#23 Dokken - Tooth & Nail: Shut Up Don

ROCKTOBERFEST: A Most Excellent Countdown of the 31 Most Bitchin Glam Metal Albums

#23 Dokken– Tooth &Nail (Released 1984) Platinum #49 Billboard Albums Chart

 

Don Dokken (What a whiner) – Vocals

George Lynch (What a Guitar Hero) – Lead  Guitar

Jeff Pilson (Lovin the Hot Pink Bass) - Bass

Mick Brown (Thundah) – Drums

Shut Up Don: Let George Play

But first a real-life story from Game 3 of the ALCS (GO TIGERS!). I purchased two tickets to the game figuring that at least one of my friends was not a cheap tight-wad or an incredibly lame candy-ass. (Yeah, bad assumption happens to the best of us and it just did). So originally I was going to scalp the ticket, but when I realized that just was not happening. I thought back to the Notre Dame game and the unbelievable generosity of the man who gave me a free ticket (that he could have easily sold for $200-$300) just because he liked my pants. (If I did NOT have GOOD luck, I would have NO luck at all.) Ya know what I am going to give this ticket to someone who truly deserves it and I observed a homeless man in a Tigers jacket with trash bag of cans. I was like “This is my guy.” The following dialogue ensued:

Me: Hey yo brutha, ya wanna go to the game?

Homeless Dude: Come on man, I don’t got any money.

Me: Nah brutha man, It is free. This one is on me.

Homeless Dude: There’s has got to be some catch.

Me: No catch. Let’s go. The game is going to start soon.

Homeless Dude: I did not get this far in life without knowing there is always a catch.

Me: (Thinking to myself): I think given your position you should re-evaluate your life principles. (Actually said) Come on let’s go. Last chance.

Homeless Dude: No thanks. 

Someone else who should re-evaluate their life principles is Don Dokken (Thank you, I am the Master of the Segueway). Never has a glam metal vocalist bitched and moaned about women as frequently and as irritatingly as Don Dokken. Most glam bands reserved the tales of heart-break for their power ballads, not Dokken nope this whiny bitch was constantly complaining about women who lied to him, used him or left him in every song. Here are some of the titles of Dokken songs: Heartless Heart, Alone Again, Jaded Heart, Don’t Lie to Me, and Stop Fighting Love. Seriously, Don, did you ever think there was a trend to all this betrayal in your life. It may be due to the fact you are a humorless, bitchy twat and in the words of Ke$ha a girl just doesn’t want “To date a dude with a vag.” Making up for these shitty lyrics is George Lynch’s amazing fuckin guitar playing. Check out the fucking kick-ass, BITCHIN solo from George on the title track (Damn, Don doesn’t even bitch and moan on this song.)

 Sadly, Lynch is one of those guitar hero lost to yesteryear as seemingly no one remembers his rip, roaring solos and his blazing riffs. Dokken is one of those bands that hovers between glam metal and heavy metal. In a scene where you were either thrash or glam, Dokken was too melodic to be thrash, but less- hook-oriented than most glam bands. The lead single off Tooth & Nail is my favorite Dokken song, Into The Fire with great dynamics that lend themselves to be great hooks on this song, a kick-ass solo and one of my favorite harmonized-layered bridges in heavy metal history. Yes, Don’s heart was broken again, but hey the song is bitchin.

They were very much in the vein of metal bands such as Judas Priest and the Scorpions. For as much shit as I give Don, he is a very proficient singer relative to his glam peers with good range and good power. The following heavy metal masterpiece is actually off the subsequent album, Under Lock and Key (All Dokken albums sound the same.), but it happens to be my second favorite Dokken song so I wanted to showcase it, this is Lightning Strikes Again (this thing smokes with all the fury of Judas Priest at their best):

 

Dokken is a great metal band, but just is not one of my favorites and while most of their albums are ranked higher on lists just like these I just prefer sleazier and dirtier songs. I mean that both lyrically and sonically. George could play circles around most the guitarists I listen to, but there is something that is just a little too clean and just not catchy enough about his riffs. I appreciate his ability and like to listen to them, but they are just not favorites of mine, but I did want to showcase them because they are a truly a bitchin band. The following is a fun music video from the second single off the album, Just Got Lucky (I will give one guess what this song is about, yep, Don was being used again), but George’s hair is all types of awesome, the hot pink bass roolz the skool and the totally random guitar soloing on the mountain may have begun the metal trend of soloing in weirdly isolated, rural places.

Dokken is still active just not with George Lynch, who has his own solo band called Lynch Mob. Apparently, it was a clash of ego’s that split apart the band as Don just could not deal with fact that Lynch was the superstar of the band. This has only added fuel for my distaste for Don. I should not be surprised the fucking band is named after him, what a fuckin ego-maniac and it readily apparent that Lynch is much better at his craft than Don who is merely adequate. The instrumental off Dokken’s fourth album, Back For The Attack, plays us out. Here is Mr. Scary: