Customer Reviews

Long Way Home

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(13)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

Next to Shadow Life, this is the second worst CD Dokken has put out. I don't understand why they choose to write this stuff when their fan base is from the 80's. I've waited for their writing skills to warm up, but I can't wait any longer, this is the last Dokken CD I buy.

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.

I've been a fan of Don Dokken for many years. I'm smart enough to know the truth. Don Dokken is why Dokken was and is successful, not George Lynch. George Lynch is and was a tremendous guitar player but the imperfections in his records since he left Dokken show how much Don brought to the table even excluding his tremendous vocals. Every Dokken record has been near perfect as Don demands. While this record might be produced to perfection, the material certainly falls short of the "p" word.

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!

This is a long way from Dokken's prime material ("Under Lock & Key," "Tooth & Nail," "Back for the Attack), but after listening to it, I found myself enjoying it. Granted, it's not going to change the music world, nor will it show you something new, musically speaking, but several of the songs on this album are very well done.

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.

Huge long time Dokken fan; all of it. Each album has its own flavor; some rockin' with anthems and pyrotechnics, some more somber and emotional. Don has one of the sweetest metal voices ever, I just LOVE his wail. I have seem him twice, once with Reb Beach, and once with John Norum, and both times Don was the show! This album is a great collection of straight ahead rockers that tell a story, and dare I say smooth, soulful ballads. No, this is not a George Lynch style of music, but I am not certain Don's voice really fits that shredding type of mentality and music. And a clue to those who have not heard George live, he is much better as a studio musician. Let Pilson/Lynch have their thing...Don is just fine without them! This album grows on you...the first listen I was disappointed; but by the 5th or 6th I was HOOKED!

Dokken again turns out an album with a new guitarist. This time John Norum (solo, Europe, Don Dokken) takes the helm, jamming on one of Dokken's hardest sounding albums in years.
As Don Dokken's solo guitarist on UP FROM THE ASHES, John Norum was a natural to fill the vacated spot left by Reb Beach on his return to Winger. John Norum's solo efforts are fanatastic, and he proves quite a talented singer in his own right, but his best material always comes with a strong vocalist putting forth their talents. Don Dokken's voice lends well to the strong, and heavy mixture prevalent on this outing.
Barry Sparks steps in on bass, filling the vacated spot by on-again-off-again bassist Jeff Pilson (who returned to George Lynch partner for the Wicked Underground effort). The bass line and drum rhythm section pounds with force, and the guitars rock on strong numbers like "Sunless Days", "Little Girl", and "Heart Full of Soul". Dokken kicks out a couple of mid-tempo ballads with "Everybody Needs", "Goodbye My Friend", and "There Was a Time."
An overall, very strong output from my favorite band of all-time.
Readily awaiting the next effort, though it is rumored John Norum has moved on to fill a spot in the forthcoming UFO. Former Warlock Guitarist John Levin is rumored to take the helm on the expected February 2004 Dokken release. Keep Rokken...

After just getting into Dokken via the Flashback cd, I heard about how great the Lynch/Pilson cd was. I also heard how bad Dokken was since 95. I've owned Dysfunction for years and never liked it, but I was curious to hear Long Way Home.

This album really is not that bad, it just sounds very different from classic Dokken. The first track is pretty good, much better then anything on the Lynch/Pilson cd. Some of the rockers on here are just ok, but there isn't anything I'd say is bad. The ballads here really stand out. Not exceptional, but good. Certainly very good for a band in this stage of their career.

This is a very solid album, and I feel it's not given a fair shake due to not sounding like classic Dokken. It also doesn't have Lynch and Pilson, but the lead player on here is really good.

If you like hard rock music and aren't hungup on something with the Dokken name having to have George Lynch while also sounding like classic Dokken, give it a try.

DOKKEN HAVE CUT ONE KILLER ALBUM AND EVERY TUNE ROCKS AND JOHN NORUM PLAYS A KILLER AXE AND DON DOKKEN NEVER SOUNDED BETTER LONG WAY IS A KILLER ALBUM!!!!

Anyone with such bad taste as to give this album 4 stars needs to have their ears checked.

Since you're reading this you must know about Dokken (or have come here via "see more about me").

After my first listening I wasn't sure if I liked the album or not. The music is heavy metal with a modern approach but of course it's more melodic than say Slipknot (or any other modern metal ...). "Long way home" is certainly much better than "Dysfunctional" but can't be compared with Dokken's finest in "Tooth and nail". The sound is quite metallic and that was the main problem for me. But after several listenings (I believe a lot of people give an album a wrong rating cos they rate it just after hearing it once...), this album surely grows on you.

Dokken deliver fine rockers like "Sunless days" (a tune that gets better for every time I hear it) and "Heart full of soul" (is it 1984 again?). There's also a great ballad in "Goodbye my friend"; and "There was a time" shows us that Dokken are capable to go beyond the metal formula - very beautiful and strong! "Under the gun" is the albums fastest track and like "Everybody needs to be with someone" and "You" it gets better and better.

Don Dokken is a very talented singer and I believe that's very important, far more important than having a guitar virtous like George Lynch, who by the way is no longer a member of the band. But you get John Norum (anyone remember Europe?).

.....not as good as "Erase The Slate". Although this album is better than most of the crud that the music industry is producing this days, it's not Dokken's best. Reb Beach was replaced by John Norum (ex Europe guitarist). Longtime bassist Jeff Pilson left the band, as well. I didn't really notice a huge change. I really like Reb Beach's guitaring better than Norum's, but it's not a glaring thing here. "Sunless Days" is a excellent song. It's guitar riff is catchy as hell. I like all of the ballads ("Goodbye My Friend", "There Was A Time", "I've Found"), as well. Most of the rest of the disc is really good filler. I know that may sound contradictory, but it's true. I would recommend this to anyone who likes Dokken, but "Erase The Slate" was way better.