Jon Levin - guitars
Barry Sparks - bass, backing vocals
'Wlid' Mick Brown - drums, backing vocals
TRACK FRAGMENTS:
1.) "Standing On The Outside" –The Jon Levin rhythm guitar riff over the top of this intro section was very reminiscent of some of the stuff George Lynch wrote on ‘Under Lock & Key’. Over the top of the second half of the intro section there is a minor lead guitar solo. There is a small rhythm guitar change underneath the verse. There is a small minor lead guitar solo connecting the first chorus with the second verse. The main solo section is after the second chorus. After the solo section there is a small musical pause that consisted of a Don Dokken vocal line. There is a second minor lead guitar solo that runs over the top of the outro section.
2.) "Give Me A Reason" – The intro to this track opens with an acoustic guitar. The acoustic guitar leads to a fairly standard Dokken intro section. Jon kept the rhythm guitar arrangement underneath the vocal lines of the verse very simple letting Don’s vocals carry it. There is a small rhythm change underneath the chorus. There is a small lead guitar lick that connects the first chorus with the second verse. The lead guitar solo connects the second chorus with the third chorus. There is a minor solo over the top of the outro section of the song.
3.) "Heart To Stone" –This track opens with an early Dokken intro section. There is a minor lead guitar solo over the top of the tail end of the intro and leading into the first pre-verse. Once again Jon kept the rhythm arrangement very simple to let Don’s vocals carry the pre-verse. There is a small lead lick that connects the pre-verse with the verse. Jon plays several overdubbed lead licks underneath the vocal lines of the chorus. Scattered throughout the musical arrangement there are these little lead licks. After the second chorus there is a small musical and vocal bridge. This leads into the main lead guitar solo. After the lead guitar solo there is a small rhythm guitar breakdown section. In the way Jon plays this has to be without a doubt a slap in the face to Lynch.
4.) "Disease" – This track opens with a heavy yet short intro section. Out of all the tracks so far this one is the only one that reminds you of Dokken’s later ninety’s material. For Dokken the choruses are some of the most abstract musical pieces they have done to date. So far the best part has been the solo.
5.) "How I Miss Your Smile" – This track opens with an acoustic guitar arrangement. The verse consisted of just acoustic guitar and vocals. The song does not kick-in until the chorus. This is done with a Mick drum fill. It sounded like there is a small orchestration section underneath the vocal lines of the chorus. The solo is after the bridge and much like the song is very laid back. This is probably one of the best ballads if not the best ballad from the band!
6.) "Oasis" – There is a minor lead guitar solo over the top of this intro section. Jon plays a simple yet mean sounding riff for the musical verse. The band changes the rhythm structure to a twelve-note rhythm pattern underneath the chorus. There is a lead guitar solo that connects the second chorus to the breakdown section. For the breakdown section the band completely changes the direction by dropping the electric guitar for an acoustic. This was very cool and completely comes from left field. Over the top of the last chorus Jon plays several lead licks in between the vocal lines.
7.) "Point Of No Return" –There is a small studio effect that leads into the musical intro. The intro opens with just guitar before going into a heavy up-tempo musical section. Actually I felt the main instrumentation of the musical verse was Mick’s drum rhythm. It seems the song gets more and more intense as it progresses. For the rhythm arrangements to be as intense as they were the lead guitar solo was more laid back then expected.
8.) "I Remember" –This track opens with a strange effect before going into a semi-ballad intro section. The main instrumentation through the intro and verse was the acoustic guitar. Vocally this is one of Don’s best vocal jobs to date! There is a small rhythm change leading into the chorus. Jon overdubbed a very simple electric guitar rhythm over the top of the main musical arrangements of the chorus. There is a small lead guitar lick that connects the first chorus with the second verse. The mix of acoustic and electric guitars gives the song a very well balanced sound. There is no guitar solo for this track however; the track does not need one.
9.) "Judgement Day" – The intro to this track opens with a double bass drum rhythm before going into the main intro section. There is a minor lead guitar solo over the top of the musical verse lead in. Jon’s guitar rhythm through the verse is more or less a string of lead guitar licks. There is a small rhythm guitar change for the musical chorus. The lead guitar work on this track was amazing.
10.) "It Means" – The intro to this track has a very simple feel to it. There is a drastic guitar effects change underneath the vocal lines of the verse. In many ways, the way the band arranged the song reminds me of the stuff they recorded for ‘Dysfunctional’. At times you can hear a clean electric rhythm bleeding through the main guitar arrangement.
11.) "Release Me" -This track opens with a single electric guitar before going into a standard intro section. Jon used the same guitar effect for the musical verse as the intro. There is a small rhythm change underneath the vocal lines of the chorus. There is a small drum fill that connects the first chorus with the second verse. There is a small lead lick connecting the second chorus with the third verse. After the lead guitar solo there is a small breakdown section that consisted of a percussion drum section and vocal line. After the breakdown and fourth chorus there is a second lead guitar solo. This solo runs over the outro.
12.) "This Fire" – This track opens with an electric guitar rhythm before going into the main intro. It sounded like Don’s vocals were overdubbed through the first verse. For the chorus musically and lyrically it sounded like the band just locked into a solid groove. The lead guitar solo connects the third and fourth choruses.