In remembrance of Ray Manzarek, the latest edition of Dez’s Record Guides will be dedicated to The Doors. Longevity is laudable, but sometimes stars shine brightest when they are given a brief window. That is applicable to one of my very favorite bands, The Police. It is also true of The Doors. The incredibly long shadow cast by frontman/shaman Jim Morrison and his compadres (Ray Manzarek on keyboards, Robby Krieger on guitar, John Densmore on drums) is all the more remarkable considering that they were only together as a recording unit for about five years. Jim Morrison wasn’t the first sex symbol vocalist, but he did something different. He also had an air of risk and darkness that had not come before and has never been really replicated since. I personally find his straight poetry to be ridiculous, but as a musical frontman he was one of the greats. It is ironic that he desperately wanted to be taken seriously for the former, and dismissed his status as the latter, which was his true gift. As I mentioned in Manzarek’s obit here on GNABB, what still gets me to return to their music with some regularity is the musicianship of the other three. Manzarek often would handle both the intricate keyboard parts and the bass simultaneously on stage and in the studio. Both parts were usually complex enough to where they would have been impressive handled on their own by different people. Robby Krieger, although his stage persona was usually that of a person asleep, brought in varied influences (most notably he was a fine flamenco player) to make for a rich palette of guitar styles. He does not get enough credit for his versatile slide playing, either. John Densmore was really a jazz drummer in many respects, and he kept the beat while never sacrificing complexity. Together they made a one of a kind sound that still thrills.
The Doors (1967) *****
The Doors’ debut remains a stunner and does that rare thing: it creates a world and sound entirely its own. Even the covers (Brecht and Weill’s “Alabama Song” and Howlin’ Wolf’s “Backdoor Man”) are thoroughly Doorsified. But the two epics are the tracks that stand out. The hit “Light My Fire” with its carnivalesque intro and then the wonderful solos from Manzarek and Krieger, and the notorious closer “The End” is something else entirely. It was used brilliantly in the introduction of ‘Apocalypse Now,’ which makes sense, because much of the music of The Doors is cinematic.
Strange Days (1967) ****
The first two records are almost a double album, in that the material spread over them was all part of their core setlist before either record was recorded. So yes, much of what is here was leftover after the top tier material for the debut was released, but there is still much to love. “Moonlight Drive,” “People Are Strange,” “Love Me Two Times,” and the title track are all worthy hits. Even the lesser known cuts are mostly great, like moody “You’re Lost Little Girl.” Only two rather glaring missteps: the embarrassing Morrison poetry recitation (with melodramatic sound effects) “Horse Latitudes” and the bloated closer “When the Music’s Over” (after 11 minutes, you are hoping for exactly that to happen.)
Waiting For the Sun (1968) ***
After releasing their initial burst of songwriting over their first two records, The Doors were faced with coming up with new material. About half of this is outstanding, and many fans really like this record for its eclectic sounds and moods. They had written a sidelong piece entitled “Celebration of the Lizard,” but then scrapped it, with only the ominous song “Not To Touch the Earth” from the piece appearing on the record. Somewhat deflated by their failure to get “Celebration” right, they scrambled to fill the rest of the space. “Unknown Soldier” and “Five To One” are two brilliant protest songs of the era, “Summer’s Almost Gone” is beautiful and wistful, “Spanish Caravan” is really cool, and “Hello I Love You” was a catchy hit (although they ripped off The Kinks, and were sued for it). But the rest of this is filler. And I think they knew it.
The Soft Parade (1969) **
You’ve got to admire them for trying to expand their sound. But a mixture of weak material and mostly failed experiments with string sections, horns, country music and another bloated Morrison epic to close makes this the weakest Morrison-era studio record in their catalogue by miles.
Morrison Hotel (1970) ****
After a near disaster where hardly any of their experiments worked, the Doors go back to some roots. Not necessarily the roots suggested on their first records, though. Here they surprise all by proving to be a killer, gritty blues-rock band. Gone are the misguided horn and string experiments, but also gone is the heavy organ sound from Manzarek that defined their early sound. The guitars are tougher, the keyboards more straightforward and funkier. Robby cuts loose with his bottleneck slide, they hire a real bass player, and Morrison proves himself to be an excellent blues-rock singer when he is focused.
ABOVE: The latterday Doors.
Absolutely Live (live) (1970) ***
Some love the sound of live Doors. I usually don’t. It is thinner than what they got in the studio, and the studio generally put some constraints on Morrison. He was ADD to the extreme onstage, abandoning songs midway through to follow some poetic flight of fancy, and the poor band had to adjust and follow along. Some call this brilliant improvisation, I call it lack of focus. It does feature a full workout of "Celebration of the Lizard." The opening cover of “Who Do You Love” is awesome, though, in part because at least on the covers Morrison felt some obligation to honor the original composition.
L.A. Woman (1971) *****
You couldn’t ask for a better swansong. Fulfilling the bluesy promise of Morrison Hotel, they go deep into the groove and add just enough mystery. The title track is a brilliant love letter to the seedy side of their home base of L.A., while “Riders on the Storm” fulfills all of the promise of the latterday Morrison. He sounds so weary on this record, and his death not long after confirms what you hear. These songs are lived in as much as any great classic blues. So while it might be a personal tragedy, his deteriorating condition did add to the art, because his ravaged and raspy voice that was once a strong baritone is oddly perfect for these songs. He sounds like a really old 27-year old.
Other Voices (1971) **
Full Circle (1972) **
The remaining three valiantly tried to carry on as a trio with Manzarek and Krieger splitting the vocal duties. It just wasn’t really happening.
An American Prayer (1969-70/1978) **
An interesting concept. Morrison would often drunkenly record his spoken word poetry during downtime in the studio. The surviving Doors took some of this rambling material and composed music to play over it. It is not as bad as it sounds, but it is not very good either. A few of the tracks work well.
Alive She Cried (live compilation) (1983) **
Live at the Hollywood Bowl (live) (1968/1987) **
In Concert (live compilation) (1991) ****
Bright Midnight Archives series (all live) NR
Since Morrison’s death, the vaults have been scoured for mostly live material. There is a lot of it. The Bright Midnight Archives series features about 20 or more full shows individually released, if you are interested. I’ve got a few of them. The In Concert set compiles the best material from Absolutely Live, Alive She Cried, and the Hollywood Bowl.
Essential Rarities (compilation of unreleased material) (2000) **
In 1997 The Doors put out a large box set comprised of mostly previously released material. Kindly, they released a single disc separately filled with some of the demos, live tracks and previously unreleased songs that appeared on the box set. As exciting as this might sound, there is little here of real interest. “Who Scared You,” “I Will Never Be Untrue” and “Orange County Suite” are all blues based tunes that feature their latterday sound and are the best songs here.
Doors compilations:
According to Wikipedia, there have been 22 Doors compilations. I feel like there have been more, but I’ll take that number. It is a testament to the enduring legacy of the band that there is still money to be made every couple of years out of this limited catalogue. Out of all of the ones still available, I guess Legacy: The Absolute Best (2003) ***** is, well, the absolute best of the compilations. A two disc set that covers most of the bases, and includes some worthy rarities, like uncensored versions of “Break On Through” and “The End,” as well as the scrapped full 17 minute studio version of “Celebration of the Lizard.” You can now judge for yourself whether they were wise to leave “Celebration” off of Waiting For the Sun or not. I think they were.
Bottom line: The shadow of The Doors looms large, and they were a unique sound. The Doors and L.A. Woman bookend the Morrison era and are essential, while Strange Days and Morrison Hotel are also excellent. Legacy works as a fine one stop collection.
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