A follow up with 1997’s “Shadowlife” saw the band move towards an alternate rock sound that appeared to not be as enjoyable to the band's fanbase, and had seen the tensions between Dokken and Lynch continue to escalate once again. Lynch’s behaviour had already seen the band dropped by their label due to him leaving a live radio broadcast moments before the band was supposed to play, and having pushed the band into the new musical direction he was quoted in an interview as saying "This is the perfect record. This is gonna be the end of Dokken, and that is what I wanted to accomplish”. Suffice to say, Lynch was fired by the rest of the band after a long dispute, though he then tried to sue the band when they went on tour with a guitar replacement in Europe’s John Norum, an action that failed in court. After the tour, Norum was forced to leave due to other commitments, and so the band brought in former Winger and future Whitesnake guitarist Reb Beach as his replacement. Beach suited the band as he had been a prominent guitarist in the same 80’s era where Dokken had thrived, and so the foursome went into the studio to create their new album, aptly titled “Erase the Slate”.
Unlike another band of Dokken’s original era, Ratt, who released an album at this time as well, and whose sound is a considerable change from what the band delivered back in their halcyon days (an album that is coming up very soon on Music from a Lifetime), this album opens up in a style reminiscent of what everyone remembers of the band back in the late 1980’s. In typical Dokken fashion in fact. "Erase The Slate" charges out of the blocks, with Reb Beach immediately front and centre on guitar, Don’s discernible vocals supported by the excellent back up cast, and a typical upbeat sound from the band. This then careers into “Change the World” which mightn’t be quite as dominant but does have a harder element from both Beach and drummer Mick Brown through the middle of the track. On both of these songs, you can easily imagine yourself back in the band's golden era. They mightn’t be as uniquely arranged as the past, but it is a familiar scene that is being presented. “Maddest Hatter” motors along nicely too, and again presents an excellent face to the band in this latter stage of the 1990’s. Indeed, the songs would appear heavier apart from Don’s almost falsetto at time vocals. Both “Drown” and “Shattered” head down a similar path, though with their own quirks within the framework of the song that make them unique in their own way. “Shattered” in particular is a terrific song, channelling the heavier side of the band’s past and giving the three-piece instruments their time to lay the foundation of their art. “Voice of the Soul” draws in the great Dokken chorused vocals that are so much a part of the enjoyment of the band with a great sounding rhythm and Reb letting rip on guitar once again. “Crazy Mary Goes Around”, with Mick Brown on lead vocals, is a great riposte in the back half of the album. Mick’s vocals are fantastic, adding a different vibe and power to the song, an almost traditional rock n roll feel to the song with a heavier edge. This is one of the standouts on “Erase the Slate”. And “Haunted Lullaby” sits back in that mid-tempo range but is again dominated by Reb Beach’s excellence on guitar.
Not all the decisions made on this album though are for the greater good. The cover of the 1960’s pop song “One” - no, not the Metallica song, but the “One is the loneliest number” ... you know how it goes... - seems right out of place. Sure, the band has done a reasonable job of heavying it up and trying to produce a cover version that suits the band’s general genre, but that doesn’t make it any less strange that it should appear here. Were they short a son and needed something on the spot? Do they just like the song and always wanted to cover it? I don’t know. The power ballad stylings of “Who Believes”, which seems to be trying to draw its inspiration from a song such as “Heaven Sent”, doesn’t really capture the same energy of that track either. And “In Your Honour” is a little short of expectation. Dokken ballad-type tracks of the past have at least had an energy and drive behind them, whereas this song does not, with Don’s vocals sounding washed out, unenthusiastic, and just plain boring in the long run. It is a disappointing song, one that could easily have been left off, or left for a B-side or an unused collection later on. The fact that it is the song that closes out the album is even more disappointing, because it really does not represent the majority of the material that has come before it on the album.
As per episodes already recorded for this podcast on Dokken albums, I was an unfortunate latecomer to the band. More is the pity, given if I had discovered them in my high school years, then my high school years would have been even better musically than they already were. It wasn’t until the very late 1990’s that I was first truly introduced to the band, and discovered the joy they produced for myself.
What that meant for me was that I discovered almost all of the Dokken discography at the same time, rather than getting albums every few years to engage with and devour before moving on to the next one. And while I found plenty on this album to enjoy, the fact that I had just discovered “Tooth and Nail” and “Under Lock and Key” and “Back for the Attack” at the same time, those albums really dominated my listening at that initial stage, and “Erase the Slate” found itself the poor cousin when it came to time allocated to listening to it. When I started my album review blog under this same name I listened to it quite a few times, and looking back on that review prior to this past couple of weeks, I was a bit blase about the album itself and what I wrote.
So now I'm back on the wagon again, and from the moment I put this CD back in my stereo for this podcast, I was drawn in. This wasn’t really how I remembered this album at all. From the outset, it sounds like a Dokken album that, theoretically, could have been released as the follow up to “Back for the Attack”. The Dokken sound is there in spades. Sure, it is a modified sound given the time between the star 1980’s albums and its release in 1999, but I can’t help but like it. Yeah, there is the odd song that doesn’t quite work, but overall – this is a really good album! Mick Brown on drums and Jeff Pilson on bass have never sounded better. I love Micks drumming throughout this album, it is powerful and engaged, hitting hard and anything but simple. A real treat. Jeff’s bass playing is always top shelf, and both of these musicians contributions also to the backing vocals is terrific, and Mick’s lead vocal on “Crazy Mary Goes Around” is superb. Don’s vocals again are excellent. They on occasions have that reedy, softer feel where perhaps a tougher vocal line would work better – but that’s Don Dokken and that’s what he offers. Nothing wrong with that. And Reb Beach, who had the toughest job in taking over from George Lynch on guitar, is a revelation. His guitaring on the album is superb and an absolute highlight throughout. Anyone who enjoys Dokken will get a kick out of this album, but I suspect anyone who does already has it. The downside to this was that it was the only album Reb Beach played on in Dokken, as he had other commitments to move on to, and it was also the final album that almost founding member Jeff Pilson played on. All members and former members have continued to record and tour since this album’s release with reasonable success, perhaps just showing that the excellence that gathered for this pre-millennial release was indeed well worth the wait.
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