Dokken - Dysfunctional (1995)

Cost: $1.00

This was Dokken's comeback album (well, for everyone outside of Japan, at least).  Some songs, particularly on the first half of the album, have a '70s rock influence ("What Price" goes back even further, as some of the vocals reminded me of Jim Morrison a bit in their delivery).  Most of what's left sounds like a modernized continuation of their '80s output, with '90s production sensibilities and darker musical/lyrical themes replacing some of the hair band cliches.  Some songs can be pretty heavy (see "What Price" again) and there's a general sense of heaviness in places, but face it, a lot of time had passed...The metallic edge of the first album is long, long gone, putting this out of my league.  George Lynch was always one of Dokken's biggest assets, but the only time he really shines is the short intro to "Long Way Home," which is a bit reminiscent of "Mr. Scary." 

Gotta love the updated look of the band members...Mick Brown in particular looks unrecognizable from his former long-haired self, it didn't even register that he participated on this album until reading the liner notes.