Don Dokken was a recent guest on The Classic Metal Show, where co-host Chris Akin, asked him about his former bandmates, guitarist George Lynch and bassist Jeff Pilson’s, new covers album Heavy Hitters, which include songs by Duran Duran, Madonna, Prince Carole King, etc.
Dokken sated (as per blabbermouth.net), “But those are not heavy hitters. No offense, they are good songs, but those are vanilla tunes. [Sings R.E.M’s ‘It’s The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)’] Did they rock ’em up or put some shredding guitar solos [in them]?”
“They must be really bored,” he continued. “But, you know, everybody’s got their mantra; everybody’s got their financial things, I guess. If a record company is willing to give you money to put out pablum, then put out the pablum. But I hope my standards as a songwriter are a little higher than that. If I’m gonna do a remake, I’m gonna do something that was super cool, like Paint It Black by The[Rolling] Stones or Revolution by The Beatles or something that’s awesome and do something like that. I’m not gonna do Carole King.”
“I don’t get it. I don’t know what’s going on with those guys,” the singer added. “I don’t really talk to them much. Lynch and I, we talk once in a while, ’cause he always wanted to move to Santa Fe; that’s his dream. He’s always wanted to come to New Mexico. And I said, ‘Hey, you’re welcome to come on up and stay in the casita’ — as they call ’em up here, a casita, the guest house — ‘and if you wanna go hike’… He hikes; he’s a hiker. So, I’ve got 13 acres. He can get lost very easily. I’m not going looking for him.”
Dokken’s classic lineup — iDon Dokken, George Lynch, Jeff Pilson and drummer “Wild” Mick Brown — reunited for a short Japanese tour in the fall of 2016. It marked the first time in 21 years the four musicians had hit the road together.
A concert DVD focusing on the band’s reunion tour, Return To The East Live (2016), was made available in 2018. An original song was also recorded for th special release titled, It’s Just Another Day, which can be heard here.
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Meanwhile, in other news… The Catman is back! The REAL Catman! Peter Criss and Richie Scarlet team up for “The Catman And The Emperor.” Check it out at ultimateclassicrock.com
Thanks, Doug. The Dodgers are world champs and the Catman is back….cool song!
Sorry, dude, but I lost all interest in sports when they decided to become political. As a lifelong baseball and hockey fan (until this past summer) it killed me not to watch the World Series or the Stanley Cup this year, first time in my life, but I will never watch or pay attention to baseball, hockey or Nascar again. Sports supposed to be a diversion from things like politics and etc., not a platform for it.
Well, you’re a better man than me then.
Well I didn’t even know this CD existed until I read this article and then I heard a DJ talking about it on Sirius/XM on Classic Rewind, which he said he wasn’t a big Dokken fan in the day but liked this CD and I decided to check it out. It’s really good….Glad I bought it.