You simply have to hand it to
Dokken. Through highly documented public spats and various lineup changes, the group has remained as true to itself as a band with such longevity can possibly be. However, this 2003 release of a 1995 concert finds
Dokken to be a band void of any sort of creative evolution, which can be good and bad -- good because it's giving the fans exactly what they paid for in a concert (the hits) and bad because after a while "Mr. Scary" just doesn't do the trick like it used to. While trying to re-create the fire of its glory years, the group runs through some of its most well-known hits (predominantly from the seminal
Beast from the East release), and it seems almost effortless how the musicianship comes across first and foremost. However, this could be a sure sign that the band is just on autopilot and waiting for the real party to begin backstage after the concert. The band sounds as fine-tuned as ever, especially the guitar theatrics of
George Lynch, but this is definitely a release only for the die-hard fanatic. ~ Rob Theakston