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Lightning Strikes Again | 
| Artist: Dokken
Label: Atco
List Price: $18.98
Buy New: $11.77
You Save: $7.21 (38%)
New (43) Used (9) from $10.98
Rating:  56 reviews
Sales Rank: 26863
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.3
Dimensions (in): 5.6 x 4.9 x 0.4
MPN: 460028
UPC: 081227993443
EAN: 0081227993443
ASIN: B0014CDCJO
Release Date: May 13, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: All products brand new and factory sealed.
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| Tracks:
| • | Standing On The Outside | | • | Give Me A Reason | | • | Heart To Stone | | • | Disease | | • | How I Miss Your Smile | | • | Oasis | | • | Point Of No Return | | • | I Remember | | • | Judgment Day | | • | It Means | | • | Release Me | | • | This Fire |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
Singer Don Dokken says he set out to prove something with Dokken's tenth studio album, Lightening Strikes Again. Taking its title from a track on the band's platinum 1985 classic Under Lock & Key, the new songs bring the group's sound full circle. "It's time that a band from our era did something special and proved that our brand of music is still valid," he says. "Our goal was to create an album that was our best since our heyday." Dokken returns to the band's roots for its Rhino debut, Lightening Strikes Again. Mixed by Wyn Davis (Dio, Great White), the album features Don Dokken (vocals), Mick Brown (drums), Jon Levin(guitar), and Barry Sparks (bass). Lightening Strikes Again contains 12 tracks, including the breakout songs, "Standing On The Outside," "Oasis," and "Heart To Stone." The album captures the signature mix of barbed-wire riffs and razor-sharp melodies that made Dokken one of the most dominant creative and commercial forces in the world of melodic hard rock.
Album Description
Singer Don Dokken says he set out to prove something in 2008 with Dokken's tenth studio album, Lightning Strikes Again. Taking its title from a track on the band's 1985 classic album, Under Lock & Key, the new songs bring the group's sound full circle. 'It's time that our brand of music is still valid,' he says. 'Our goal was to create an album that was our best since our heyday.' Dokken returns to the band's roots for its Rhino Records debut.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 51 more reviews...
4 1/2 Stars - Dokken Back In Top Form June 14, 2008
Erik Rupp (Southern California)
33 out of 37 found this review helpful
Dokken released some of the 80's best Melodic Metal albums, including Breaking the Chains, Tooth and Nail, and Under Lock and Key, and released one more good album in Back for the Attack before tensions in the band split them apart.
In the 90's they got back together and released the fantastic Dysfunctional album. That was an album that saw their 80's style updated to fit better in the grungy 90's without sacrificing the basic elements of their sound. Following that album they released the puzzling Shadowlife - and album of dark, grungy, alternative leaning songs that turned off many of their fans. Guitarist George Lynch parted ways with the band and they hired former Winger guitar player Reb Beach and released the much heralded Erase the Slate. Erase the Slate was much closer in style to their 80's sound than either of it's predecessors, and the album went a long way towards recapturing the fans turned off by Shadowlife.
Reb Beach's stay in the band didn't last long, and he was replaced in turn by former Europe guitarist (and solo act) John Norum for the album Long Way Home. Long Way Home was an album that had many good songs, but ultimately suffered from the too many ballads syndrome. John Norum's songwriting contributions were fantastic, as his songs were darker and heavier but still based in the Melodic Metal stylings of his biggest influences (Thin Lizzy, UFO, Deep Purple), the only problem was that there were only four songs co-written by Norum, and the rest of the album was somewhat lackluster. Norum left the band not too long after the album's release.
Enter Jon Levin. An unknown guitar player that most of Dokken's fans were skeptical could live up to the standards of George Lynch and Reb Beach. His first album with Dokken, Hell to Pay, wasn't the killer album that fans wanted (and it featured an absolutely horrible album cover). Sure, there are a few great songs, just like it's predecessor, Long Way Home, but there is also some filler and not enough HEAVY material overall (the first half of the album is great, the 2nd half is mediocre). Confidence that Jon Levin was the right guy for the job wasn't exactly high. It wasn't really all that low, either, as Don Dokken took most of the heat for the less heavy material on the last two albums.
All of which leads to this. Lightning Strikes Again.
The pre-release statements from Don Dokken were that this was the album where Dokken would once again return to their 80's style that long time fans had missed on the previous two releases. The album title, Lightning Strikes Again was picked out before songwriting for the album was even completed. Named after one of their more popular heavy songs from the 80's, Lightning Strikes Again had a lot of high expectations to live up to. Originally slated for a Summer 2007 release the album was delayed 9 months, creating more anticipation - and even higher expectations to live up to.
So does Lightning Strikes Again live up to all the pre-release hype?
Yes. And no.
It is VERY similar in style to parts of Under Lock and Key, as well as having bits vaguely reminiscent of Tooth and Nail and Back for the Attack, but there are also elements of Dysfunctional, Erase the Slate, Long Way Home, and even Hell to Pay. It's not 1986, so to expect Don, Jon, Mick, and Barry to be able to completely recapture the mindset of the mid-80's was perhaps a bit unrealistic.
However...
Lightning Strikes Again does come very close to recapturing the mid 80's style that Dokken played so well. Part of the problem is that Don's voice has taken a beating over the last 25 years and his vocal range is noticeably smaller than it was back in the mid 80's. That creates a bit of a problem in recreating that era musically, but it also leads to one of the album's strengths - a VERY strong melodic sensability.
The other main strength of the album is Jon Levin's songwriting and performance. On Lightning Strikes Again Levin is clearly channelling George Lynch. He's not so much ripping off George's style as he gets into the mindset that fits this type of music best - as Lynch did in the 80's. This is the album where Jon Levin proves that Don Dokken's confidence in him was well founded.
"Standing on the Outside," leads off the album in style. With a riff that is more than a little similar to "It's Not Love," there is a welcome familiarity to the song, and the fantastic vocal melodies and hooks also help give this one a familiar feel. There are also more than a couple similarities to "Dream Warriors," in this one (the chugging riff and overall mid tempo groove). This is a great song that would have been a big hit in 1986.
"Give Me a Reason," is just as good as the opening track. A Tooth and Nail-ish riff ("Into the Fire," by way of Back for the Attack) with a more melodic vocal where Don Dokken sounds like HE is channelling someone - in this case former Rough Cutt vocalist Paul Shortino. In a couple of spots you could be forgiven for thinking that it WAS Shortino. This is a very, very strong song, and would have made for another hit back in the 80's.
"Heart to Stone," would fit in perfectly on Under Lock and Key, and maybe even on Back for the Attack. A solid mid-tempo rocker with more great vocal hooks this is further proof that Dokken is one of the very best at what they do.
Then we come to "Disease." This is Dokken in the 90's, more or less. Taking equally from Dysfunctional, Shadowlife, and Erase the Slate, "Disease," is heavy, syncopated, and fairly dark. And just really good. It's one of those songs that gets stuck in your head for hours. The first deviation from the mid 80's theme is a good one. A really good one.
Up next is the first of two ballads, "How I Miss Your Smile." This barely qualifies as a POWER ballad as it's not all that powerful, but it is well written and has a nice melody and a sweet chorus that almost sounds like something ripped out of a 70's song and thrown in an 80's Power Ballad.
Things get back to the heavier side (although not a lot heavier) witht the slightly haunting, "Oasis." "Oasis," again borrows a bit from their 90's material melding the 80's and 90's versions of Dokken seamlessly in this moody mid-tempo song with another great chorus.
"Point of No Return," is the fastest song on the album, and it recalls Tooth and Nail (the album) a bit, but it also sounds a bit like Mindcrime-era Queensryche with the guitar lick in the chorus. Lots of hanging chords and a focus on the vocal melody without a killer riff keep this from being a great track, but it is still good and a burst of energy that the album needs, so that can be forgiven.
"I Remember," has an acoustic guitar part that starts off eerily similar to the recent "It's Been Awhile," by Staind, but the rest of the song is pure Dokken in the "Alone Again," or "Slippin' Away," mode. Not as good, but close.
Following the second and final ballad on the album Dokken comes back with another classic styled song in, "Judgment Day," which has a riff and vocal melodies that again would fit right in on Under Lock and Key. It's another album highlight.
"It Means," starts off with a "When Heaven Comes Down," type riff and maintains that slow grind throughout the verse, while the chorus has a very melodic vocal melody (of course). A solid album track.
"Release Me," is another mid-tempo song, this one more melodic and less heavy than the rest, though. It's not quite a ballad, but it isn't a real, "Rocker," either. It's a tweener. It should come as no surprise that this more 90's leaning song is very strong melodically with yet another strong chorus vocal hook. A heavier, faster song in place of this one might have been a better idea, though (which would have led to a slightly different track listing arrangement in all likelihood).
The album closes out with one of the faster and heavier songs on the album, "This Fire." Unlike a lot of Dokken's "fast and heavy," songs, this one relies on vocal melody and harmonies in the chorus rather than an aggressive vocal from Don. Again, Don's voice isn't as strong as it was 20 years ago, and his range isn't what it was back then so that may be a big part of the reason for his lack of aggressiveness vocally throughout the album. This is a strong track, though, and the melody and harmonies work extremely well and are very effective.
As a whole Lightning Strikes Again pretty much achieves what Dokken set out to accomplish - returning to their roots and recapturing a sound that they had strayed from a little over the last 15 years. This is an album that likely would have been very successful in 1986. In 2008 it's likely only going to recapture a relatively small number of fans who haven't bought a new Dokken album since Back for the Attack, but those who do buy it will be very pleased with the results.
Lightning Strikes Again is one of Dokken's better albums, and a welcome return to form.
 Excellent New Release May 23, 2008
JASON (Hazard, Kentucky USA)
13 out of 19 found this review helpful
This is one of the best DOKKEN CDs I have heard, old or new. The current band appears very tight and compliment Don Dokken's vocals to create a fine melodic rock collection. From the ballad "How I Miss Your Smile" to the hard rocking "This Fire" with the memorable guitar licks, this is a very good collection of songs. If you like melodic hard rock/ballads, don't pass on this one.
Lightning CAN strike twice May 18, 2008
Christopher Gazzo (Long Island, NY)
12 out of 15 found this review helpful
It appears that 2008 is going to be the year for a resurgence of 80's metal as Iron Maiden just released their best of for the decade, Whitesnake has given us the excellent "Good To Be Bad" and Dokken wants to prove that the 80's are not dead with their newest release "Lightning Strikes Again", taking the title from a song on their most popular album, "Under Lock and Key" from 1985. Has it really been THAT long? Although this release will not make you forget Dokken's glory days of "Key" or "Tooth and Nail", respectively, it is definitely a step up from their last studio effort, the dismal "Hell To Pay" in 2004.
As may be expected Don Dokken's voice has lost some of the range it once possessed and has grown raspier over the last 20 years, but NOT as expected, the sound of the band themselves has not changed a bit. Guitarist Jonathan Levin proves he has the chops to be a worthy successor to George Lynch which was NOT an easy space to fill. Listen to the solo on the opening track for proof.
Opening with the heavy but melodic "Standing On the Outside" and "Give Me a Reason" the CD is a combination of patented Dokken rockers ("Heart To Stone", "Disease", "Point of No Return") power ballads ("How I Miss Your Smile", "I Remember"), and pure guilty pleasure melodic metal ("Oasis", "It Means"). In short, this release has everything that someone would expect from a Dokken release.
"Lightning Strikes Again" may not be enough to make you forget their classics like "Tooth and Nail" or "Under Lock and Key" from the 1980's, however it IS enough, for now, to perhaps make you forget it is the year 2008. And depending on how you look at it, that may not be such a bad thing at all.
AFTER 25 YEARS DOKKEN HITS THEIR STRIDE May 14, 2008
The Electroacoustic Metallurgist (USA)
7 out of 11 found this review helpful
I bought Dokken's debut album 'Breaking The Chains' when it came out in 1983, and I've even seen Dokken in concert a couple of times. However, as unlikely as it would seem, I'm not a hardcore Dokken fan. And while this CD alone is not likely to change that fact, it is definitely a step in the right direction. This is a very good CD, and is in my opinion the best of Don's career.
Now, most of the reviews before mine state that this CD is a glorious return to Dokken's classic sound? Well, for the most part I disagree, and if I thought it was I would not be writing this review. To my ears the music on this CD is a bit heavier and more focused, and the lyrics are without question more mature and substantive than on any previous Dokken release. And overall this album is far more solid and compelling than anything Dokken released in the 80's and 90's.
In the 80's and early 90's I partied as much as the next headbanger, but ultimately, lack of substance (extremely cheesy lyrics and incredibly lame ballads) has always been one of my problems with many 80's and 90's bands. Don't get me wrong, vacuous party rock did and does have its place, but it's clearly void of any qualities that would make it an essential part of anyone's music library. For Dokken this CD is a step or two in the right direction for correcting that problem.
Refreshing Rock and Roll May 13, 2008
K. Carlucci (Corpus Christi, Texas United States)
4 out of 6 found this review helpful
All I can say is Thank You Don Dokken. This is just what the rock world needs is the older guys to show the youngsters what rock is supposed to sound like. No Lynch or Pilson here but it's hard to tell. Classic riffs and just good ol' Dokken sound. There are a few ballads on here but they are awesome too. I also recommend the new Whitesnake album and I await the new Judas Priest double studio album "Nostradamus" in early June. Keep true rock alive!!!!!!!
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