DOKKEN’S “BREAKING THE CHAINS,” “TOOTH AND NAIL” AND “UNDER LOCK AND KEY” ARE BEING REMASTERED
Dokken’s first three full-length albums- Breaking The Chains, Tooth And Nail, and Under Lock And Key– are being remastered as Special Deluxe Collector’s Editions by Rock Candy Records.
Each release contains fully remastered sound shaped from 24 BIT digital technology, 16 page full color booklet, 3,500 word essay, enhanced artwork, rare photos and a new interview with frontman Don Dokken. The Tooth And Nail remaster also includes the bonus tracks Just Got Lucky (single edit) and Alone Again (live in Japan).
Each of these re-releases, and several other classic remasterings, can be purchased direct from Rock Candy Records at www.rockcandyrecords.com..
Issued in 1981 through Elektra Records, the superior, revised and remixed version of Dokken’s European debut Breaking The Chains attracted instant acclaim and featured several Dokken classics, including I Can’t See You, In The Middle, Seven Thunders and the full throttle title track itself.
Originally released in 1984, Tooth And Nail captivated Dokken’s audience with an array of classy hard rock, big on hooks and full of energy. Songs such as Into The Fire, Heartless Heart and the power ballad Alone Again helped to place Dokken firmly in the big league and resulted in a platinum album.
Produced by British studio wizard Neil Kernon (Queensryche, Kansas, Autograph) and Michael Wagener (Motley Crue, Extreme), 1985’s Under Lock And Key is generally regarded as one of Dokken’s best albums, giving rise to a number of classics, including The Hunter, Unchain The Night, It’s Not Love and the chart hit In My Dreams.
additional source: sleazeroxx.com
Under Lock and Key is more polished, and arguably the “best” Dokken album, but I’ve always leaned more towards Tooth and Nail. It has a generally heavier vibe, but isn’t as well produced. The title track is a monster. I would call both of those albums must haves for anyone interested in Dokken. Back for the Attack is good too, but I think for the most part the songs are stronger on TN and ULK. Interesting that someone mentioned Dysfunctional, which came out several years after the band’s first breakup. It’s a very different sounding album than the first four, and it took a while to grow on me but I enjoy it quite a lot now. It was originally to be Don’s second solo album but became Dokken’s 5th. I would not however recommend anyone start their Dokken collection there, I’d still go with the first 4 and then try Dysfunctional if you really like the other stuff – but expect it to be different. Stay away from “Shadow Life”. Honorable mention for “Erase The Slate” with Reb Beach on guitar.
I’ll say as well that the two most recent Dokken albums, Lightning Strikes Again and Broken Bones, are solid. Don’s voice is notably weaker, and the personnel in the band are different, but LSA in particular is very much in the vibe of the classic 80’s sound of the band. John Levin is a seriously good guitarist and probably sounds more like George Lynch than George himself does now. I don’t mean that as a slight on George, I mean that George’s sound and style has evolved to be a little different than it was in Dokken, and John’s style sounds closer to what George’s was at that time. Lynch is still “Mr. Scary” and can shred a fretboard as well as anyone.
Love Dokken. BTW – Back For The Attack was remastered around 2009 from Warner Music Japan, and it includes a bonus track, “Back For the Attack”. I bought it from http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/ and the quality is outstanding…sounds much better than the 1987 release. Definitely recommended.
Really? Thank you for that info Mark!
D 🙂