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Last week, both Dokken and George Lynch released their new CDs on the same exact date, and on the same label, Deadline. I got them both. Since Dokken guitarist Jon Levin is a Charvel endorser and George used to play Charvels, I'm posting my review here.
Dokken - Greatest Hits
This features re-recorded versions of ten Dokken classics plus two all new tracks. Let me start by saying that I was really anticipating this. I couldn't wait to hear what they would do with these, especially how Jon would take on the guitar solos. Dokken has been one of my favorite bands since Tooth and Nail. So... major disappointment. Don's voice sounds totally shot most of the time. From the old stuff, the only track that works for me is Just Got Lucky. On the other songs, Don goes from sounding ok, to bad, to totally terrible. As for the guitar solos, I don't think anyone could do a better job of copying George's classic licks than Jon Levin. Unfortunately, they come off sounding like a copy or mimic, just not quite what the originals were. Technically correct, but missing that special something. The biggest blunder: the guitar solo for In My Dreams is out of sync with the rest of the song. It's like a half second behind, as if that track got bumped during mixdown and never fixed. Plus, Don's backing vocals at the end of that song are completely out of sync. Trust me when I say it sounds horrid. I'm blown away that they let this get released like this.
On the plus side, the new songs sound really good. Don's voice even sounds better. Jon Levin is a great guitarist and sounds way better when not copying George's stuff lick for lick.
Overall, major let down. Even the production quality is subpar compared to their last cd. The whole thing feels cheap and rushed. The packaging is also terrible. No picture of the band, no mention of band members and what instruments they play. Even the tray card was the cheapest plastic I've ever seen in a cd case. So if you're thinking about buying this, don't bother. Waste of money.
George Lynch - Orchestral Mayhem
George was always my biggest influence back in the day and you can definitely hear it in my playing. Having said that, I've been mostly disappointed in everything he's done for more than a decade now. Smoke This, Furious George, Revolution, all complete shit. The Lynch/Pilson and latest Lynch Mob cds were ok, but the guitar work is severely lacking. When I heard about this new release, I decided to give him one more chance.
This cd is George trying his best to do the Transiberian Orchestra thing. It's all instrumental, and all utterly boring. Endless noodling over the orchestral instrumentals, but there's no magic, no inspiration, and no fire that used to be such a part of his playing. The mojo is gone and I feel 100% confident in saying that it's never coming back. He's done. I'll never waste my money on another one his releases. I've got the classic stuff that I still love to listen to. Not sure what happened to this once great guitarist, but it's just sad. Oh well.
And the packaging on this one is just as bad as the Dokken cd. No picture of George. No mention of any musicians playing anything. I question how involved George was with this. If it's like the Furious George cd, he just came in and laid down the solos and had nothing to do with the backing tracks. But since there are no credits, I can only speculate. Oh, and the same cheap ass plastic cases that were broken upon arrival. Again, don't waste your money on this either.
Dokken - Greatest Hits
This features re-recorded versions of ten Dokken classics plus two all new tracks. Let me start by saying that I was really anticipating this. I couldn't wait to hear what they would do with these, especially how Jon would take on the guitar solos. Dokken has been one of my favorite bands since Tooth and Nail. So... major disappointment. Don's voice sounds totally shot most of the time. From the old stuff, the only track that works for me is Just Got Lucky. On the other songs, Don goes from sounding ok, to bad, to totally terrible. As for the guitar solos, I don't think anyone could do a better job of copying George's classic licks than Jon Levin. Unfortunately, they come off sounding like a copy or mimic, just not quite what the originals were. Technically correct, but missing that special something. The biggest blunder: the guitar solo for In My Dreams is out of sync with the rest of the song. It's like a half second behind, as if that track got bumped during mixdown and never fixed. Plus, Don's backing vocals at the end of that song are completely out of sync. Trust me when I say it sounds horrid. I'm blown away that they let this get released like this.
On the plus side, the new songs sound really good. Don's voice even sounds better. Jon Levin is a great guitarist and sounds way better when not copying George's stuff lick for lick.
Overall, major let down. Even the production quality is subpar compared to their last cd. The whole thing feels cheap and rushed. The packaging is also terrible. No picture of the band, no mention of band members and what instruments they play. Even the tray card was the cheapest plastic I've ever seen in a cd case. So if you're thinking about buying this, don't bother. Waste of money.
George Lynch - Orchestral Mayhem
George was always my biggest influence back in the day and you can definitely hear it in my playing. Having said that, I've been mostly disappointed in everything he's done for more than a decade now. Smoke This, Furious George, Revolution, all complete shit. The Lynch/Pilson and latest Lynch Mob cds were ok, but the guitar work is severely lacking. When I heard about this new release, I decided to give him one more chance.
This cd is George trying his best to do the Transiberian Orchestra thing. It's all instrumental, and all utterly boring. Endless noodling over the orchestral instrumentals, but there's no magic, no inspiration, and no fire that used to be such a part of his playing. The mojo is gone and I feel 100% confident in saying that it's never coming back. He's done. I'll never waste my money on another one his releases. I've got the classic stuff that I still love to listen to. Not sure what happened to this once great guitarist, but it's just sad. Oh well.
And the packaging on this one is just as bad as the Dokken cd. No picture of George. No mention of any musicians playing anything. I question how involved George was with this. If it's like the Furious George cd, he just came in and laid down the solos and had nothing to do with the backing tracks. But since there are no credits, I can only speculate. Oh, and the same cheap ass plastic cases that were broken upon arrival. Again, don't waste your money on this either.
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