Dokken Discography

You know I kind of figured it was but wasn't sure. I didn't want to spread misinformation. I will put up "Tooth and Nail" sometime today.

God, I love this one. The second album and second Dokken I ever got; and for a while it rivaled the next one for my all time fave in the 80's. When I was younger, my family was not setting the world afire financially so I didn't have nearly the collection I do know. I played the shit out of this one. I guess that's what you do when you only have a few dozen albums and cassettes. Despite the dated production (especially on the sound of the drums) this is a Metal record (unlike it's predecessor which was a bit lighter) but still retains the hooks and memorability. Some could argue it is the bands finest moment given the power of the title track, the speed of "Turn On The Action", and and the hit ballad "Alone Again" Say what you will about this emotional track, I think it is a great song and years ahead of the requisite ballad on every L.A. bands offerings."T & N" combines melodic and heavy elements perfectly with Dokken's layered background vocals that, in my ears, set them apart from their contemporaries. I wish the band had stayed this course instead of going back to the commercial sound to garner a hit. The lineup changes a bit from BtC: Don on vox, Mr. Scary on lead, Jeff Pilson on bass, and "Wild" Mick on the skins. The album was produced by Michael Wagener.

Track Listing:
1. "Without Warning" (Instrumental Intro)
2. "Tooth and Nail"
3. "Just Got Lucky"
4. "Heartless Heart"
5. "Don't Close Your Eyes"
6. "When Heaven Comes Down"
7. "Into the Fire"
8. "Bullets to Spare"
9. "Alone Again"
10. "Turn on the Action"

Faves here:
"Don't Close Your Eyes"
"When Heaven Comes Down"
"Into the Fire"
"Alone Again"
"Tooth and Nail"

*I have always wondered if, like Priest's Hellion intro, was "Without Warning" supposed to be it's own song that never got finished?

*Supposedly, the album title is a reference to the band's management having to fight "Tooth and Nail" with Elektra records for not dropping them and giving the guys one more chance.

*Still can't figure out why the cassette has a different cover than the album and CD?

This is an oddity in my history with the band. See my first exposure (outside of the radio play of In My Dreams) with them was Beast in the East, which was total ear candy for me. Then I worked my way backwards: BftA, then ULaK, and finally T&N. So it was understandable that this album was a pure crapfest to me in terms of production. Someday I'll find out exactly why the band and engineers felt satisfied with the mess of treble this album swims in. And these songs were so beefy and menacing on Beast!I also thought Bullets to Spare was a stupid song haha.

Now decades (!) down the road, I've truly come to love this album as old school, low budget production matters little to me. The band really got it together and the craft here is undeniably strong. But I still think what came after this is four times heavier and more pleasing to the ear.

I've wondered the same thing about Without Warning.

I love Tooth And Nail. I think every song on it is rock solid. Without Warning is one of the best intros out there.My only issue with it (like you) is the drums. They always sounded a bit tinny to my ears.

The production is crap, which is amazing because Michael Wagner could get big sounds out of bands with less firepower then Dokken. Only thing I can think of was dealing with the power struggle between Don and George Lynch that maybe the producer could not get this job over with soon enough.

Despite the production great album, where the lion's share of the songwriting is from Lynch and Pilson, thou it seems even Mick Brown got credit on a track I believe.

Don Dokken unlike most pop metal vocalist could sing, he could great harmonies, nice clean vocals and had stage presence. Dokken's biggest sin may have been 'Alone Again', not because its a terrible song, because its not, but because it inspired every insipid hair metalier to write their own power ballad.

Here's what I wrote about T&N back in the day:

TOOTH AND NAIL was released in September of 1984 and was a vast improvement over BREAKING THE CHAINS. Dokken was finally starting to sound more like a "band" and less like "Don Dokken and Friends."

TOOTH AND NAIL was produced by Tom Werman (who'd also worked with Cheap Trick, Motley Crue, and Twisted Sister, to name just a few) and mixed by German metal specialist Michael Wagener. The result was an album that was slick enough to garner radio/MTV play, but still had its "metallic" leanings, mainly in the shredwork by George Lynch... who by this time was well on his way to becoming the next big "guitar hero."

Elektra released three singles from the album, all accompanied by MTV videos - "Into the Fire" and "Just Got Lucky" achieved some success on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Charts, but the power ballad "Alone Again" proved to be the most successful single from the album. Thanks to regular MTV rotation, "Alone Again" became Dokken's first song to crack the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, eventually reaching the #64 position.

The success of "Alone Again" helped TOOTH AND NAIL reach a peak of #49 on the Billboard Album Chart and earned Dokken their first Gold Record certification. By 1989 it was certified Platinum for one million units sold.

While the MTV/radio crowd grooved to the aforementioned singles, the headbanger community gravitated towards the album's heavier "deep cuts" like the title track, "When Heaven Comes Down," "Bullets to Spare" and "Turn on the Action." The band's reputation as a live act was also growing thanks to well received stints opening for the Scorpions and Dio, among others.

To this day, TOOTH & NAIL remains one of Dokken's most popular albums and it's easy to see why. Its combination of melodic sensibility and metallic crunch pretty much set the template that Dokken has continued to use to this very day.

Very well put, FF. I said it above and I stand by it, "Alone Again" is a great tune and years ahead of the pre requisite "ballad" to get the 13 year old girls to buy the album.

Gotta put up "Under Lock and Key" later today.

Great band. One of my favorites is Back for the Attack.  I'm sure you guys saw, but they're doing a money grab tour, hitting a few cities. Lynch isn't playing with them though.

Aaron_D wrote:

but they're doing a money grab tour

as opposed to the play for free tour

Aaron_D wrote:

Lynch isn't playing with them though.

Where did you hear that? The 6 shows they are playing in Japan (and one warm-up US gig) is the classic line-up (Dokken, Lynch, Pilson & Brown). Has their been other shows announced?

MetalGuy71 wrote:

Aaron_D wrote:

Lynch isn't playing with them though.

Where did you hear that? The 6 shows they are playing in Japan (and one warm-up US gig) is the classic line-up (Dokken, Lynch, Pilson & Brown). Has their been other shows announced?

My fault, I see where it says that on the website for the Japan shows that Lynch is playing with them. Dokken .net has some US dates for the fall.

The only American gig that the "classic" lineup (Don/Lynch/Brown/Pilson) is playing is at Badlands Pawn in South Dakota, which is essentially a dress rehearsal for the six date Japanese tour.

All other U.S. dates booked will be the "current" line up which is Don, Jon Levin, Mick Brown, and whoever's playing bass for them this week (I can't remember his name and I'm too lazy to go look it up) ....

Once the Japanese shows are done Lynch and Pilson will go back to their regular gigs and the "current" lineup will pick up where they left off.

the sentinel wrote:

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.

Actually, this is not accurate. Back in the Streets was not a Dokken EP, nor an "authorized" recording. It's the result of an upset German club owner releasing live Dokken tracks that Don had recorded in his club in retaliation for alleged non-payment of studio fees. Michael Wagener and Don have spoken about this a few times.

Witchfinder wrote:

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

This is not accurate either.  This is the common bootleg cover.  The original 1981 Carrere Records release was still under the name Dokken and the cover was a blue version of the 1983 Elektra release--I have a legit copy of the 12" vinyl.

THIS is what the fron and back covers look like:

DustyBones wrote:

Witchfinder wrote:

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

This is not accurate either.  This is the common bootleg cover.  The original 1981 Carrere Records release was still under the name Dokken and the cover was a blue version of the 1983 Elektra release--I have a legit copy of the 12" vinyl.

THIS is what the fron and back covers look like:

What I have is Carrere Records Catno. 2934 139 that was released in Germany. Your cover is Carrere Records Catno. 67865 that was released in France. Both were pressed in 1981. Are you saying that 2934 139 is a bootleg?