Artist: Dokken
Title: “From Conception: Live 1981”
Label: Rhino Records
Release Date: 3/13/2007
Genre: Hard Rock/Heavy Metal
Rating: 3.5/5

Thanks to the folks at Rhino Records listeners that found their love of Hard Rock and Heavy Metal in the eighties will truly appreciate this one. As the music of “Live 1981 From Conception” by Dokken starts spinning in their CD player they are taken back in a time warp . The hard core Dokken fan will immediately raise their eyebrows knowing that the band would not be signed until a couple of years later and not release a live album until 1988’s “Beast From The East”. These are the facts that make such a release all the more special. In the liner notes by Don Dokken himself he states that as he searched through master tapes for music to be used on an anniversary edition of “Breaking The Chains”, he would come upon reels that simply said “Dokken Live”. These reels would have performances of the band that were recorded before they were signed as the group searched for a record deal, and believe me friends this is one terrific find. The set performed for this concert is loaded with vintage classics from the bands earliest years as well as a number of tracks that that would never actually make it onto the bands catalog of releases. For the most part these songs are a mystery even to the bands most devout supporters. Their presence alone makes the release something that the fans will really enjoy. As they perform, the listener will find a band that is both young, hungry and really showing just how capable they are of the success that will find them not too far in the future.
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