Dokken - 'Hell to Pay'
Released on Sanctuary Records on 07/13/2004
THE BAND:
Don Dokken - vocals
Mick Brown - drums
Barry Sparks - bass
John Levin - guitars
TRACK FRAGMENTS:
1.) "Last Goodbye" - The opening guitar intro to this track was
done in almost a harmonic fashion. The main intro section kicks in with a very heavy John Levin guitar
riff. The guitar riff underneath the main rhythm section was done using
the same guitar effect as the intro section. This simple guitar
arrangement along with the way Don sings the accents of the verse gives the song
a very Arabic feel. Vocally the chorus arrangement is vintage Don Dokken
in the bands' 'Tooth and Nail' days. I really liked how John plays a very
simple guitar riff behind the vocals of the chorus. In the fashion that
the guitar riff was played gives the chorus a huge building effect. Don's
vocals on the verse sections are completely mesmerizing!!! During the second verse Don added a little vocal
echo to the vocal lines. At times through the second verse it almost
sounds like Don incorporated a little vocal overdub to a few of the verse lines.
This made the vocal lines for the second verse very heavy sounding. The
background music is so heavy that it utterly overshadows the small solo.
Usually I would complain about this but this time the band made it work.
2.) "Don't bring Me Down" -This track opens with a Mick Brown snare
drum fill. One of the first things that came to mind when the guitar
tracks kicked was George Who!!!. The bass line for this track is
so intense, that it cause my fingers to bleed just listening to it. LOL
At times through the intro section it is very hard to keep in mind that this
is not George Lynch. To be completely honest for the vocal lines of
the verse I have never heard Don sound better. For the chorus section Don
pulled back to his early Dokken days for influence. The guitar arrangement
for this track was mind blowing. Musically, vocally, along with the lyric
content is a twelve on a ten scale. The tail end of the solo section has
an overdubbed sound to it. To round the song out John plays a minor guitar
solo over Don's vocal lines.
3.) "Escape" -The intro section has a heavy melancholy feel to
it. So if I had to guess I would state that the musical key of this song was
done in one of the minor keys. Don really shows his vocal talent during
the verse section. The backing vocals of the choruses section even without
Jeff Pilson have that huge Dokken hook. After the chorus section there is
a very small John Levin guitar solo. The main guitar solo is performed
right after the bridge section of the song.
4.) "Haunted" -This track opens with a very laid back electric blues
riff. The main guitar riff of the intro section has a very George Lynch
feel to it. Don's vocal sound of the verses have a very early Dokken feel
to them. There is a very heavy bass line backing the rhythm section
of the song. The choruses of the song are very laid back and set up in a
very Dokken fashion. The solo to the track is very reminiscent to early
Dokken material.
5.) "Prozac Nation" -Usually when I listen to this track I have to
play it about five or six times through. Just within a few short days this
song has quickly become one of my all time favorite Dokken tracks. The
opening intro section begins with a simple electric guitar arrangement.
Barry kicks the main intro section in with a slide of the bass neck. For
me Don wrote and John play's the perfect guitar arrangement. The
arrangement structure of the song between the music and lyrics has to be one of
the best I've ever heard. The song has a fairly cool breakdown section
where Don goes through a list of legal and non-legal drugs.
6.) "Care for You" -This ballad has an intro that includes the whole band.
There is a very subtle keyboard arrangement that the band used as a fill in
instrument. You can really hear the experience in Don's vocals of the
verses. The rhythm guitar tracks had just a little too much bass sound.
In my opinion the guitar would have sounded better with a little more of a
polished sound. At times you can tell Don done all the backing harmonies
of this track. This song has one of the coolest bass lines I have heard in
a very long time!!!
7.) "Better off before" -At times the intro to this track has a very
George Lynch feel. The vocal lines of the pre-verse do not sound like Don
at all. The chorus section of the song has that sweet Dokken hook that has
made the band famous. Musically the song has a very simple arrangement.
There really was no thought put into the song, but then again, as long has Don
has been writing song he probably could write a song like this in his sleep.
There is no solo on the song which is very unusual for Dokken.
8.) "Still I'm sad" -This track opens with a very strange guitar
effect. The guitar tracks are taken right from a George Lynch fake book.
If one did not know better they would swear it was George playing it. The
vocal lines of the verse are very laid back. During the verse section
Don's vocals are overdubbed. There is a very cool musical change for the
chorus section. The solo for this track was very cool.
9.) "I surrender" -This track has a very simple musical arrangement.
John added a pick slide to kick the verse section off. Nothing about this
song really sounds like Dokken. I really liked the way the backing
harmonies where set up and performed on this song. The band added a
tambourine section to the chorus which really fills in the dead spots.
This track has no solo.
10.) "Letters to Home" -The track was very influential from the
Beatles. The song opens with a pipe organ arrangement. The guitar
arrangement of the verse section has a very cool feel to it. All that one
can really say about this song is any song that is this influenced by the
Beatles would make john, Paul, George, and Ringo. Musically this song is
very well mixed.
11.) "Can You see"-This track opens with a very huge Dokken musical
intro in the vein of their 'Back for Attack' days. john plays a very
simple electric strumming arrangement behind the vocal lines of the verse.
I really liked the hook of the chorus section. It is just very simple and
too the point. The solo section has a very early George Lynch feel and
sound.
12.) "Care for You" (unplugged version) -Track six performed
acoustically.
When George left Dokken, I thought It would be hard to
replace him, but not impossible. But when Jeff walked I thought well
Dokken is over mainly because the writing team of Jeff and Don where about the
best from the eighties and it would be very hard to replace not only one-fourth
of the band but to replace one-half of a band is shooting yourself in the foot.
There has not been too many bands with the caliber such as Dokken's who have
replaced two band members and survived the fallout from fans and media.
But you know what Don and Mick have proven history wrong, it does work.
With 'Hell to Pay' you see a stronger more experienced song
writing from Don. It is very difficult to say exactly what Don was
thinking when he wrote the songs on the CD, but at the same time it does not
take a masters degree in music to tell Don put a lot of his sadness and
frustration he fills with Jeff and George to music. A songwriter once told
me the greatest songs will be based on true stories and that is the feeling I
get when listening to 'Hell to Pay'. Musically Dokken has not sounded this
good since the bands' 'Back for the Attack' album. Personally as a fan of
Dokken since the 'Breaking the Chains' album I'm glad to see that Don and Mick
have weathered the storm. If 'Hell to Pay' is any indication to Dokken's
future than one can say they will be around another twenty years.