Self-awareness is one of the most important qualities an artist can have, and Don Dokken has it in abundance. Rather than kowtow to the social media hive calling for him to hang up his rock ‘n’ roll shoes, he embraced the fact that it’s no longer 1987 and crafted a record that expertly leans into how his voice sounds in 2023. Dokken’s 12th studio album, “Heaven Comes Down,” shatters expectations by featuring stellar guitar work from Jon Levin and some of the most moving performances of Don’s career as a singer/songwriter.
Longtime fans can search for shades of “Tooth and Nail” or “Under Lock and Key” all they want, but doing so would ignore the fact that these songs aren’t intended to hinge on the past. Don has moved on and wants everyone else to, as well, which was a recurring theme throughout our conversation late last week. If you’ve been on the fence about giving this one a shot, perhaps the conviction with which he spoke about this collection will win you over once and for all.
MNOD: Given all of the health issues and various things that have happened to you in recent years, you must feel pretty good about how this album turned out. Describe the process of bringing it to life.
Dokken: I think I sang great on it. Obviously, it’s much lower and we wrote the songs to fit the way my voice is now, but I’m 70. Let it go. People want me to hit the same high scream or soprano level that I used to. I can’t do that anymore. Jon and I brainstormed a lot of songs for this album, and he had written some stuff that he initially didn’t want to play for me. He said that they weren’t really Dokken songs, but what does that even mean? I’m singing, so it’s always going to sound like Dokken. We started with 20 songs. I sent some to Jon and he took them to the next level. I didn’t know that “Fugitive” would be the opening track at first, because “Just Like a Rose” was also considered. But starting with an uptempo rocker ended up being the right move.
MNOD: What is it about your collaboration with Jon that works so well?
Dokken: We get along. We’re best friends, which is not how it was with George. George and I didn’t get along most of the time. He wanted to be the head of the band and was listening to stuff like Monster Magnet or this other heavy, dark stuff, but that wasn’t the direction I wanted to go in.
MNOD: I read once that the process for your 1990 solo release “Up from the Ashes” included everyone in the band staying in one place, which is not how things went for this album. How were the circumstances different this time around?
Dokken: Obviously, things were different regarding both how we shared material and composed the songs. My right arm is paralyzed, so I can’t play piano or guitar anymore. I had surgery back in 2019 and the doctor screwed up, so I was in deep shit. We tuned everything down a half step and I could give you five names of singers that are also tuning their stuff down, but I won’t. People complain that I can’t sing like it’s 1985, but it’s almost 2024. I don’t care. I’m 70 years old and I’ve already proven myself. The band thinks I sound great on this record, and, if fans come to the show and don’t like it, they can ask for their money back. My vocal cords were damaged during the surgery and I can’t change that. Bill Palmer, who produced the album with me, told us to leave the songs alone and that we didn’t need to add a ton to them in the studio. I could have stacked a ton of harmonies like I did on “In My Dreams” or something like that, but these songs didn’t require that. The melodies, tempos, and writing are all great. “Over the Mountain” is about trying to find my peace of mind or my Shangri-La. “Gypsy” was inspired by an actual gypsy that I met in New Mexico who gave me some sage advice. “Santa Fe” is my life story in four minutes. The album could have been this huge production with massive harmonies, but we didn’t need to add more sugar. The songs stand alone.
MNOD: “I’ll Never Give Up” stood out to me as one of the album’s more poignant moments. What was your aim with that piece?
Dokken: That’s a conversation I’ve been having with myself during the past 10 or 15 years. The doctor botched my surgery and ended up nicking my larynx, which left me unable to talk for three weeks. I told the band that I had to take seven months off, but that I would do vocal therapy, work on scales, and go to the gym three days a week in an effort to get back. I’ve done 16 world tours and I’m not out there trying to scream bloody murder every show anymore. I don’t have to go on public media to defend myself. I still sound like Don Dokken.
MNOD: The videos for this album have gotten positive reviews thus far. What role did you hope they would play in telling the story of this album?
Dokken: I didn’t want them to be the same old boring videos where the band just shows up and lip-syncs the song. We used 6k cameras to make them look beautiful and had a lot of fun. They ended up being cool and different. The video for “Fugitive” is already at 700,000 views, which is difficult to do these days.
MNOD: Yesterday marked the 36th anniversary of the release of “Back for the Attack.” Are there any tracks on the new album that you feel could have fit in during that time?
Dokken: No, because I’ve changed my style. I don’t write that way anymore. I’ve grown up and I see the world differently. We’ve gotten many offers to go back to the woodshed and make an album the old way, but it’s not going to happen.
MNOD: How will you integrate the new material into the setlist moving forward?
Dokken: That’s our problem. If we put “Fugitive” into the set, what do we get rid of? We play hit after hit after hit every night. We could put “Over the Mountain” in and fans might dig or they might not be familiar with it. We’ve been playing “Breaking the Chains” for 40+ years and I look out to see fans singing along to every lyric, so we can’t take that out. We have a hardcore fanbase that recognizes that these songs have stood the test of time. Even younger audience members know the hits thanks to Hair Nation on satellite radio. The label told us not play of the new songs live yet, because everyone has a phone and they didn’t want stuff leaking out. So we held the new songs back and will debut them live next week.
MNOD: If this does end up being the final album, I think this is a hell of a way to go out.
Dokken: I’ll never say never, but I do think this is it. My doctor was a butcher and he screwed me up. He kept saying that it’ll get better, but it’s been three-and-a-half years and it’s still not better. My love of guitar has been with me since I was nine years old and he took that from me. I hope he gets hit by a bus. We have six shows remaining in the US and then we’re heading to Europe. I’m going to countries that I’ve never played before like Hungary and the Czech Republic. In 2024, we’ll also be going to Japan, so we’re excited and ready to go.
“Heaven Comes Down” is available now wherever music is disseminated, but do us all favor and pay for a physical copy.
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