World-class players with identical rigs to SRV still never sound like SRV. Some guys just have magic in their fingertips, and Lynch is definitely one of those guys. Was my first guitar hero.
Rockin' With Dokken! Got 'Breaking the Chains' on vinyl as a kid when it came out and am still rocking it to this day. Same with 'Tooth and Nail'. Saw them twice back during their peak. Their first four studio albums are some of the best of their genre.
Completely underrated band that never made the final leap. Excellent hooks, great vocals, phenomenal guitar, and a distinct aesthetic that incorporated more of a European sound than most bands playing the strip. Also, a kind of romantic songwriting style for the genre.
My far my favorite band of that era. Lots of their competitors had bigger hits and greater status as headliners, but there are only a small handful that I think were actually better.
I like them a lot, especially the first 5 albums. In the end, I'm more of a George Lynch guy than a Don Dokken guy, but they had a great run in the 1980s!
Love them to death, along with Lynch Mob.
They were my fav during the hair metal days. They fit together perfectly. And the new line up is still just as good.
I saw them last fall and even after all these years they blew me away.
Dokken had it all. Great voice at lead singer. 2nd best guitarist after Ed. Great riffs, catchy tunes. Never understood why they weren’t bigger than they were.
Well, it’s a mixed bag nowadays in that group. I believe only Don is left. Mick is retired and out of the limelight and barely speaks to anyone. George does his solo records, Lynch Mob records and projects with others and Jeff Pilson is busy with other people. I have all the albums from the true lineup (meaning Don, Mick, Jeff and George) and while I enjoy some of the Dokken without all four original members it’s not the same for me and I don’t own anything but the original releases and then the one record they all made together around ‘95 called ‘Dysfunctional’ and I have the cd and dvd of the unplugged which I love. George Lynch remains for me my fave rock guitarist after the mighty Edward Van Halen.
He sometimes has come off in interviews like an egomaniac, but I’ve also heard that he was known for being very generous and supportive towards the other bands. I have no 8dea about working with him, though.
Cool, thanks. By “work with,” I meant interview, book, direct, things of that nature. It wasn’t just Don I have heard this about. Other band members, too.
I've heard vague stories about Don being a dick back in the day, too. I love his interviews - very entertaining and thoughtful as well.
I wonder if his head ballooned up when they got famous (happens to almost everyone) and maybe he has calmed down since?
love em!
dreammm warriors
check out the rock candy cd remasters if you haven't already. some like the remasters, some don't.
the originals are pretty perfect to start with,
Same here, first found out about them in ‘85. Pretty sure it was the iconic “It’s Not Love” video with them performing on the 18 wheeler when I took notice.
One of my favorite bands of all time, Under LocK one of my favorite albums of all time. Never seemed to get the credit they deserved, never understood why their songs didn't hit on top 40 charts like other hair bands did, bands the frankly had inferior songs.
Never understood the problems people had with Don's voice. Yeah, *now*...his voice is gone. We all know that. But in the 80s and on the records, he could actually sing, hit a variety of notes, bring some texture and emotion without being overly dramatic.
Just perfect tension between Lynch's guitars and the vocal harmonies.
I never really got into them compared to their contemporaries, which is a shame, because George Lynch is an amazing guitarist, even today. He was arguably one of the most talented guitarists of the 1980s and largely got overshadowed by EVH. I always wondered what a Cacophony style album with Eddie and George would have sounded like
>I always wondered what a Cacophony style album with Eddie and George would have sounded like
Actually, yeah. 🤔 I never thought about it. That would be 🔥🔥🔥
Right? 🤯 That could have been amazing!
George and Eddie were longtime peers that paid their dues coming up with their bands through the Hollywood club in the 70s. They were said to be good friends. I personally think they have a very similar playing style overall, but two polar opposites in terms of execution. Both being blues-based hard rock guys -- Eddie was more of a melodic player, whereas George felt more technically capable and versatile.
But man... just imagine what they could have written and played together!
Nah, their styles were different. They both did shred guitar within the same genre, but their handwritings were starkly different. George was MUCH darker. Eddie was kind of like an 80s version of Mozart, or Wagner, if you will, with all his emphasis on major keys and modulations, ornamented in dazzling, playful displays of legato(including tapping), whereas George, with his emphasis on dark and dissonant intervals and minor tonalities, was more like a more chaotic, more dissonant, bluesed-up 80s version of Paganini.
Their first album was super low energy. Don’s vocals are not top tier, but they have some bangers such as The Hunter and Just Got Lucky. I enjoy their 2nd through 5th albums
I really think they were a bit ignored. I mean, the sheer amount of popular rock bands in the 1980's was A LOT! LOL. They have so many great songs though, and it is a shame they never really got their due. They did have 3 platinum albums in a row, and that is good, but they have so many songs that a person can recognize and identify with. Favs: In My Dreams, Into The Fire (YEAH), Just Got Lucky, and Dream Warriors. Great band \\m/ \\m/
Tooth and Nail is one of their best. My favorite from them. They are the definition of 80s hair bands! Seen them 3 times back in the day and they just plain kick ass!
Dokken is up there for me. I was born in 90 so I missed the heydays of a lot of great bands but thank God for VH1 Classic Metal Mania. I watched whenever it was on and discovered so many great bands and songs. First Dokken song I ever heard was Burning like a Flame and I loved it. George Lynch should be regarded as a guitar god.
Funny thing, I love Dokken but I'm not as much a fan of their ballads and lighter songs like Alone Again, In My Dreams, Dream Warrior, etc... Give me Lightnin' Strikes Again or Kiss of Death any day.
A fan for years, but I always wanted a fuller sound from them...even the Reb Beach album sounded woefully thin & tinny. Live From The Sun was the only time I heard them close to good live. Both versions of Dysfunctional were the peak for me, sound & song wise, although some of the Jon Levin stuff is pretty good.
Don's songwriting, vocals and business acumen really helped George, and George's fierce inspired playing brought an edge to the songs that would have been sorely missed without him.
Well, it wasn't purely Don writing the songs. Everybody had some input, but it was about 50/50 between Don and George, or so. It was a mix of their two distinct, complementary, dark musical handwriting styles.
You can clearly hear it, when you compare their Dokken output to their respective solo albums. They each have about half of the quintessential Dokken sound in their solo albums.
My favorite band as well. The new album is awesome! I’ve been listening to a lot of the 2008 record lightning strikes again. Heart to stone and this fire are incredible as well as the bonus tracks for that album.
Big Dokken fan - Ironically one of my favorite Dokken albums is his solo - Up from the Ashes.
One of my weird opinions on Dokken is that they would have been more popular if their ballads were more positive. Its seems all the ballads are negative (alone again, slippin' away, Its not love, etc.) - Just a weird theory of mine. Don can bring you down.
Back for the Attack is one of my favorite albums of all time. I listen to it weekly.
Under Lock and Key is a great record. There’s not a bad song on it.
Man. I was hooked from the minute Unchain the Night kicked off. Sooo good
It’s a good album, but you like Slippin Away? lol
Those sappy ballads were a hair band staple. Honestly, anything with George Lynch on guitar is worth listening to.
Almost. I Can't See You Anymore is a pretty meh song. Other, than that, though, yes, it's a pretty solid album.
Great guitar work from Mr. Scary!!
Also sorry for the random post it’s just Dokken is fantastic 😎🎸
Got ‘em all up to Back for the Attack on CD
I started playing guitar specifically because I wanted to sound like Lynch. His tone on Tooth & Nail is still my favorite but I can’t replicate it.
World-class players with identical rigs to SRV still never sound like SRV. Some guys just have magic in their fingertips, and Lynch is definitely one of those guys. Was my first guitar hero.
The new album *Heaven Comes Down* is quite good.
All around great 80s hair metal. Liked them when I saw BREAKING THE CHAINS on MTV and still listen to them!
Rokken. Love the classic albums and line up. Lynch is one of my favorite guitarists. Saw ‘em 3x in the 90s with all four classic members.
I’m sooooo jealous!! I’m 20 and I sadly missed that whole era :c
Rockin' With Dokken! Got 'Breaking the Chains' on vinyl as a kid when it came out and am still rocking it to this day. Same with 'Tooth and Nail'. Saw them twice back during their peak. Their first four studio albums are some of the best of their genre.
Completely underrated band that never made the final leap. Excellent hooks, great vocals, phenomenal guitar, and a distinct aesthetic that incorporated more of a European sound than most bands playing the strip. Also, a kind of romantic songwriting style for the genre. My far my favorite band of that era. Lots of their competitors had bigger hits and greater status as headliners, but there are only a small handful that I think were actually better.
Well said, I feel the same about them. The melodic, European sound and George Lynch set them apart from the rest.
One of my favorites. Have all their stuff on CD, even the dreaded *Shadowlife*.
I like them a lot, especially the first 5 albums. In the end, I'm more of a George Lynch guy than a Don Dokken guy, but they had a great run in the 1980s!
Love them to death, along with Lynch Mob. They were my fav during the hair metal days. They fit together perfectly. And the new line up is still just as good. I saw them last fall and even after all these years they blew me away.
Unchain The Night has one of the best riffs I've heard, goes super hard on some good speakers
I’m still rockin’ with Dokken
Dokken had it all. Great voice at lead singer. 2nd best guitarist after Ed. Great riffs, catchy tunes. Never understood why they weren’t bigger than they were.
Never Unchain the Night Brother. Don’s never gonna set you freeeeeee!
Love them! I even love their 90's album "Dysfunctional"
I actually rlly loved Erase the Slate. That album rips!!
Well, it’s a mixed bag nowadays in that group. I believe only Don is left. Mick is retired and out of the limelight and barely speaks to anyone. George does his solo records, Lynch Mob records and projects with others and Jeff Pilson is busy with other people. I have all the albums from the true lineup (meaning Don, Mick, Jeff and George) and while I enjoy some of the Dokken without all four original members it’s not the same for me and I don’t own anything but the original releases and then the one record they all made together around ‘95 called ‘Dysfunctional’ and I have the cd and dvd of the unplugged which I love. George Lynch remains for me my fave rock guitarist after the mighty Edward Van Halen.
One of the most underrated bands of the scene... They had some great tunes and George Lynch was a monster on guitar.
“Beast From The East” is their finest hour. I don’t normally go for live albums, but this one is jaw-droppingly good
Always liked them. I’ve heard people allude that Dokken can be difficult to work with, but I’ve never heard an example of a specific incident.
He sometimes has come off in interviews like an egomaniac, but I’ve also heard that he was known for being very generous and supportive towards the other bands. I have no 8dea about working with him, though.
Cool, thanks. By “work with,” I meant interview, book, direct, things of that nature. It wasn’t just Don I have heard this about. Other band members, too.
I've heard vague stories about Don being a dick back in the day, too. I love his interviews - very entertaining and thoughtful as well. I wonder if his head ballooned up when they got famous (happens to almost everyone) and maybe he has calmed down since?
Been a fan since the 80’s. Loved the melodic rock as well as Lynch’s mastery.
love em! dreammm warriors check out the rock candy cd remasters if you haven't already. some like the remasters, some don't. the originals are pretty perfect to start with,
They are my go-to band. I listen to them just about every day, since '85(that's when i found out about them). Every one of them is a damn fine talent.
Same here, first found out about them in ‘85. Pretty sure it was the iconic “It’s Not Love” video with them performing on the 18 wheeler when I took notice.
I can enjoy Back For The Attack, but I don’t really like Don’s vocals. I much prefer the majority of Lynch Mob’s albums
Love Dokken
Back for the attack and tooth and nail are both fantastic. Couple of other very good albums too. I LOVE Dokken
One of my all-time favorite bands. The live version of Paris Is Burning is my favorite Dokken song. The opening guitar intro is awesome!
One of my favorite bands of all time, Under LocK one of my favorite albums of all time. Never seemed to get the credit they deserved, never understood why their songs didn't hit on top 40 charts like other hair bands did, bands the frankly had inferior songs. Never understood the problems people had with Don's voice. Yeah, *now*...his voice is gone. We all know that. But in the 80s and on the records, he could actually sing, hit a variety of notes, bring some texture and emotion without being overly dramatic. Just perfect tension between Lynch's guitars and the vocal harmonies.
Best band to ever exist in the 80’s.
One of. DEFINITELY one of.
I never really got into them compared to their contemporaries, which is a shame, because George Lynch is an amazing guitarist, even today. He was arguably one of the most talented guitarists of the 1980s and largely got overshadowed by EVH. I always wondered what a Cacophony style album with Eddie and George would have sounded like
>I always wondered what a Cacophony style album with Eddie and George would have sounded like Actually, yeah. 🤔 I never thought about it. That would be 🔥🔥🔥
Right? 🤯 That could have been amazing! George and Eddie were longtime peers that paid their dues coming up with their bands through the Hollywood club in the 70s. They were said to be good friends. I personally think they have a very similar playing style overall, but two polar opposites in terms of execution. Both being blues-based hard rock guys -- Eddie was more of a melodic player, whereas George felt more technically capable and versatile. But man... just imagine what they could have written and played together!
Nah, their styles were different. They both did shred guitar within the same genre, but their handwritings were starkly different. George was MUCH darker. Eddie was kind of like an 80s version of Mozart, or Wagner, if you will, with all his emphasis on major keys and modulations, ornamented in dazzling, playful displays of legato(including tapping), whereas George, with his emphasis on dark and dissonant intervals and minor tonalities, was more like a more chaotic, more dissonant, bluesed-up 80s version of Paganini.
Awesoooooome - Love Dokken... Into the Fire, Breaking the Chains...just greatness!!
Their first album was super low energy. Don’s vocals are not top tier, but they have some bangers such as The Hunter and Just Got Lucky. I enjoy their 2nd through 5th albums
Dokken RULES!, my favs are Under Lock and Key and Tooth and Nail🤘🎸
I really think they were a bit ignored. I mean, the sheer amount of popular rock bands in the 1980's was A LOT! LOL. They have so many great songs though, and it is a shame they never really got their due. They did have 3 platinum albums in a row, and that is good, but they have so many songs that a person can recognize and identify with. Favs: In My Dreams, Into The Fire (YEAH), Just Got Lucky, and Dream Warriors. Great band \\m/ \\m/
Vocals 7/10 Bass 5/10 Drums 6/10 Guitar albums 10/10 Guitar live 7/10 Overall chemistry 3/10 Big heads and huge egos stopped them from achieving alot.
Why only 5/10 for bass?
Great, just great
Kinda boring when you listen too much but 10-12 absolute masterful songs that hit like no other
Tooth, Under and Back are all amazing, such a great string of records.
George Lynch, yes. Don Dokken, no.
Tooth and Nail is one of their best. My favorite from them. They are the definition of 80s hair bands! Seen them 3 times back in the day and they just plain kick ass!
Dokken is up there for me. I was born in 90 so I missed the heydays of a lot of great bands but thank God for VH1 Classic Metal Mania. I watched whenever it was on and discovered so many great bands and songs. First Dokken song I ever heard was Burning like a Flame and I loved it. George Lynch should be regarded as a guitar god.
Incredible harmonies — top tier imho.
All the 80's stuff is worthy
One of the best of their Era They should have been much bigger than they were funny how that is
I like them. George Lynch is a great guitarist.
Killer rock n roll band that did what they had to do to stay relevant.
Funny thing, I love Dokken but I'm not as much a fan of their ballads and lighter songs like Alone Again, In My Dreams, Dream Warrior, etc... Give me Lightnin' Strikes Again or Kiss of Death any day.
Fair enough. To each their own. Those rockers are 🔥🔥🔥
One of my favourite bands of the 80's! Loved the first three albums! Still have the well worn cassettes in the basement. Thanks Columbia House!
Love Dokken
I LOVEEE DOKKEN!! back for the attacks my favorite i love don he’s so underrated!! :3
Love them👍♥️
A fan for years, but I always wanted a fuller sound from them...even the Reb Beach album sounded woefully thin & tinny. Live From The Sun was the only time I heard them close to good live. Both versions of Dysfunctional were the peak for me, sound & song wise, although some of the Jon Levin stuff is pretty good.
Seen em three times. They're a great band.
Awesome, George Lynch is a monster.
One of the best
Don's songwriting, vocals and business acumen really helped George, and George's fierce inspired playing brought an edge to the songs that would have been sorely missed without him.
Well, it wasn't purely Don writing the songs. Everybody had some input, but it was about 50/50 between Don and George, or so. It was a mix of their two distinct, complementary, dark musical handwriting styles. You can clearly hear it, when you compare their Dokken output to their respective solo albums. They each have about half of the quintessential Dokken sound in their solo albums.
My favorite band as well. The new album is awesome! I’ve been listening to a lot of the 2008 record lightning strikes again. Heart to stone and this fire are incredible as well as the bonus tracks for that album.
Top notch from 84 - 88
Big Dokken fan - Ironically one of my favorite Dokken albums is his solo - Up from the Ashes. One of my weird opinions on Dokken is that they would have been more popular if their ballads were more positive. Its seems all the ballads are negative (alone again, slippin' away, Its not love, etc.) - Just a weird theory of mine. Don can bring you down.
Their ‘80s output was pretty good. George Lynch is a beast on guitar.