Breaking the Chains
Breaking the Chains is the debut studio album from the American hard rock and heavy metal band Dokken, released in 1981. It first appeared in Europe on the French label Carrère under the title Breakin' the Chains, with different mixes and song titles from the later American edition. "Paris Is Burning" went by "Paris" and was a studio take, and the set included "We're Illegal", an early version of what became "Live to Rock (Rock to Live)".
Elektra remixed, partly re-recorded and renamed the record for a US release in 1983, where it reached number 136 on the Billboard 200. The label saw it as a flop and considered dropping the band, until management persuaded them to back a better follow-up, Tooth and Nail, in September 1984. The title track has since been ranked the 62nd greatest hard rock song by VH1 and turned up on the V-ROCK radio station in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories.
Breaking the Chains: tracklist, credits and charts
10 tracks · 34:47Tracklist
- 1Breakin’ the ChainsBrown, Dokken, Lynch3:50
- 2Seven ThundersBrown, Dokken, Lynch3:50
- 3I Can See YouJuan Croucier and Don Dokken3:30
- 4In the MiddleDon Dokken and George Lynch3:45
- 5We’re IllegalBrown, Dokken, Lynch3:37
- 6ParisBrown, Dokken, Lynch3:42
- 7Still to Your GunsDon Dokken3:00
- 8Young GirlDon Dokken and George Lynch3:15
- 9FelonyDon Dokken3:07
- 10NightriderBrown, Dokken, Lynch3:11
- Produced by
- Dokken, Michael Wagener
- Recorded at
- Dierks Studios, Cologne
- Mixed by
- Wyn Davis, Michael Wagener
- Engineered by
- Michael Wagener
- Labels
- Carrère, Elektra
- Length
- 34:47
Line-up
- Mick Brown · drums (drum set), background vocals
- Juan Croucier · bass guitar, background vocals
- Don Dokken · guitar, lead vocals
- George Lynch · guitar
Singles
- “I Can't See You” · 1981 (Germany)
- “Young Girls” · 1981 (Germany)
- “We're Illegal” · April 1982 (UK)
- “Breaking the Chains” · November 1983 (US)
Peak chart positions
| Chart | Peak |
|---|---|
| Japanese Albums (Oricon) · 1983 | 75 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification |
|---|---|
| United States | Gold |
From MusicBrainz and Wikipedia. Only what the sources record is shown.
More from Dokken
Full discography →
The best of 1981
All of 1981 →
More on Carrère
The label →
Releases and pressings
How we know the release date only year precision available
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | 1981 | |
| Wikipedia infobox | 1981 (GB) | |
| Wikidata | 1981 |
8 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | US | Elektra | 075596029025 | other |
| 1981 | DE | Carrère | original | |
| 1983 | US | Elektra | 07559602901 | other |
| 1983 | US | Elektra | 075596029025 | other |
| 1986 | US | Elektra | 075596029025 | other |
| 1986 | JP | Elektra | 4988014305532 | other |
| 25 September 2007 | AL | Elektra | 075596029063 | other |
| 2014 | GB | Rock Candy | 5055300379481 | other |
Cover art sources
deezer · upscaled: major: best source 1200x1200, upscaled to 1500 (x1.25)
| Source | Size | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| deezer ✓ | 1200×1200 | upscaled: major: best source 1200x1200, upscaled to 1500 (x1.25) |
| fanarttv | 1000×1000 | upscaled |
| coverartarchive | 600×600 | upscaled |