Dokken/Iowa, USA 1986

DOKKEN released the masterpiece “UNDER LOCK AND KEY” in 1986 and was climbing the ladder of success. Introducing the best live album that allows you to witness such a golden age. What is engraved in this work is “May 26, 1986 Des Moines performance”. This is a superb audience recording from the festival “IOWA JAM ’86” where AEROSMITH, Ted Nugent, METALLICA, and ARMORED SAINT also participated. It’s a gorgeous festival that will make you dizzy just by looking at it, but if you look at DOKKEN himself, it was also the first act of his career’s biggest “UNDER LOCK AND KEY TOUR.” In order to know its heyday, let’s first check the show’s position from the overall picture of the world tour. ●1985《“UNDER LOCK AND KEY” released on November 22nd》・November 30th – December 5th: Japan (5 performances)・1986・January 8th – February 16th: North America #1 ( 21 performances) ・March 7th – April 28th: ​​Europe (39 performances) ・May 11th – September 13th: North America #2 (79 performances) ←★Coco★ ●1987・January 27th + 2 March 10th: North America #3 (2 performances) This is an overview of activities related to “UNDER LOCK AND KEY”. The album was released in late 1985, and their first visit to Japan came soon after. They started a full-fledged world tour at the beginning of the year, with 139 performances in 1986 alone. This number of performances was by far the highest in DOKKEN’s history, and sales were in full swing. In particular, the second half, “North America #2,” had an extremely busy schedule of about 80 performances in four months, and it was so busy that even if it wasn’t Don and George, it would be tiring. Under such circumstances, the Des Moines performance of this work is the 13th performance of “North America #2”. It was a concert before things were getting back on track and the murderous schedule had yet to become serious. This work, which records such a show, is the best audience recording that you want to line up with “super” in a row. Anyway, super clear. There’s no sense of distance between the extremely thick core, the edges of the razor guitar are glaring, each drum beat is super tight, and even the little effects on the vocals are crisp… The reason for this is probably on-site. “IOWA JAM ’86” was a festival held in an open space stadium, with no walls or ceilings to reflect sound. Therefore, the output sound of the PA is directly picked up with zero reverberation. Of course, being outdoors doesn’t necessarily mean it will be a great recording, and the sound will often drift in the wind or become blurred due to distance. However, with this work, there is no need to worry about that. Again, I’m sorry to make a guess, but it was probably right in front of the PA tower erected at the venue. That is the super close and thick sound that will make even the most popular FM broadcasts run away barefoot. The show depicted with such intimate sound is DOKKEN at full speed. It’s a short set just for the festival, but it’s packed with famous songs from the Golden Age. Let’s organize the contents here. ●TOOTH AND NAIL (4 songs)・Tooth And Nail, When Heaven Comes Down, Into The Fire, Alone Again ●UNDER LOCK AND KEY (5 songs)・Unchain The Night, In My Dreams, It’s Not Love, Lightning Strikes Again, Just Got Lucky…and it looks like this. As you can see, the two great albums “TOOTH AND NAIL” and “UNDER LOCK AND KEY” are wonderfully concentrated and reduced. There is “Lightning Strikes Again” that cannot be heard on “BEAST FROM THE EAST”, but only the masterpieces are packed in the size of one album. The concentration that even ignores the debut work is even stronger than “THE BEST OF DOKKEN”, and in a sense it is the ultimate golden age best. And the performance that makes up such a rich set is also special. Young Don Dokken’s singing voice is delicate yet powerful, fresh, and beautiful. The performance and proficiency are amazing as they have been trained in the “North America #1” and “Europe” legs up to this point, and if the rhythm is strong, the three-part chorus is also perfect. And best of all, George Lynch’s razor guitar! The intimate sound of this work and the momentum of the heyday tour are overwhelming, and the solos are crisp and the riffs are crunchy. I’ve heard many audience records so far, but I can’t remember a guitar with such a sharp edge. You can enjoy plenty of on-site sound that will be the best in his career. Anyway, it’s at its peak, it’s really rich. This momentum, sharpness and beauty are even better than “BEAST FROM THE EAST”. This is a special piece that makes you realize how amazing a live band DOKKEN was. A masterpiece of a live album where the difference between audience and sound board no longer makes any sense. ★Master tape copy. The slightly high pitch has been adjusted. Amazing super high quality recording. Live at Iowa State Fairgrounds Grandstand, Des Moines, Iowa, USA 26th May 1986 TRULY PERFECT SOUND (54:04) 1. Unchain The Night 2. Tooth And Nail 3. When Heaven Comes Down 4. In My Dreams 5. Into The Fire 6. Alone Again 7. It’s Not Love 8. Lightning Strikes Again 9. Just Got Lucky Don Dokken – Vocals George Lynch – Guitars Jeff Pilson – Bass Mick Brown – Drums