band. dokken album. broken bones Interview with. don dokken interviewed by:. duncan jamieson
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4 | MRF
DOKKEN - Broken Bones (Frontiers Records)
It’s been a troubling time recently for Don Dokken as he has needed vocal surgery. Fortunately, he’s come out the other end and he still sounds recognisably Don Dokken. He might not be hitting those stratospheric high notes as once did but he’s adjusted his song writing to suit his delivery. The good news is he still rocks. John Levin returns as his guitar foil and he has enough riff power and shredding ability that you don’t pine for classic line-up guitarist George Lynch. Song wise it’s pitched somewhere between the classic 80s output, with a touch of mid 90s ‘Dysfunctional’. The title track and ‘Victim Of The Crime’ have a definite Led Zeppelin vibe which works well and suggests the band still want to move forward. ‘Empire’ rocks hardest while ‘Best Of Me’ and ‘Burning Tears’ have the most nagging melodic hooks. The ballad ‘Today’ is a well-structured tune, with backing vocals to help out on those high notes and it’s a song that could work well live. Dokken might have had a few ‘Broken Bones’ over the years but there’s still plenty of life left in Dokken circa 2012. Duncan Jamieson (90/100)