Dokken, "The Hunter"

Happy Birthday to Me!  

THE VIDEO Dokken, "The Hunter," Under Lock and Key, 1985, Elektra 

  

SAMPLE LYRIC "I'm a hunterrrrrr / searchin' for love / on these lonely streets / uh-gaaaaaaaaaaaiiiin"

  

THE VERDICT Well, this is the closest Thursday to my birthday this year, so I'm giving myself — finally — this long-delayed video, for what may well be my all-time favorite metal song. Yeah, I said it. I'm not 100% sure, but I'm close. And regardless, as we'll see in a minute, it contains my favorite moment in the history of heavy metal videos. 

 

Why did I take so long to get around to "The Hunter"? Well one, I was saving it for a special occasion. 

But two, when I first started this blog, I did sooo much Dokken. It was kind of a Dokken overdose. I can't help it, I love them. But in any event, my overindulgence circa 2004-5 meant that once I got more serious about blogging, I had to really mete out my servings of Dokken, making them fewer and further between so that I could get to other bands (and I know, I still have plenty I haven't even gotten to yet!). 

But when it came to this year's birthday post, I decided it was time. This video is one of my favorites. It's just unbelievably stylish, with all the detail shots of their clothes and of the guys hanging out. 

It is the best use of the Kim Anderson effect of any metal video I would say — and yes, faithful readers will remember that by "Kim Anderson effect" I mean not the rock video girl from "Girlschool" but the whole taking-a-black-and-white-image-and-just-coloring-in-some-parts-of-it thing like in the other Kim Anderson's cheesy photos. 

It's in a zillion videos, but "The Hunter" is like a master class in it, especially when they do the little sort of stop-motion sequences of photos like the meet the band sequence at the beginning.

 

Though most of the video is the stop-motion-y Kim Anderson effect stuff, which is basically the band playing in some kind of rehearsal space, the rest of "The Hunter" involves giving each member of Dokken his own plot. This is always a good video strategy for bands whose members don't get along, as they don't have to spend too much time on set together. 

The "plot" parts of the video are filmed in color, so they're visually very separate from the other stuff. Oh right, except for Mick's, which for some reason is in grainy black and white. He always gets the short end of the stick in Dokken videos. 

  

George Lynch and Don Dokken get pretty similar plots, which is fitting — they're always on the same wavelength I feel like, just not with each other. But we follow George as he drives a red sportscar (I want to say a Ferrari) around a city at night (probably L.A.), and Don as he rides a motorcycle in the city during the day and then in the desert. 

I know this is mean, but seriously, Don should not have picked a plot that was going to blow his hair around so much. It's like when Shawn Michaels wrestles and his ponytail gets out of whack and suddenly you realize he's actually pretty bald. 

I should just get this out of my system now — oh my dear lord does George Lynch look hotttttt in this video. I can't even deal. Pre-body building, pre-tattoos, long hair... I am swooning right now. He has that like perfect lanky build, and he's rocking the loose tank top and leather pants look to the hilt. When he does things like lie down on his side and prop his head up on one elbow, seriously guys, it's almost too much. 

 

Don on the other hand... well, we all know as a Lynch partisan, I'm not very interested in Don. He has stubble in this video, which is a bit of a departure for him since he usually looks very cleaned up (and besides, if you had time to put on eyeliner, you had time to shave). I will give him props though on the loose, Miami Vice-style blazer during the performance scenes. That's a good look. 

Mick Brown has the sort of least-involved plot — it's basically just him hanging out at a dive bar. Though I know George and Don are driving around "on the lonely streets, uh-gaaaaaiiinnnn," I feel like Mick is the one who seems the most like he's "searchin' for love." I don't know if he'll find it in places like this, but hopefully whatever he does find is treatable. 

Also, following Mick shows us that we are indeed in LA — most of the signs for bars and stuff are hard to read, but at one point a bus rolls by with a KBIG FM 104 ad on its side. If that weren't enough evidence, he strolls down the Hollywood Walk of Fame, too. 

Jeff Pilson has the most involved plot by far. It also comes the closest to involving hunting of any sort. Jeff is for some reason caged, then released into the woods to be chased by a large crowd of burly, bearded, flannel-shirt wearing men with torches and baseball bats. And dogs. And dogs. Mmmmmm-kayyyyy. Jeff actually has to get his leather pants dirty, running through a stream and stuff to try to evade them.

 

But here's where this gets even weirder (and more topical) — in one shot, we see that the little wooden crate they have him locked in has "PMRC" written on it. Unabbreviated, that's the Parents Music Resource Center. 

Doesn't this mean he should've been being chased through the woods by like, a bunch of senators and Tipper Gore, rather than a bunch of lumberjacks? One would think so. It's an odd touch, and the one time where Dokken try to make any kind of political point or express any type of stance on topics other than like, relationships, in any of their videos. 

Almost every part of this video is just gorgeous. They actually get pretty creative with a lot of the shots, really doing a nice job of framing the band in visually appealing ways (and no, I don't just mean by showing plenty of George!). 

In fact, this video doesn't actually show that much George. During the solo, instead of a photo montage of him, we see a photo montage of his guitars. And his plot sequence is mostly just the top of his head from the back. 

But let us not forget — dant-da-da-da! — my all-time favorite moment in the history of heavy metal videos. It's such a little thing, but yep, its about a minute and a half in, when Don sings "but then it comes to me!", George hits a big guitar note, and Jeff Pilson does this totally badass rockstar jump. 

One minute he's just playing, the next minute he leaps in place, before you know it, he's landed. It's so small, but it's so visually striking, and punctuates that point in the song perfectly. Bravo, Jeff. That's the perfect gift for me.

 

Dokken, "Dream Warriors"

Mr. Really Scary

THE VIDEO Dokken, "Dream Warriors," Back for the Attack, 1987, Elektra

Click here to watch this video NOW!

SAMPLE LYRIC "We're the dream warriors (dream warriorrrs) / don't wanna dream no more! / we're the dream warriors (dream warriorrrs) / and maybe tonight, maybe tonight you'll be gone"

THE VERDICT It's always tough to decide what video to cover each week, so any time some outside event prompts me to have an inspiration, I take it. Such is the case with this week's video, prompted by last week's release of a new remake of A Nightmare on Elm Street. Why they had to make a new version of this, I don't know, given that they've kept the plot almost exactly the same (and that the original was so critically acclaimed).

Anyway, it's much, much easier to just remake an old movie than to come up with anything new, so maybe I should save this post for the inevitable remake of The Dream Warrior. But given that it's more likely they'll either a) give up on remaking this series or b) take it in a completely different direction, let's just look back on this one. (Which, now that I'm thinking about it, seems to be the most well-regarded of the sequels, which probably means it will get remade. Sigh.)



The gist of ANOES3: The Dream Warrior is that Patricia Arquette has the power to bring other people into her dreams, allowing the characters (under the tutelage of the heroine of the first movie, who is now a therapist at the hospital where they have all been committed) to team up to fight Freddy.

This was Patricia Arquette's first movie, but heck, her career has kind of come full circle, right? From Dream Warrior to Medium: She might not have reprised her Elm Street role in The Dream Master, but to this very day she's still playing women with creepy dreams.

The video kicks off with Patricia Arquette making a sort of little craft dollhouse out of what appears to be a popsicle sticks and some old copies of Circus magazine. It comes out half looking like the creepy dollhouse thing that's actually in the movie, and half like the creepy dollhouse thing from Quiet Riot's "Twilight Hotel" video.

Some of the next scenes in the video more or less mimic a lot of the first scenes of the movie -- Patricia Arquette dreams about seeing a little girl go into a rundown house, follows her in there, next thing they're in a boiler room, next thing "Freddy's home!" and they need to GTFO. A point of difference, however: In the video, Mick Brown is somehow drumming inside the chamber that heats the boiler!



I should clarify that unlike nearly all other videos from movie soundtracks, "Dream Warriors" does not feature scenes from the movie intercut with scenes of the band performing. Instead, it has actual sequences that appear to have been filmed just for the video intercut with scenes of the band performing. Yes, this video relies heavily on reaction shots: Cut to George Lynch. Cut to Patricia Arquette looking repulsed. Cut to George Lynch. Cut to Patricia Arquette smiling. And so on and so forth.

While most of the action takes place in the abandoned house, Dokken appear to be playing in some kind of papier-mache cave. The closest we see to a genuine interaction where Nightmare characters appear to come into contact with the band is when Freddy's arm drags George Lynch backward through the wall. Freddy is so obscured in this though it's hard to say if it's actually Robert Englund or just someone in a felt hat and claw glove. Never the less, it's more love than the Vinnie Vincent Invasion ever got.

And as per always, Dokken are killing it. Okay technically Don is looking pretty old and tired. But Jeff Pilson has teased his hair to new heights, and makes really intense faces as he does the backup vocals. George as per always is my favorite. He has his Mr. Scary guitar, and his sleeveless tee is making him look extra lanky (pre-body builder George is sooo much hotter than post).



Long story short, I totally don't get the remake thing. They're all "we're reinventing it for a new generation." Umm, as far as I can tell from everything I've read, the main thing they're changing is that the teens in the movie were all molested by Freddy as children, which while adding an upsetting undertone isn't exactly a game-changer. I'm also assuming that the new "more serious" Freddy won't be rapping with the Fat Boys anytime soon.

And I know, I know, blablabla CGI blablabla, but isn't it kind of cooler being like "damn they did that with pancake batter" or even just like, tons of red dye and corn syrup than just "oh yeah that's computers." It's making buckets of money, sure, but critics sure seem to hate it. But you know, buckets of money, so. They've already contracted a bunch of the actors for one or both of two planned sequels. Let's just hope they bring Dokken back for the third one.

Dokken, "Just Got Lucky"

At Least 49 Years' Bad Luck

THE VIDEO Dokken, "Just Got Lucky", Tooth and Nail, 1984, Elektra

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SAMPLE LYRIC "You were just using someone / and I was the ooo-oone! / she said 'you just got lucky' / I believed your deadly lies / you just got lucky / I've been hypno-ti-ized!"

THE VERDICT Deceptively simple, this is the video that made me fall in love with George Lynch. He is literally a beacon of hotness throughout this video, having the best hair of his career (his Breaking the Chains half-and-half hair is perfectly grown out) and glistening with sweat. His classic red t-shirt which simply says "Balls" (in Helvetica!) sums it up well.

What else is going on? Well, Jeff Pilson is seriously outdoing himself with the guitar face. That man could give a master class in rock star moves. Don Dokken is running around with bandannas tied to his legs a la Punky Brewster. As per usual, Don is furrowing his brow and making pouty faces at the camera, however in about half the shots here, he's doing it in a sort of low-budget house of mirrors. It's less like the band's playing in a funhouse, and more like they're playing in one of the bigger dressing rooms at Bloomingdale's. You half expect to see a pair of beat up, size 11 women's heels lying on the ground -- not because they belong to Don, but because they always have that in the dressing rooms at Bloomingdale's, as if those are really going to give you a better idea how those $300 jeans look.

But I digress. Don's doing his best to look hurt, because this is yet another Dokken song about the evilness of women. Yes, as any metal video will tell you, we are a serious threat to... what? I guess in this song's case, to male self-esteem? Not really sure.



This is mainly because the lyrics to this song don't make much sense unless you add a bunch of your own punctuation to turn them into more of a dramatic dialogue (sort of like how the woman echoes that one verse in "Breaking the Chains"). The whole song is about getting over someone you had a relationship with who was a completely bad idea. You're having some trouble doing it, but it has to happen.

However, you can only get this by adding a bunch of quotes. Without them, the song sounds kind of schizophrenic. So we wind up with: she said "you just got lucky" / [Don replies:] "I believed your deadly lies" / [again, she said:] "you just got lucky" / [Don replies:] "I've been hypno-ti-ized!"

Even with the quotes, however, it's hard to say why this is lucky. Is she saying he's lucky to even have been screwed over by her? (This is admittedly how I feel about some of my exes.) Or is she implying he's lucky he got out? This isn't my favorite Dokken song (that's "The Hunter"), but regardless, it's one of their most nonsensical, even among the often muddled lyrical imagery of their "damn you, woman!" songs (e.g. "Heaven Sent"). For their part, Dokken seem pretty unconcerned with luck, as they repeatedly break mirrors throughout this video, most often by throwing guitars through them.

What else goes on? Well, we get a lot of Don's face reflected in shards of mirror, and hardly any Mick Brown. And every time we make our way out of the hall of mirrors (by appearing to break them), we get live footage of Dokken (and at least half the time in the same outfits, but live, and much sweatier). These boys need some VO5, stat. Or some of that Pssst dry shampoo.



And just when you think it can't get any hotter -- George Lynch plays the guitar solo on top of a volcano. It's not erupting or anything, but if I remember correctly, it did take a helicopter to put him up there. It also doesn't exactly look inactive. And look at those... well, look at all of it. This was before he went all body-builder, and I much prefer this lankier look (shades of Warren DeMartini!). In any event, George on a frickin' volcano is not a bad way to cap things off.

On a semi-related note, tell me you have seen Dokken vs. Chicken. I know, the current lineup of Dokken only contains the original half of the band that doesn't really interest me -- as I always say, Jeff Pilson would seem like an incredibly hot and talented man were he not in a band with George Lynch, but I'm afraid for me Don and Mick just do not do it. Nonetheless, they're still performing -- with Don's former attorney (!?!) on guitar and Barry Sparks on bass.

Back to my point, they are apparently the centerpiece of a bizarre ad campaign from Norton that while I'm assuming it only runs outside the states, I can only conclude is intended to get me personally to purchase virus protection for my PC. I mean, who else is that obsessed with not only Dokken, but also chicken? And particularly fried chicken. If someone wises up and makes a commercial that involves George Lynch and fried chicken, I am in serious-ass trouble, because I am pretty sure that commercial would simultaneously activate so many pleasure centers in my brain that I would buy literally anything being sold with such a campaign.

P.S.: Thanks to Gareth C. for the suggestions for this post!

Dokken, "Breaking the Chains"

Don Dokken's Playhouse

THE VIDEO Dokken, "Breaking the Chains," Breaking the Chains, 1982, Elektra

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SAMPLE LYRIC "Breaking the chains around yuh / nobody else can bind yuh / take a good look around yuh / nooooooowww you'rrrrrrre breakingthechains"

EXCESSIVELY DETAILED DESCRIPTION The video opens with a shot of two chains forming an "x" in front of a wall made of stone. They go from one corner of the screen to another, implying your television is chained up. Then we see George Lynch's hands -- he's playing his tiger-stripe guitar. The camera keeps pulling back till we see his well-oiled torso, then that he's wearing umm, what looks like belts being used as suspenders, then very fitted red slacks. Did I mention that he's ridiculously built, even though this is many years pre-body-building-fetish for him? Yes. Yesssss. Anyway, he's got his classic half-n-half mullet, which I love. It's not as spiked up as in "Into the Fire," but it's still in full effect.

Next Don Dokken turns toward the camera. Don looks totally weird in this video, and I mean that in a different way than usual. His hair is quite short (barely shoulder-length) and it's sort of curly, with bangs. Also, he's wearing no makeup whatsoever. He has on a red and black vest over a red and white horizontally striped top and black leather pants.

As he turns all the way, he begins walking down a very small hallway with George. It looks like Pee-Wee's Playhouse as a bed and breakfast or a boat or something -- white walls with visible dark post and beam construction, old paintings and candelabra on the walls hung at crooked angles, and lanterns hanging from the ceiling that move back and forth. Plus it's just wide and tall enough to accommodate them, making it seem like a carnival ride or something. When Don sticks his arms out to emphasize "the walls around you / closin' in" his hands touch the walls on both sides.

Suddenly Jeff Pilson appears to Don's right. He's got a cute little shag haircut and is wearing a fitted white leather jacket and playing a red bass with a red chain as a guitar strap. He is so damn cute! Seriously, if Jeff weren't in a band with George, I'd be all up in his junk. He is really super attractive, it's just like, hard to even notice when George is in the shot.



If I had to compare them to anyone today's kids would get, I would use the following SAT analogy -- Jeff Pilson : George Lynch : : Chad Hugo : Pharrell Williams. Get it? Got it? Good.

George and Jeff lead the way down the hall till the first verse ends, causing Don to step to the front and ululate. As the chorus begins, we finally see Mick Brown, who's drumming wearing a tiger-stripe vest over a black sleeveless shirt. It looks like he's wearing no pants, which I think means he's wearing white pants and the lighting is just weird. He's definitely not wearing tiny shorts a la Tommy Lee or Rick Allen. He doesn't look half bad, which is weird because I usually find him not attractive at all.

We pull back from Mick, and George and Jeff are both standing on the platform with his drum kit, and down in front there's Don singing and... holding a guitar? Yes, holding a guitar. I feel like at the point they set up this shot George Lynch had a real "oh no he didn't!" moment. Since at no point does Don appear to know what he was doing with the guitar, it is a good thing that this is the only video where he gives it a try.

Anyway, Dokken are rokken on their little stage for the rest of the chorus. George and Jeff jump off of the platform simultaneously, lights come up, etc. Then we see a shot of George playing a guitar with tiny chains for strings (they really took the title of this song as literally as possible). Even though he's not really playing, George does a great job with his guitar face.

Next we see Don reading some pieces of paper as he sings "got this letter / came today" and as he sings he turns to his right and the camera pulls back till he's eventually standing at the right side of the screen. The giant face of a woman who no joke looks like she could be his sister appears at left. She's wearing a red top with black polka dots, dangly earrings, and little makeup, and she has sort of frizzy curly hair pulled into a side ponytail. Uhhh... As Don shakes the papers around and sings about what the letter says ("says she loves me / she'll come back"), the woman mouths "I love you, I'll come back." Sheesh. As Don surveys the charges against her, the woman makes a sad face, then an "oops" face, then eventually turns and leaves. Don tosses away the papers and George and Jeff appear at his side.

Dokken rokks out some more, and Don's guitar face is terrible. He sort of pouts and strums along. As we head toward the solo, we see Mick, holding his drumsticks over his head, chained to some bars beneath a stone archway. There are torches on the walls and there is a fire burning in a little birdbath-type thing in the center of the room. The camera pans left, and we see that Jeff and his bass are chained up beneath the next arch, then a mercifully guitar-less Don, who's sort of dancing around in spite of the chains, and then finally George, who's just chained to a stone wall.

With a flash of sparks, George pulls loose one wrist, then the other so that he might play his solo. With a small explosion and some guitar face, he frees himself from his chains, then walks around to Don, Jeff, and Mick, breaking their chains by tipping his guitar toward them. Jeff and George rock out while Don sort of does this crappy dance and Mick randomly hits his drumsticks together over his head. I always feel bad for drummers when they get stuck in something like this, where they have to wave their sticks in the air or tap their hands on something lest anyone forget that they're the drummer. It seems kind of humiliating.



Don begins the last verse ("woke up today / I'm alone") and we see him from overhead. He's wearing a bathrobe and lying in bed with his head on a pillow. He looks toward the pillow next to him, which has the indentation of someone having been there but, as Don says, "I look around / but baby you are gone." The camera pans out, and we see that Don is chained to the bed, which is tiny (it stops beneath his calves, so his feet are dangling), but most importantly that he's wearing a robe that barely covers his ass -- it's like a micro-mini. Even though the light on the bed is blue, the floor around him has all these weird red lights on it. It's hard to notice, however, so imminent is the threat of seeing way too much Don Dokken.

Mercifully, we cut to a shot of George rocking out, but then it's revealed that George is rocking out right by the head of the bed. Don tries to sit up, and then, (Noooo!) we get a brief upskirt shot of Don. Thankfully, he is wearing briefs, but seriously, why did they put him in this tiny, tiny robe? Finally, with an explosion, he breaks the chains and leaps off the bed, and Jeff leaps into the shot next to him. Even Mick is drumming right next to the bed.

As we begin the final chorus, the band is back in the weird hallway again, just standing at the back of it as the camera approaches. Then they're down in the dungeon again, standing around. Finally we see them as if they were playing on the stage again, only now their images are superimposed in front of the crossed chains and stone wall from the opening of the video. As the song ends, the band slips down and off through the bottom of the screen, and a final explosion yes, you guessed it, breaks the chains.

THE VERDICT This video is often held up as a paragon of 80s cheesiness, though I would say that compared to something like "Queen of the Reich" this thing is a special effects masterpiece. None of the sets look like they're about to fall over, the walls of stone appear to be made of stone (and not of foil or papier-mâché), and they did enough takes so that anyone who got hit in the head by one of the swinging lanterns in the filming of the video does not get hit in the head by a swinging lantern in the video (although Jeff Pilson does come close).

Most of the cheese in this video comes from the literalness and heavy-handedness of the constant breaking of chains. This song is about breaking out of routines (whether simply in daily life or as an extension of a failed relationship with a girl who looks like a blood relative). No chains are actually meant to be broken. At the same time though, I don't mind it. Or at least I don't mind the dungeon part -- chaining Don to the bed is a bit much.

Still, I prefer the literal interpretation of this video to the crappy, utterly decontextualized "In My Dreams," which seemed to scream out for a literal interpretation. And, at the end of the day, what it really comes down to is the idea of George Lynch being all tied up. Aawwwwww yeahhhhh.

Dokken, "In My Dreams"

Dokken Mails It In (As Do I)

THE VIDEO Dokken, "In My Dreams," Under Lock and Key, 1985, Elektra

Click here to watch this video NOW!

SAMPLE LYRIC "In my dreams / it's still the same / your love is strong / it still remains / in my dreams / you're still by me / just the way it uuuuuu-used / to beee-eeeee"

EXCESSIVELY DETAILED DESCRIPTION Shadows of clouds pass over a cracked desert floor. One rock is missing, and through that we see the shadow of a man holding um... a welding thingy? A very large sparkler? Not sure. Anyway, he disappears really quickly and we see Don Dokken pumping his fist in the rain while wearing some sort of leather trench coat and a Richie Sambora cowboy hat (I don't know the name for it, but it's the one Richie always wears -- it's got a low, flat top and silver medallion things around the band).

Next we see Jeff Pilson shaking it in a sort of endless space with a black and white gridded floor, then Mick Brown drumming (with a big-ass gong behind him) in the rain, then Don again in the rain. He's in all black and also has on gloves and a large silver belt. Then we see Jeff again from overhead and then (finally!) there's George Lynch playing guitar in the rain. Mmmmm... hotness.



The camera stays on George for a second before we see Don make a stupid pouty face, then George's tiger-stripe guitar falls over onto the desert floor from the beginning. There's some more cutting back and forth between band members, then Don starts singing. He's in a weird fake room with a bluish-purple and white gridded floor, and giant images of Jeff (in front of fire) and George (in front of clouds) create "walls" behind him. Don dances around for a while, then for the pre-chorus we see everyone in the rain again. The chorus shows us Don fading into the desert floor, then Jeff superimposed on the grid background - and then Jeff just standing there singing. We see some shadowy landscape going by quickly, then we're back with Don again. He's punching at the air.

Luckily, we're back in the rain again. George looks super-steamy, Don does a turn-and-pose move reminiscent of Owen Wilson's dragon impression in Starsky and Hutch, and Mick makes water spray everywhere as he hits the skins. Mick and Jeff seem to be really enjoying themselves, whereas George gives the impression that he's doing his job and just putting up with this stupid idea of Don's.

The second verse has Don singing in front of the desert floor landscape for a while, then we see the orange guitar again, then everyone playing in the rain. Don's momentarily on the black grid again, then we see the blue grid, which now is showing blue sky on all three "walls" as the orange guitar flies through the air on the screens. Don reappears and the images on the screens change to a shadowy desert landscape. Finally, the guitar solo! George plays first in the rain, then on the black grid beside a large "wall" image of himself playing on the black grid (two George Lynches -- I can only imagine...sly wink). Next the two Georges are seen from overhead standing on an image of clouds. There are a couple of quick cuts of different George shots, then Mick starts really pounding in the rain and Don starts singing again.



We see shots of everyone in the rain, then the big sparkler comes back with each band member's face singing in front of it -- first Don, then Mick, then George (who you can barely see, grr grr), then Jeff. Then we see a cymbal hit as water splashes off of it, Jeff on the grid, George in the rain (all too briefly), and Don in the rain (way too long). After a couple of quick shots of everyone in the rain, we see Jeff and George playing on the blue grid with the walls showing outstretched hands making devil horns and Mick's huge face. They fade out and are replaced by Don. The video ends by pulling back on Don singing, and we emerge back through the random hole in the desert we came in through.

THE VERDICT So what if this isn't the most fascinating video you've ever seen? It's still got George Lynch in it, so guess what, we're still gonna talk about it. But yeah, George or no, this video is pretty bad. It evokes images of the set from Olivia Newton-John's "Physical" and a film I watched in health class in fourth grade (both involved grids).

Why did Dokken choose to just mail it in on this one? My guess (and this is an educated guess but nevertheless a total guess) is that since this was made at a point in time when the band was having serious issues with getting along with each other, they (or their manager, or the director, or whomever), was like, "Here, we'll do a video where none of you have to be in the same room. You barely even have to be in the same shot." Because even in the shots where more than one band member appears, they've just been cut and pasted into the shot -- no one's ever actually together.

So maybe that explains it. Though this isn't my favorite Dokken song (we all know it's "The Hunter"), it's still a good one, and it deserves better than this video. Even though I clearly have Don Dokken issues, I still think he's quite a good singer, and this song uses his voice to great effect. And I mean sheesh, it's called "In My Dreams," a title practically begging for a model in a diaphanous nightgown and the band getting lost in some sort of moonlit maze. But I guess no one felt up to that at the time.

Dokken, "Into the Fire"

E-e-evil Women

THE VIDEO Dokken, "Into the Fire," Tooth and Nail, 1984, Elektra

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SAMPLE LYRIC "[Into the fire] I've fallen / [Into the fire] I've fall-ennnnnnnnnnnnn! / INTO THE FIRE! / Into the fih-uhhhhhhhhh!"

EXCESSIVELY DETAILED DESCRIPTION A spread-legged, leotard-clad model with stylishly mussed hair is splayed across what appears to be a giant diaphragm (albeit a neon diaphragm wrapped in barbed-wire cobwebs). Another model, apparently a cast member from Cats. And a somewhat beefier lass, clad in some sort of tight leather swimsuit, banging an enormous gong, while another oddly-made up woman blows fire and more Cats claw the screen. Is this what we'll find when we go into the fire? We'll have to wait and see.

Meanwhile, outside of the fire, Don Dokken et al. are rocking out on a stage a) at night b) in the snow c) beside a river, where a speedboat races back and forth d) while a helicopter with a searchlight circles overhead e) in front of a bunch of creepy, anonymous buildings that are either waiting to be completed or actually are parking garages f) encircled by enormous pots of fire g) while an enormous pair of goblin hands rise up from the stage, about to clap together and crush Mick Brown, h) all of the above. (Hint: If you guessed "all of the above," you were correct!) It's unclear where the hell they are, although for some reason I always think Eastern Europe. Beats me, though.

Anyway. As we near the first chorus, the helicopter and speedboats are really going nuts, as are Don Dokken's nostrils, while meanwhile a woman is being wrapped in barbed wire. After the chorus wraps up, one by one, the band's members hop off of the side of the stage (over more barbed wire), only to wind up tied to that giant diaphragm from the first shot, which now appears to be suspended over a large number of candles or torches or something. "The Fire." As each lands on the diaphragm, it spins away -- "Into" the fire! Note that they do bring their instruments with them.



Once in the fire, the boys are pushing a giant mine car full of fire toward what appears to be either a) the Cirque du Soleil's version of Dante's "Inferno" or b) again, a Japanese revival of Cats (if you guessed none of the above, you're probably correct on this one). Anyway, they're pushing it into another diaphragm thingy (also full of fire) around which elaborately made-up models are standing on platforms, forming a sort of pyramid. The women, one of whom is sort of sitting splay-legged (and beckoning them to come in between her legs) all gesture toward the band with scary claws (think Lee Press-On Nails from hell) as they push, and more hands coming up from the floor threaten on either side.

Mission accomplished, the band carefully makes their way back out of the fire, walking along burning coals while more hands grasp from below and red fabric billows behind. They escape through an opening that suddenly appears ahead of them (and I'd be lying to you and to myself if I didn't describe it as vaginal), and find themselves all safe and sound inside the giant goblin hands on either side of the drum kit back on their stage, which are now smoking (by which I mean there's smoke coming out of the fingers -- they're not like, holding a giant cigarette -- I feel kind of weird that I felt the need to give this clarification!).

But they're not safe yet. The snow seems to have stopped, but that copter's still looking for something, and the speedboat's still tearing it up. Still, the threat of the Cats having been contained (the women are now relegated to the role of back-up dancers, gyrating in front of the goblin hands), we're now free to revel in George Lynch's guitar solo and the bridge, which is the best part of this song. And though the back-up dancers make some token efforts to remove the barbed wire they're still wrapped in, it's over for them. They'll dominate Dokken no more.



THE VERDICT Like I go on to say in my analysis of "Alone Again," it's hard to believe that these two videos came from the same album. The two seem to somewhat reflect a more general transition in the look of metal videos, and this one is definitely old school. The production values are underwhelming, overreliance on face paint is a serious issue, and the whole thing about having the spooky, evil women who want to trap the band members is a very familiar trope (viz the Scorpions' "Rock You Like a Hurricane" Queensryche's "Queen of the Reich," and Def Leppard's "Foolin'").

Though the shortcomings of this style of video are clear, they're much more fun than many of the later videos (am I saying I prefer this style of subjugating women, where they're threatening? Maybe). In fact, it's kind of interesting to look at the transition in video women as heavy metal hitting puberty. In early videos, women are sexy and desirable, but they're scary and potentially emasculating. Later, once metal's got some hair on its chest, the women are even sexier, and suddenly they're putty in the bands' hands. The whole getting-trapped-by-futuristic-robo-babes thing is over.

Nevertheless, I can't get enough of this video. It's got a similar aesthetic to "Breaking the Chains" (as well as the aforementioned videos), which again, I find to be very fun, and it's also got George Lynch (of whom I also can never get enough) with his amazing two-tone hair. This appears to me to be the last video that features said 'do, and while clearly he looks amazing no matter what's going on up top, the half 'n' half hair is a truly astonishing accomplishment (particularly in a decade so focused on hair).

Dokken, "Alone Again"

Who Wants to Be Lonely?

THE VIDEO Dokken, "Alone Again," Tooth and Nail, 1984, Elektra Records

Click here to watch this video NOW!

SAMPLE LYRIC "Tried so hard to make you see-ee-ee / but I couldn't find the words / now the tears, they fall liiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiike rain / I'm aloooone again without youuuuuuuuuu"

EXCESSIVELY DETAILED DESCRIPTION The side of a bus moves across the frame. The scene begins in Room 113 of a lonely motel. After a bus drives by, reflecting the motel's neon sign in its chrome flank, an anonymous hand opens the room's door. Before we enter the room, however, we cut away to a brief montage of 1) hot chicks at a Dokken concert, 2) meatheads headbanging at same concert, 3) one of George Lynch's pecs (yes!).

Suddenly back at the motel, we check out our accommodations. Ooh, lucky us, The Dukes of Hazzard is already on! But no, before we can settle in on one of those double beds to catch up with Boss Hog, we're back at the Dokken concert (not that that's really a bad thing). Fans begin to hoist lighters as a heavily made-up Don Dokken starts singing (and let me state for the record that I think this song is totally gorgeous). Don Dokken's perfect ski-slope nose takes over much of the screen -- even in many of the shots that are not of him, a ghostly image of his face is still sort of superimposed over the scene. But then oh, (oh!), we're rocking out with George Lynch again. Nice!

Meanwhile, Don's staring into the mirror in the motel bathroom, moodily reflecting on the loneliness he feels even in the midst of the swirling whirlpool of fame (or perhaps merely adjusting his headband). But no time, we're about to hit the first chorus, and back at the Dokken concert, things are staring to really rock. If there's something I like better than nice, slow concert shots of leaps, kicks, and of course, hair being flung to and fro, I don't know what it is. A lot of it is probably b-roll of them playing completely other songs, but no worries. It looks great.



As Don sings "now the tears, they fall liiiiiiiike rainnnnnnnn," we see him rinsing his face in his sink, then balefully staring at his own reflection (looking for all the world like Linda Richman without her makeup on). It's a pretty good pantomime of loneliness, yes, but it's no "Wanted: Dead or Alive" (which I'd argue is the all-time greatest "I might have all this fame and money and rock stardom, but I'm so painfully alone" video).

The second verse is all live footage and again, it looks amazing. Jeff Pilson just always knows exactly what to do when the camera's on him -- he always manages to create this cool little moment between himself and the camera (one of my favorite shots ever, in "The Hunter", is of him doing a random little jump). At the same time, clearly, George Lynch is giving it all he's got -- we're nowhere near the solo, and he's already dishing up more guitar face than I can fit on one plate. Yes, even Don Dokken's got his leg up on something, reaching out and gesturing toward the crowd, who all wave their hands nonstop for the duration of the video. We do briefly see him covering his face with his hands before the mirror and tossing and turning on his motel bed, but at this point, the balance of power has tipped toward rocking.

The guitar solo in this song is (what else?) amazing, and the camera hardly leaves George Lynch as he peels through it, from his hair, which has almost completely grown out the amazing half-and-half dye job, to what appear to be Nikes. And let it be noted that he has further accessorized this look with a single long, feathery earring, a bandanna, and some kind of leather-looking lacing tied around one bicep a la the Ultimate Warrior. I love it!



As the song wraps up, we have Don Dokken singing for all it's worth, with his face taking up the entire frame almost the entire time. Though he closes the door on the motel bathroom finally, the superimposition of his face over shots of the crowd's outstretched hands reinforce our sense that he's "alone again," as does the final shot of the bus from the beginning of the video pulling out from whatever town they're in.

THE VERDICT In spite of being roughly contemporaneous with "Into the Fire," this video couldn't look more different. While "Into the Fire" is a tremendous example of the early 80s video aesthetic (sets that appear to have been made by a high school drama club, excessive use of kabuki-style makeup), "Alone Again" really shows the direction videos were headed. Though there's still a story (there's always a story), the balance tips away from dramatic encounters involving the entire band to a focus on the lead singer as the lone actor.

It also a harbinger of things to come with the upscaling of heavy metal videos. With MTV suddenly airing metal in near-saturation level rotation (for better or for worse) circa 1987-88, there's definitely a turn away from using foil and "lasers" (or really any sort of special effects). Though that can be written off as part of the shift described above, where this difference is most notable is in the performance footage.

As compared to a video like "Into the Fire," which also contains a substantial amount of performance footage, "Alone Again" is much more advanced. The live footage appears cinematic, with approximately a jillion camera angles (compared to the other video's hmm, three). While even the most amateurish looking videos aired on MTV were undoubtedly professionally made, videos like these definitely show a marked turn toward a much more finished looking product.

In any event, in spite of attempts to tie the video together with a Don Dokken-based plot about the loneliness of the road (itself a common song and video trope, though possibly just a thinly-veiled ploy to win the sympathy of potential groupies), for me at least this video is all about George Lynch. Yes, the camera gives a lot of play to Don Dokken's perfectly pinched nostrils and precisely plucked brows, but the extent to which the camera lovingly captures every last inch of Lynch's alarmingly intoxicating physique can not be ignored. Likewise, while Dokken has opted to enhance his wardrobe with what's soon to become his signature headband, Lynch has tied rags around his torso. Do I even need to ask which looks hotter? Yes, my dearest George wins every time. Donny doesn't even have a chance.