Long Way Home [Import]

For starters, it has no energy. The guitar sounds like a gas powered chain saw. It doesn't evoke a mood or feeling. The production is terrible, I can't even say that any of it sounds good.

This doesn't even come close to Tooth and Nail or Under Lock and Key. It's sad to see a great band fall apart and go down in flames.

Many argue if Dokken was a hair band. Of course they were! You know what? There is absolutely nothing wrong with that. But, Dokken had a harder edge than the typical hair band. Songs like Tooth & Nail, Kiss of Death, and Heaven Sent are a bit intense for some of the more popular hair bands of the time. But, they were unmistakably Dokken and unmistakably melodic hard rock. There are only a few traces of this style on this record and I do stress a few.

Little Girl is a great song. It captures the feel of what Dokken was mixed with a Beatles style. Heart full of Soul is a short but sweet classic Dokken sounding song.

When I ripped this record into MP3's to add to my play list while I work online, those were the only two I bothered ripping. The rest of the record is lacking something. It has a bit of a gloomy feel that simply is boring or has potential to be a decent song but simply does not find the hook needed to make you sing along. The musicianship is good and Don sounds great when he isn't singing too mellow for the songs but there is, without question, something missing.

The album is worth buying to check out and judge for yourself. But, don't expect Under Lock & Key and don't expect a more recent Dokken classic like Erase the Slate. Expect Shadow Life part 2. It's sad to say but true. But, the sound clips to the new Dokken record "Hell to Pay" sound promising. So, keep an eye out for that record as well!

I like to listen to albums when I go out jogging. I have to find an album to be at least half way decent before I'll set off on the road with it. To me, there's nothing worse than being two miles from home, saddled with a CD player loaded with a dull CD!

I found myself hitting the repeat button on "Sunless Days," "Little Girl," and "Goodbye My Friend" frequently. Great songs, great music. What's the problem with the harmonies being "Beatlesque"? I think this works great. In some ways it departs from Dokken's traditional pop-metal sound to a degree, but not by much. DOn's voice sounds as good as ever, and John Norum fills George Lynch and Reb Beach's shoes very well.

Three stars to me rates an album as good. This is definitely a good melodic hard rock album. One half is really good, while the other half is rather bland and faceless. If you've got the rest of the band's albums and you're a fan, this is worth checking out.