Dokken "Dysfunctional"

After releasing Up from the Ashes in 1990 Don Dokken wrote another solo album in 1993. Titled Dysfunctional, the album was recorded and produced in Don's studio. However, when John Kalodner wanted to sign him for the album, he suggested that George Lynch be brought back into the band so that the album could be marketed as a Dokken album, and not another Don Dokken solo effort. Despite the fact that the tension between Lynch and Don Dokken was the cause of the band's 1989 split, the two agreed to put their problems behind them for the time being. The band re-united in 1994 along with Mick Brown and Jeff Pilson, with Lynch re-writing and re-recording the guitar solos on the album, which were originally conceived by Don. Dokken was signed with Columbia Records and the album managed to sell 300,000 copies despite the decline in popularity of similar bands during this time.

Dysfunctional is the fifth studio album by heavy metal band Dokken, released in 1995. It was the band's first release after reuniting in 1993. Although the album entered the chart respectably at No. 47 at a time when 1980s hard rock and heavy metal had largely declined, sales quickly dropped off and were not enough to reach gold RIAA certification. In a later interview, Don Dokken revealed that the album had sold 500,000 copies in America and was officially certified gold. 

The song "Too High to Fly" was released as a promo single from the album and was a minor hit. It is one of the post 80s Dokken songs that is played live on a consistent basis.

During the tour supporting Dysfunctional, old tensions between George and Don had resurfaced and the band began to split apart. During a Columbia promotion for the new album in which the band was scheduled to play live on 120 radio stations, Lynch unexpectedly left the studio and refused to re-enter. The record company was forced to air the rehearsal tape that had been recorded earlier and four days later the label dropped Dokken, presumably because of this and other similar incidents involving Lynch's behavior.

Track listing

1. "Inside Looking Out" (Don Dokken, Jeff Pilson) – 4:08
2. "Hole in My Head" (Dokken, Pilson, Mick Brown) – 4:33
3. "The Maze" (Dokken, Pilson, George Lynch) – 4:50
4. "Too High to Fly" (Dokken, Lynch) – 7:10
5. "Nothing Left to Say" (Dokken, Pilson) – 4:30
6. "Shadows of Life" (Dokken, Pilson) – 4:33
7. "Long Way Home" (Dokken, Pilson, Lynch) – 5:12
8. "Sweet Chains" (Dokken) – 5:46
9. "Lesser of Two Evils" (Dokken, Pilson, Lynch) – 4:03
10. "What Price" (Dokken, Brown, Pilson) – 5:45
11. "From the Beginning" (Greg Lake) – 4:12 (Emerson, Lake & Palmer cover)

Japanese bonus track

1. "When the Good Die Young" (Dokken, Pilson) - 4:55

Recording information:
Recorded at 710 Studios and Total Access Recording, Redondo Beach, CA.
Mixed at Total Access Recording.
Mastered at Sterling Sound, NYC.