album anniversary: Dokken - Hell to Pay

I like this album, and a reviewer named hells_unicorn on The Metal Archives seems to agree, even if he is a bit too negative in the assessment. He says, in part:

All around, the collection of songs on here is pretty solid, though stylistically a tad bit inconsistent. When you listen to high octane speed songs like “Don’t Bring Me Down”, coated with brilliant lead guitar breaks and agitated riffs in the vain of “Tooth And Nail”, or catchy mid-tempo rock that hearkens back pretty heavily to classic “Back For The Attack” style ass kicking, you’re certain that this album is going for a retro sound. But then you throw in darker though still heavily catchy and fun songs like “Escape” and “Better Off Before” and you have a hard time believing that it’s the same album, though Don Dokken’s vocals act as a pretty effective anchor in this respect. If there is one song that really captures the duality at work here, it would be the opener “The Last Goodbye”, which somewhat loosely resembles the atmosphere of “Dysfunctional”, but presents a riff set that is more intricate and attention grabbing.

Dokken - Hell to Pay - July 13, 2004 - T&T Records

Don Dokken lead vocals - Jon Levin guitars - Barry Sparks bass, backing vocals - Mick Brown drums, backing vocals

1. The Last Goodbye 04:37

2. Don't Bring Me Down 03:24

3. Escape 04:37

4. Haunted 03:40

5. Prozac Nation 04:32

6. Care for You 04:11

7. Better Off Before 03:01

8. Still I'm Sad 04:37

9. I Surrender 03:03

10. Letter to Home 04:28

11. Can You See 04:09

12. Care for You (unplugged version) 03:59

total time 48:18

Dokken - Don't Bring Me Down