

You go ahead, I'll throw my worthless opinions on each album up here as you go along.

Yeah, that glitch sucked. It seemed to have taken the wind out of the sails around here.

Wurthless wrote:

Dokken was a favorite of mine when I was first getting into metal, but I never really extensively jammed any of their stuff besides Tooth and Nail and Under Lock and Key.

I taught myself "Breakin' the Chains" on guitar (I love how simple the solo is for how it sounds), but it and Paris is Burning are the only tracks I'm familiar with from it.

I'll be reading this thread but I doubt I'll contribute too much.

Your contributions ( no matter how small) are always welcome, brother.

the sentinel wrote:

Wurthless wrote:

Dokken was a favorite of mine when I was first getting into metal, but I never really extensively jammed any of their stuff besides Tooth and Nail and Under Lock and Key.

I taught myself "Breakin' the Chains" on guitar (I love how simple the solo is for how it sounds), but it and Paris is Burning are the only tracks I'm familiar with from it.

I'll be reading this thread but I doubt I'll contribute too much.

Your contributions ( no matter how small) are always welcome, brother.

Thanks man, I appreciate it.

So I'm just now finding out that the Carrere version of BtC was also an alt mix than we know. The difference isn't stunning, but notable: