Don Dokken - Up From the Ashes

Release Date: 1990	Label: Geffen
Musicians: vocals:Don Dokken; guitar and vocals: John Norum; guitar: Billy White; bass guitar; vocals: Peter Baltes; drums, percussion: Mikkey Dee	Produced by Don Dokken and Wyn Davis

I have been wanting to hear with this album sounded like for quite awhile now, but had not shelled out the price for the import, and I knew it was quite impossible to find a copy of it anywhere, and from what I have heard, its now out of print. But not completely impossible. With luck on my side, I found a copy of this at my favorite record store in Louisiana, Raccoon Records in Lafayette. I wasn't sure what to expect, having heard the Dokken stuff from the 90s, but this was done at the beginning of the decade, so I was hoping that it would be good.....and I was in for a pleasant surprise...

When I look back, I think of all the years, wasted on your love....it's over now"

Up From the Ashes, is very 80s sounding, very Dokken sounding. It reminds me of a mixture of Back for the Attack and Under Lock and Key, but with the fabulous John Norum's axework. John Norum does a wonderful job with the songwriting as well with his guitar playing. It has that sharp neo-classical beauty stamped in it, with a touch of heart, something I thought George Lynch was missing from time to time (don't get me wrong, I love George Lynch!)

"I considered all the chances that were mine, I believed they'd find solutions just in time,

I believed they had more answers than I'd heard, the angels sing a different song."

The cd kicks off with some light sounding acoustic music, quite beautiful and pretty, making you think the song is going to be a ballad, and then the drums kick in and the restful mood is shattered. The chorus in this one, Crash and Burn, is wonderful, it has that big gang vocal sound, and the guitar is sheerly beautiful, all the gorgeous high notes and the crushing rhythm guitar just fits the song. Don Dokken's beautiful voice was truly at its best on this recording. 1,000 Miles Away starts out very soft and sweet as well, complete with piano and Don's distinctive vocals, but the electric guitar kicks in and this song starts to rock as well. When Some Nights is classic Dokken!! Has the Under Lock and Key quality stamped all over it.

If we had known we could have found a way, is it too late to bring you back to me, again?"

The wind and chimes that start out Forever are interesting and capture the attention. However, its another true Dokken song, in that Dokken formula, which certainly works, and has me spellbound. Living A Lie breaks out of that mid tempo feel Don Dokken shoots for on this recording. The drums thunder, the guitar is pure fire, and Don really stretches the vocal range. When Loves Finds A Fool, is easily the best ballad Don Dokken ever did. The first time I heard it, I was spellbound, the gentle beauty, the guitarwork...just brought tears to my eyes, John Norum is truly a master, I have always known this, and the crystal clear notes, created from the heart, of the deepest of emotions, it just touched my soul. Don Dokken's vocals are so pretty as well, his voice stays completely steady on the highest of notes. And as soon as it fades away, the next song, Give It Up, has that raunchy, rowdy, late 80s metal beat that gets you moving. So beware, its catchy sounding! Mirror Mirror is another catchy song. It only suffers from repetition, but other than that, its a superb hard rock/metal song.

To finish it up, you have Down In Flames, which is one of my favorites from this release, it starts out very strangely, sounds like feedback, and a voice, saying "Trust me, everything is fine" over and over, it freaked me out the first time I heard it. I was thinking, what is this? And it gets louder and louder until it just breaks into this guitar riff, that is killer sounding, classic John Norum....and then the rhythm guitar kicks in, and for some reason I just love it. I would listen to this just to hear that few seconds of riff at the beginning there. The rest of the song is another hard rock song, that seems to have that poppy edge to it. And the chorus is nice. And it finishes up with the hard rock anthem The Hunger, which even though it has plenty of kick and fire to it, it still isn't as good as the mid tempo Dokken classic tunes on here. Maybe I am just a Dokken fanatic, who knows.

Some call it love, some call it more, I'll play the game if it gets me through the door"

Overall this is a superb cd, I suggest this to anyone that loves Dokken, or just good hard rock music in general, but for the Dokken fans, and fans of that metal sound, you HAVE to have this! The first time I popped it in, and as Crash and Burn came on, I knew what to expect, a 90's classic. John Norum is a much better guitarist than George Lynch, he plays with more emotion embedded in his guitar sound. The lyrics and music are also well written. Don Dokken was always one of the best composers in the hard rock side of the metal music business, and here he doesn't disappoint either. John Norum is no slouch when it comes to writing excellent metal tunes either, and the combination of the two of them is a dream come true. Trust me, if you love music in general, you will love this, just for the high level of musicianship. (and it kind of reminds me of Joe Lynn Turner's Rescue You, just in how the overall album sounds. The gorgeously breathtaking ballads, and the catchy upbeat hard rock tunes)

"Like sand running through my hands, we tried to hold love but it just slipped away

Was I so wrong to keep you holding on, Hoping that someday we would find a way....to make love stay."

2000 Update:
"Up from the Ashes" is no doubt a melodic album par excellence, and is still refreshing as it was then, however there are several that have come close to this or topped it (such as "Rescue You" by Joe Lynn and Icon's "Night of the Crime") so the score has been lowered appropriately, but don't let that shy you away, for Don Dokken was at the top of his game here (on a caliber with "Under Lock and Key") and this should not be missed.