My blood is on my keyboard as this has been one of the hardest reviews I've ever had to write. It is long overdue. I was hoping I could avoid the way I feel about this disc, but it ain't happening . Therefore, I submit this to your eyes with a heavy heart.
In the late 80s, Dokken was grouped into the pop metal genre with Ratt, Motley Crue and (gulp) Quiet Riot. What an era. I was first exposed to Dokken when they opened for Loverboy in 1986. From supporting Loverboy through their mildly successful radio songs like "It's Not Love" and "Alone Again," I always considered myself one of their biggest fans. I preached the Glorious Gospel of George, advocating that George Lynch could play circles around Eddie Van Halen and Joe Perry. Today, I'd stick by the Joe Perry prediction, but not Eddie.
They were my favorite band. My wife and I would sing "Burning
Like A Flame" from
Back From The Attack as we drove down the road. I remember
listening to "Alone Again" with a friend mere days before he
committed suicide in college.
Fast forward to 1998. I've come a long way in my music appreciation. There is more to music than the songs on the radio. Which is why I regard Shadowlife as yet another band abandoning heavy metal and selling out to the Pacific Northwest. (Remember Load?)
Big time. Huge time. Don't waste your time.
Dokken shouldn't have messed with what they had going for them. I'm not sure who else makes music this crappy. This band's downfall and the impediment to full-blown acknowledgement in a Guns N' Roses way, has been its inability to showcase its strengths: Don Dokken's voice and George Lynch's guitar. What this disc showcases is a band that has abandoned everything fans have come to expect for a complete departure from their sound.
I hate this disc. With a passion. It is the disc of a desperate band. Why else would they record such an awful and awe-full track like "Convenience Store Messiah"? Who the hell told Don Dokken he should sing stupid lyrics like:
"I hurt you - you killed me
I loved you - you hated me
You gave in - it thrilled me
Your sex was fulfilling"
from "Puppet On A String." "Hello" sounds like a B side track by the Stone Temple Pilots with its soaring theatrical effects.
And as I listened to this disc over and over, I cringed each and every time. "Puppet On A String" barely passes as acceptable. These are uninspired songs. Lynch's guitar riffs are buried in the mix, Don Dokken sounds like his soul is not present. Where is his cocky attitude, evident when he told concert goers that he would kick the shit out of anyone that threw anything on stage? Where is his cockiness from songs like "It's Not Love"? Where is his thoughtful commentary on social issues like "Will The Sun Rise" (nuclear war) or "Kiss Of Death" (AIDS)? Has Dokken fallen so far away from himself that he is, well, this bad? Damn it, I expected more. And I have been let down.
Marginally, a positive aspect of this disc is drummer Mick Brown. Always an overrated and clunky drummer, Brown is a shade of brown better than on the band's previous discs. "Sky Beneath My Feet" is probably his strongest recorded performance this time around as I liked his hi-hat shuffle groove.
And, really, in a push to shove world, I actually like this song. Sure, it relies on cliches like "We'd be forever young and so it seemed/ What does it mean" and "The gentle rain begins to fall." Have you seen rain fly?
I was thoroughly disgusted with this disc. Avoid it. You'll thank me.