The Doors Albums
Best Album:
The Doors
Biggest Influences
Howlin Wolf, Love, Muddy Waters, Kurt Weill, Wille Dixon, Van Morrison, Bob Dylan
Albums Chronologically:
1967 – 93% - The Doors
1967 – 90% - Strange Days
1968 – 78% - Waiting for the Sun
1969 – 58% - The Soft Parade
1970 – 68% - Morrison Hotel
1972 – 80% - L.A. Woman
1967
The Doors - 93%
The debut by the Doors was quite striking and the menagerie of influences was a sight to behold in the January of 1967. Influenced by the other California bands of the season: Love with their psychedelic flairs, The blues musicians of old like Robert Johnson and Willie Dixon, and the straight forward rock pop jangles of The Byrds and Jefferson Airplane. Catchy daddies like “Soul Kitchen” and “Twentieth Century Fox” were about the times but also new sounding. As much as they were a psychedelic influenced band, The Doors vocalist Jim Morrison also plunged deeper musically and lyrically than most bands of heir era. The poetry of Morrison mainly avoided pretension and asked important questions along the way. “The Crystal Ship” and End of the Night” especially are slow, plodding poetry backed by amble music, songs that would not work in most settings but really shine out there and form a genre all their own.
Pure rock in roll also exists and definitely was the calling card of the group. Deep blues runs through most of them, the cover of “Back Door Man” which is super amplified to maximize the intent of the depraved meanings, the cascading verses of “Break on Through” which was an instant radio classic, the reworking of Brecht and Kurt Weill’s “Alabama Song” which invokes a carnival ride out of control, the keyboards of band leader Ray Manzarek especially making it work on the journey. There are a couple of tunes not as strong as others, but they are few: the limping “I Looked at You” and “Take It As It Comes” are pleasant enough but the definition of filler when placed between these other classics.
From the bands of the era that indulged in longer jams, songs were born such as “Light My Fire” which was catchy enough on its own to be a pop hit but contained a bridge that made things even more aflame. The best of all is saved for last, “The End” which is an eleven minute story in which a son has evil thoughts about murdering his entire family, and the psychotic journey we all get to follow along. This song was largely influenced by Love's nineteen minute "Revelation" from their album Da Capo (1966). Again, the key to this group’s sound was making deep yearnings and incredible playing work in the context of the music behind it, and the band is more up to the task. The popular consensus is they never topped their debut, and I would agree with this.
Best Songs: The End, End of the Night, Light My Fire, Break on Through
Side note: it makes way more sense to think of this album as coming out at the end of 1966, it literally came out on Jan 4th of 1967. It has more in line with 1966 it was recorded in one week in August of 1966.
1967
Strange Days - 90%
Strange Days exists as a document of how the band could be a machine for blues rock in all its new forms. They took the blues and warped it into something artistically different and opened up the ‘doors’ (haha) for all sorts of music that processed a forward-thinking attitude. “Love Me Two Times” is typical of this, a proclamation that demands something but also asks important questions. “Horse Latitudes” is short, but its a purely beautiful avant-garde statement and while many would dismiss it as mad poetry I actually find it one of the band’s most interesting songs. “Strange Days” and “Unhappy Girl” perhaps meander a little bit too much for their own good but are still listenable, but “Moonlight Drive” proves that the band are not infallible in their songs and shows perhaps they are a little bit stretched thin quality wise.
The second half of the album is pretty much perfect: “People are Strange” was a killer lead single, with a lagging sort of pause throughout and lyrics about how being viewed as strange is a isolating thing (hello, all Joy Division songs!); “My Eyes Have Seen you” is a underrated rock song, with their typical bluesy shuffle but also a nice laid back quality; “I Can’t See Your Face In My Mind” continues the weird abstractness of “You’re Lost Little Girl” in a slower vein that proves seductive and has some xylophones within; “When the Music’s Over” is another 10 minute closer like the previous record and may even match it in intensity; I find it more original, proclaiming “Music is your only friend/ until the end.” Bizarre Robby Krieger guitar solos Manzarek and keyboards follow until Morrison chants “We Want the World and we want it….NOW!” it serves as a powerful document.
In all, Strange Days proved the band makes killer albums as well as singles. This album proved the band was not a one album wonder and in only one year, they made two masterworks.
Best Songs: Horse Latitudes, When The Music is Over, People are Strange, Love Me Two Times Babe
1968
Waiting for the Sun - 78%
The 3rd album in a year-and-a half from the group definitely shows signs of wear, but it also shows off some interesting sides of the band. “Hello I Love You” (which I swear does not sound enough like The Kink’s “all Day and All of the Night” to warrant a lawsuit! Though it is influenced by The Kinks in many ways, nothing wrong with that at all) and closer “Five to one” is amazing stab at what the did with previous blues covers and making the slow, captivating atmosphere all their own. “Not to Touch the Earth” meanders around some very spooky riffs and keyboard flairs while Morrison wails some nonsense and its kinda beautiful; “My Wild Love” uses strange tribal backgrounds to conjure up some evil spirits; “Spanish Caravan is actually their best instrumental song I can think of; “summers Almost gone” is a cooling summertime ballad for a picnic Lunch and a decent tune, the same could be said for the martial tempo back “the Unknown Soldier” perhaps an abstract Vietnam protest song?
Unfortunately there is some filler, as “Love Street” as track #2, “Yes the River Knows” and “Wintertime Love” all kind of lack something in my opinion. Still most of this works on some level, even if its not as catchy as the lead single all the way through as the band had really set us up for constant moods and quality on their first to records. You can note the influence of a ‘harder’ kind of rock n roll here for 1968, pioneering the sound for many heavy metal bands to follow from Black Sabbath, Steppenwolf, Led Zeppelin, countless bands of the 70s. But also, The Doors have an eclectic nature highlighted here, as proving band’s don’t all have to be one sound and many experimental tendencies make albums more entertaining.
Best Songs: Hello I Love You, Five to One, My Wild Love, Not to Touch the Earth
1969
The Soft Parade - 58%
This is the sound of band that don’t have enough good songs to make an entire album. I’ve heard the band stated they were out of songs and Krieger had to do a lot of writing in stupid for this record….and it shows. Most songs here sound made up on the spot and did not age well at all. I don’t mind the professional sim on display here: horn sections, operatic vocal approach by Morrison, and more refined attempt at songs that sound in ‘the groove’ of the later 1960’s. But, the only song that really jumps out as a masterwork is one of the more complicated pop songs ever made in “touch Me”- the song really is glorious, an amazing percussion performance form drummer John Densmore and a crooning best from Morrison with some subtle lines by Kreiger’s guitar and Manazerks keys. “Shaman’s Blues” is not an invalid attempt at a blues rock tune, but it pales in comparison to the bands past work. “Wild Child” does work and is perhaps the other great song on here, basically a template for the bridge between rock and deranged punk to come a decade later (but by even 1969 bands like The Stooges and MC5 has already made albums, so it’s not that ahead of its time).There is an attempt at a more progressive form of rock on the closing title track, “Runnin’ Blue tries country….but most songs are not worth a mention- it’s obviously the bands worst record (with Morrison) and everyone knows it. Middle of the road with a couple of good songs.
Best Songs: Touch Me, Wild Child
1970
Morrison Hotel - 68%
On their 5th record the band seems for confident in what they wanted to say then the last couple, with opener “Roadhouse Blues” as a pounding blues number in their now classic style, and “Waiting for the Sun” a more robust full bodied song that becomes a sort of mantra as it goes on and repeats itself. “Peace Frog” might be the most interesting one here, as Morrison rants about blood on the streets but sounds totally giddy about it; its on of the band’s most fun tunes. The record calls the first side ‘Hard Rock Café’ and side two ‘Morrison Hotel’. Unfortunately side two is not as strong in anyway, Land Ho” is catchy but a little goofy, “The Spy” is blues but too traditional and doesn’t add much to a unique swing, and so on. It’s better than Soft Parade as it does stick to what they do well at this point, but there are not enough strong for an entire album. At the rate they crank out the records (5 in two years, not including any live ones), perhaps they needed to slow down a little.
Best Songs: Peace Frog, Waiting for the Sun, Roadhouse Blues
1971
L.A. Woman - 80%
The Doors final album with Morrison was definitely their most forceful and darkest. You can sort of hear the despair and loss in the way Morrison sings every note, he howls like a man out of control. The trio of great songs here are among their best- “La Woman” is a nice seven-minute morphing blues journey with a breakdown in the middle about ‘keeping mojo rising’ that has become iconic; The catchy “Love Her Madly” touches on how they can write a pop song but also making it one of the more gut-wrenching experiences; “Riders on the Storm” recalls the psychedelic trance of their first tow albums and shows how they can mesmerize; “L’America” is an underrated game that seems to be influenced by Tim Buckley’s Lorca, its all spiciness and strange vocalizations and an interesting step forward for them.
If the other songs don’t quite live up to the magnificent singles, there is still some other powerful stuff here, like how “The Changeling” shows them as the new de facto blues music group or “Hyacinth House” shows they still have some pop music chops while sounding very of their time. There are some standard blues songs that your local bar band could conjure up (“Been Down So Long”, “Crawling King Snake”, “the Wasp” which is a bit pretentious) but nothing is horrible and really its rarely boring. As the last album before a tragedy, it serves as their best album since 1967 and a high note to go out on.
Best Songs: Love Her Madly, Riders on the Storm, LA Woman, L’America
1972
Full Circle - 37%
- last album, god awful bar band type songs without Jim Morrison
Best Songs??: Slipped my Mind (only song even close to the spirit of the originals)
Compilations
1970
Absolutely Live – 95%
This is a wild live record, which I hadn’t heard until this run. But I can see this as winning over new fans of the band honestly, as the band sounds the most out of control I have never heard them and it really gets to the heart of what made them a great band. It has the band’s most out there performances on it (“Break On through # 2” fits right in with the blues covers), kind of like the attitude of “Horse Latitudes” from Strange Days but for a whole album. It was not just one concert, but several from the years of 1969 and 1970 melded together, so it was heavily edits in the studio as opposed to just ‘what happens live’.
“Universal Mind” seems to be a new Doors song that wasn’t on an album, it totally rules as a slower blues number where Morrison rants about being a ‘freedom man’. “Celebration of the Lizard” where Morrison utters the immortal line ‘I am the Lizard King’ amongst other rambles. Why modern streaming breaks this song into 5 or 6 small tracks is beyond me, either you are along for the ride or you aren’t going to Get this album anyways. The versions of “Soul Kitchen” and “Five to One” are the best ever versions of those songs.
Morrison’s screams and rants in the between songs are understandably legendary, and his raspy voice is quite the wonder to listen to. “When the Music is Over” is even longer here, in an unhinged sixteen-minute version- basically if you didn’t see the genius of that song before you definitely will here. The part when Morrison tries to make every one SHUT UP in the middle of the song because the song is not over has to be heard to be believed.
The Doors really show a willing to experiment Live and demand your attention, it’s one of the better live albums I have heard and has this ability to make you like any song they perform live better than the album versions. Hats off to John Densmore too, an underrated drummer and his performance all over this record is what keeps the band in line. This is an album of songs performed live, but since it was taken from many concerts (some sources say there are over 1,000 edits!) it’s more of a studio-edited album than a straight live album; it probably gets everything about what made the band great though and shows off their weird side spectacularly. Surprisingly, I now think this is my favorite album by them.
Best Songs: When the Music’s Over, Universal Mind, Break ON Thru, Soul Kitchen, Celebration of the Lizard