DOKKEN – Beast From The East [Rock Candy remastered] HQ

“Beast From The East“, the first and best DOKKEN live album has just been remastered by Rock Candy Records, for the first time released outside Japan in all its double disc glory. You know, the original pressing issued in the U.S. was a single disc version which excluded three tracks.
Now you can get “Beast From The East” as intended. And with much better sound.

For anyone with a taste in ’80s hard rock / metal, Dokken pretty much personifies the best musically oriented side of the glam scene, mostly because their image was the only thing glam about them. Along with other acts such as Twisted Sister and Motley Crue, they put the emphasis where it belongs, on the riffs and the attitude.
This concert represents a true cock rock band at their absolute best, injecting some loud and raucous sounds into the air and filling up their songs with plenty of vocal and guitar ad licks, not to mention a crowd that is singing along with every chorus, word for word.

You get all the hits on this double CD — “Tooth And Nail,” “Into The Fire,” “It’s Not Love,” “Just Got Lucky,” “Breaking The Chains,” “Alone Again,” and “In My Dreams.” Let’s not forget the inclusion of George Lynch’s blistering instrumental “Mr. Scary” where he had the opportunity to showcase his chops. “Just another ‘hair band’ guitarist?” Hardly.
Although Lynch clearly steals the show here, one should not discount the performances of the other 3 in this fold.

As with every 4 piece band, a lot of pressure is put on the bassist to keep the song centered while the guitarist goes off into shred land; in this Jeff Pilson does not disappoint and succeeds in making up for the lack of a backing guitar track. Likewise Mick Brown really has a strong presence, particularly on the faster songs.

Don Dokken, who at this point is still in possession of his full singing range, really outdoes himself and even sounds cleaner on some of the high end screams on “Unchain the Night” and “Dream Warriors” than he did in the studio.

There aren’t highlights, the whole damn album is one huge highlight that doesn’t quit until the last track is finished.
But it is noteworthy to mention the extra studio track at the end of disc 2, which is sort of a nostalgic ‘the road not taken’ song that displays how much more great music we might have gotten out of this band if they had been able to get along with each other. By the time the record was released in 1988, the band already had gone their separate ways.
“Walk Away” is that studio track, a vintage style Dokken ballad in the same vein as Will The Sun Rise and Alone Again. It’s loaded with amazing guitar work, has a quality vocal performance, and a hypnotically catchy clean guitar riff during the verses rivaled only by the even more hook oriented chorus.

While many may think that live albums doesn’t need a remastering, this is not the case with Dokken’s “Beast From The East”. Rock Candy has beefed up the bass lines and overall everything sounds cleaner.
But the most important thing is the mastering, now properly done. I mean, the album is now properly ‘tracked’: the songs start and end where they should be.
And now you have the entire show including “Standing In The Shadows,” “Sleepless Nights,” and “Turn On The Action” not present in the original U.S. / European release.

“Beast From The East” is an album that should be in the collection of any Dokken fan or anyone who likes true ’80s hard rock. In fact, this is the best representation of the band’s finest era, and even many song versions are superior to the studio originals.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

You’ve seen it first here, at 0dayrox

DISC 1:
01 – Unchain The Night [Live]
02 – Tooth And Nail [Live]
03 – Standing In The Shadows [Live]
04 – Sleepless Nights [Live]
05 – Dream Warriors [Live]
06 – Kiss Of Death [Live]
07 – When Heaven Comes Down [Live]
08 – Into The Fire [Live]
09 – Mr. Scary [Live]

DISC 2:
01 – Heaven Sent [Live]
02 – It’s Not Love [Live]
03 – Alone Again [Live]
04 – Just Got Lucky [Live]
05 – Breaking The Chains [Live]
06 – In My Dreams [Live]
07 – Turn On The Action [Live]
08 – Walk Away [Studio Recording]

Don Dokken – lead vocals
George Lynch – guitars
Jeff Pilson – bass, backing vocals, keyboards
Mick Brown – drums, backing vocals

BUY
www.amazon.com/Beast-East-DOKKEN/dp/B071S8PFWH