Dokken - Lightning Strikes Again

Cand Don Dokken spune despre albumul Shadowlife, pe care l-a scos sub numele Dokken, in 1997:

Then Shadowlife speaks for itself. I was not involved in that record at all. I was kicked out of the record, literally. I didn’t write any songs on that album. I hated the record and I hated being in the band. It was interesting, the Dokken logo was used on every record except that one.

Cand Don Dokken spune despre albumul Hell To Pay, pe care l-a scos sub numele Dokken, in 2004:

I don’t know what happened. As a producer, I just got kind of lost; I didn’t know where I was going. It was too medium-tempo. What do you do? Jon came into the band and we didn’t really know where we were going. You hear Nickelback and Hinder and you get these new influences in your music but then it doesn’t really work.

Cand Don Dokken spune despre viitorul album Lightning Strikes Again, pe care il va scoate sub numele Dokken, in 11 aprilie 2008:

The record was written like two years ago and I had about seven or eight songs but the record company didn’t like them. They thought they were too modern and Jon agreed and said we should do more old-school stuff so he rewrote the album and made it more classic with catchy guitar riffs and catchphrases. Then I had to rethink and try to go back twenty years and I understand. It’s difficult you know, you get older and you change. So, we basically wrote the album twice. I spent a year writing out then threw it out and started over and that took a couple months.

Cum ar trebui sa privim Lightning Strikes Again? Sa lasam muzica sa vorbeasca sau sa ne concentram asupra afirmatiilor de mai sus sau a altor declaratii care vorbesc despre inalta tinuta morala a personajului Don Dokken? Fericit ca se poate folosi de numele pe care l-a primit de la tatal sau, chiar daca alaturi de el, din formula de aur Dokken, nu se mai afla decat Mick Brown, Don Dokken pare hotarat sa urmeze exemplul lui Jeff Pilson, despre care spune: He’s doing great, making the bucks in Foreigner. Cum termenul Return nu suna prea bine daca era aplicat pe langa Breaking The Chains, Tooth and Nail, Under Lock And Key sau Back For The Attack, titlul piesei Lightning Strikes Again, de pe Under Lock And Key, a fost ridicat la rangul de titlu al unui album cu care nu are foarte multe lucruri in comun. Tot ce pot sa spun sigur e ca Back For The Attack e albumul meu preferat de la Dokken. Nu pot spune cu toata convingerea ca Lightning Strikes Again e mai bun ca Hell To Pay, Long Way Home sau Erase The Slate. Nu as spune nici ca Judgement Day e cea mai buna piesa de pe Lightning Strikes Again, pentru ca s-ar putea ca Don Dokken, in timp ce isi va numara firele pe care le-a castigat in urma transplantului de par, sa spuna ca Judgement Day e cea mai slaba piesa, la fel cum a facut cu So Many Tears, de pe Back For The Attack. Cu toate acestea, ii acord circumstante atenunate lui Don, pentru ca omul a trait o adevarata drama: in perioada de aur a glam metalului a trebuit sa poarte peruca, iar acum are par, dar nu ii mai foloseste la nimic. La fel si George Lynch (nu se poate sa nu vorbesc despre el intr-un text despre Dokken): acum are muschi, dupa ce s-a apucat de culturism pe la 40 de ani, dar nu mai are pe cine sa bata. In privinta refacerii formulei Don Dokken - George Lynch - Jeff Pilson - Mick Brown, le dau cuvantul lui Don Dokken:

I wouldn’t want to be a guitar player in this band. It’s a hard shoe to fill and I can’t do it but the truth is that it’s kind of a joke to me now because whatever George once was, he’s not that anymore...

Jeff Pilson:

Here's the honest truth, I would never say never to it, but at this point it just doesn't seem like something that would make a lot of sense. I think Don is fairly happy right now because he's got the band to himself, you know what I mean? Why would you want other guys to come in and have to share it? It just wasn't a really pleasant working experience the last couple of years. Unless I thought it was going to be different I wouldn't want to do that. If we worked stuff out and if it could be a little different, then yeah, I could see it happening. It would have to be with George, it's the only way it could be.

George Lynch:

No, no. Of course not.