Pick Your Poison: Dokken or Ratt?

[Love_Industry]

If I were to rank the albums between the two, it would look like:

1. Under Lock and Key
2. Out of the Cellar
3. Invasion of Your Privacy
4. Tooth and Nail
5. Back for the Attack
6. Everything else

[Chip Z'Hoy]

Dokken, and it's not even close.

Ratt had their charms but they were--let's be honest--quite terrible.

[SchenkerFan]

Tough call. Dokken had a great run with Breaking the Chains - Back For the Attack. But Invasion of your Privacy trumps any Dokken album. So going with Ratt.

[Michael Hotts Ghost]

Speaking on lineups from the early days of both bands:

Don was a better singer than Stephen
Pilson better bassist and singer than Juan
Mick and Blotz tied on drums
Lynch and Warren .. roughly tied... hard to say
No fifth member in Dokken so not sure how to compare Robbin.

I liked Tooth and Nail as a whole better than any Ratt album.
The rest of both bands catalog had hits and misses ...

So overall Dokken just because of Tooth and Nail.

[DangerZone]

Speaking on lineups from the early days of both bands:

Don was a better singer than Stephen
Pilson better bassist and singer than Juan
Mick and Blotz tied on drums
Lynch and Warren .. roughly tied... hard to say
No fifth member in Dokken so not sure how to compare Robbin.

I liked Tooth and Nail as a whole better than any Ratt album.
The rest of both bands catalog had hits and misses ...

So overall Dokken just because of Tooth and Nail.

Agree on Pilson > Juan.
And I’d say mick is > blotz

[EzyRider]

Ratt is much better stripper music, so they win.

[Tommy]

Ratt. Not even close.

[EnuffRatt]

Ratt by a million miles. I first saw them on the OOTC tour when I was 15 and was transfixed by Warren. Incredible player and tone obviously and he just had a cool fucking vibe. Even when they had filler on their records, Warren would still shine.

Meanwhile, George was a monster, but somehow Dokken always seemed generic to me. Don didn’t stand out and they were always openers. Even if Ratt were playing to half empty arenas, at least they were headliners.

[Ratt_Trader]

Ratt by a million miles. I first saw them on the OOTC tour when I was 15 and was transfixed by Warren. Incredible player and tone obviously and he just had a cool fucking vibe. Even when they had filler on their records, Warren would still shine.

Meanwhile, George was a monster, but somehow Dokken always seemed generic to me. Don didn’t stand out and they were always openers. Even if Ratt were playing to half empty arenas, at least they were headliners.

This ^2

[EuroJR]

RATT all the way.

I still don't get what is there to make somebody like Dokken? I tried to listen to them lately, but did not find one single song I liked.
Very generic spinal-tapish-songs and not a single catchy one.

[EuroJR]

*double post* - wtf is wrong with this server. Been like this year after year!

[Dyslexicheart]

Ratt overall had better, more memorable songs. Dokken were pretty generic, and at least Stephen had a distinctive voice. I'm taking Ratt, but it's pretty close.

[Tommy2Tone84]

Ratt, and it's not even close.

Dokken had their charms but they were--let's be honest--quite terrible.

Fixed it for you

[NineteenEightyFour]

Dokken because of George Lynch and having more songs I like. Obviously, Ratt is/was killer, but George Lynch.

[Kajsa]

Not a big fan of either but Ratt wins slightly.

[rubysdad]

Speaking on lineups from the early days of both bands:

Don was a better singer than Stephen
Pilson better bassist and singer than Juan
Mick and Blotz tied on drums
Lynch and Warren .. roughly tied... hard to say
No fifth member in Dokken so not sure how to compare Robbin.

I liked Tooth and Nail as a whole better than any Ratt album.
The rest of both bands catalog had hits and misses ...

So overall Dokken just because of Tooth and Nail.

As Robbin gots sucked into his addiction Ratt lost the cool factor.
I relate more to Don’s lyrics, and George is my favourite guitarist.
So it’s Dokken for me.

[Tommy2Tone84]

Speaking on lineups from the early days of both bands:

Don was a better singer than Stephen
Pilson better bassist and singer than Juan
Mick and Blotz tied on drums
Lynch and Warren .. roughly tied... hard to say
No fifth member in Dokken so not sure how to compare Robbin.

I liked Tooth and Nail as a whole better than any Ratt album.
The rest of both bands catalog had hits and misses ...

So overall Dokken just because of Tooth and Nail.

As Robbin gots sucked into his addiction Ratt lost the cool factor.
I relate more to Don’s lyrics, and George is my favourite guitarist.
So it’s Dokken for me.

Was Dokken ever cool? If you really think about it.

[Ryan81]

Dokken. Not close. RATT is damn good, but the filler is too thick.

Once again I agree with Mr. Filth. At the most I could only find about 3 songs per album by Ratt that I enjoy. They were usually 3 very good songs, but with Dokken it was a struggle for me to find 3 songs per album that I didn't enjoy. Mind you I am talking about each band's 80's output only (however Dysfunctional [1995] was a very solid album).

Dokken is in my top 3 to 5 bands period. I suppose part of the reason for that is because when I discovered them when I was in 6th grade ('88) none of my friends had a clue who they were so I felt like they were my discovery. I always have thought that they deserved to be bigger than they were. If life was fair they would've been as big as Motley Crue was because musically they were a far superior band, but they didn't have the image that was necessary to be that popular...although they definitely tried. Perhaps if Don had killed somebody in a drunken car wreck and if Pilson had a heroin overdose then they could've achieved similar success?

Both bands do match up very well at their respective instruments (however I think that Don was a much better singer than Pearcy when they were in their primes). Warren and George is always an interesting comparison. I prefer Lynch though. His 80's output is some of my favorite guitar work ever. The solo in Heaven Sent is a fucking masterpiece.

Here are a couple of links that talk about each guitarist that is a pretty interesting read:

Warren - https://www.dinosaurrockguitar.com/node/18

Lynch - https://www.dinosaurrockguitar.com/node/34

If you are into guitar the website I posted links to has some great information about the players we all like.

[Bono Nettencourt]

Speaking on lineups from the early days of both bands:

Don was a better singer than Stephen
Pilson better bassist and singer than Juan
Mick and Blotz tied on drums
Lynch and Warren .. roughly tied... hard to say
No fifth member in Dokken so not sure how to compare Robbin.

I liked Tooth and Nail as a whole better than any Ratt album.
The rest of both bands catalog had hits and misses ...

So overall Dokken just because of Tooth and Nail.

As Robbin gots sucked into his addiction Ratt lost the cool factor.
I relate more to Don’s lyrics, and George is my favourite guitarist.
So it’s Dokken for me.

Was Dokken ever cool? If you really think about it.

Yeah... at least RATT had some cool videos from the 1st 2 records. For hair farmers, Dokken had a serious image problem. They weren't ugly, just awkward and unsure of how to present themselves. That sank them more than anything.

[pieceofme]

Dokken. Not close. RATT is damn good, but the filler is too thick.

Once again I agree with Mr. Filth. At the most I could only find about 3 songs per album by Ratt that I enjoy. They were usually 3 very good songs, but with Dokken it was a struggle for me to find 3 songs per album that I didn't enjoy. Mind you I am talking about each band's 80's output only (however Dysfunctional [1995] was a very solid album).

Dokken is in my top 3 to 5 bands period. I suppose part of the reason for that is because when I discovered them when I was in 6th grade ('88) none of my friends had a clue who they were so I felt like they were my discovery. I always have thought that they deserved to be bigger than they were. If life was fair they would've been as big as Motley Crue was because musically they were a far superior band, but they didn't have the image that was necessary to be that popular...although they definitely tried. Perhaps if Don had killed somebody in a drunken car wreck and if Pilson had a heroin overdose then they could've achieved similar success?

Both bands do match up very well at their respective instruments (however I think that Don was a much better singer than Pearcy when they were in their primes). Warren and George is always an interesting comparison. I prefer Lynch though. His 80's output is some of my favorite guitar work ever. The solo in Heaven Sent is a fucking masterpiece.

Here are a couple of links that talk about each guitarist that is a pretty interesting read:

Warren - https://www.dinosaurrockguitar.com/node/18

Lynch - https://www.dinosaurrockguitar.com/node/34

If you are into guitar the website I posted links to has some great information about the players we all like.

Dokken were lucky they were around in the 80s. Any other era they would have struggled. They did fine. Something like 3 platinum and 2 gold records. Even if they had had the image of the Crue they didn't have those rock anthems that connect the same way with the general public like a band like Motley Crue

[kytepunches]

If I were to rank the albums between the two, it would look like:

1. Under Lock and Key
2. Out of the Cellar
3. Invasion of Your Privacy
4. Tooth and Nail
5. Back for the Attack
6. Everything else

That’s the order i would use . But it gives the edge to Ratt .

[Bono Nettencourt]

If I were to rank the albums between the two, it would look like:

1. Under Lock and Key
2. Out of the Cellar
3. Invasion of Your Privacy
4. Tooth and Nail
5. Back for the Attack
6. Everything else

That’s the order i would use . But it gives the edge to Ratt .

A slight edge, but a legit edge. They had 2 multiplatinum albums and headlined arenas. Dokken were great, but they just couldn't get over the hump.

[rubysdad]

As Robbin gots sucked into his addiction Ratt lost the cool factor.
I relate more to Don’s lyrics, and George is my favourite guitarist.
So it’s Dokken for me.

Was Dokken ever cool? If you really think about it.

Yeah... at least RATT had some cool videos from the 1st 2 records. For hair farmers, Dokken had a serious image problem. They weren't ugly, just awkward and unsure of how to present themselves. That sank them more than anything.

I reckon that’s the point though.
The thing that made them different from all the rest was Don never got the girl.
And though I dreamed of being Nikki or Robbin I was more Don than I wanted to be.

George was always cool.
Probably why Don hates him.

[jens]

Ratt had their charms but they were--let's be honest--quite terrible.

The RATT Reverence is one of the more puzzling thing on these boards for me.

[EyeDocOfRock]

Ratt

[Tommy2Tone84]

Ratt had their charms but they were--let's be honest--quite terrible.

The RATT Reverence is one of the more puzzling thing on these boards for me.

What wasn’t to like? I’m puzzled how Motley Crue not only made it but sold more records than bands like KISS, Scorpions, Iron Maiden, Ratt, and Skid Row. Knopfler was right about MC.