The crystal ship (The Doors) (LP 4288 - 4297)

The Doors  The Doors (Vinyl, Elektra Records, 1967) *****  

The Doors  Strange Days (Vinyl, Elektra Records, 1967) ****

The Doors  Waiting for the Sun (Vinyl, Elektra Records, 1968) **** 

The Doors  The Soft Parade (Vinyl, Elektra Records, 1969) ***

The Doors  Morrison Hotel (Vinyl, Elektra Records, 1970) *****

The Doors  L.A. Woman (Vinyl, Elektra Records, 1971) *****

The Doors  Full Circle (Vinyl, Elektra Records, 1972) ***

The Doors  An American Prayer (Vinyl, Elektra Records, 1978) *****

The Doors  Absolutely Live (Vinyl, Elektra Records, 1970) ***

The Doors  Alive She Cried (Vinyl, Elektra Records, 1983) *****

Genre: Rock, pop 

Places I remember: Marbecks Records

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Riders on the Storm (LA Woman)

Gear costume: Roadhouse Blues (Morrison Hotel)

They loom large in his legend (The Album Collection playlists): Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5; Part 6; Part 7

Active compensatory factors: So much has been written about Jim Morrison and his bandmates in The Doors. 

A band Joan Didion described as 'the Norman Mailers of the top forty, missionaries of apocalyptic sex'. Yes, sometimes the sensational behaviours overshadowed the music. That's a shame because they were one of the best bands of the late sixties/ early seventies. And Jim could sing and he could sell a song when he was in the mood.

For those new to the band - Jim Morrison (a.k.a. The Lizard King) handles vocals, Ray Manzarek is the keyboardist, including bass, Robby Krieger plays guitar and bass, John Densmore is the drummer. Songs came from everyone. 

It's hard to credit that their debut The Doors came in the year of Sgt. Pepper. It feels, in many ways, as if it came from a parallel universe. It really does feel like a unique experience as they trip their way through a dizzying array of styles from rock, blues, classical, jazz and poetry. 

Light My Fire was what got them noticed but the album also has significant career highlights - Break on Through, The Crystal Ship, Soul Kitchen, End of the Night, Take It As It Comes, Twentieth Century Fox and, amazingly, all shaded by The End. 

Strange Days is also from 1967 but it doesn't have the edge that The Doors has. Maybe because the debut is that stunning, their second album couldn't help being shadowed by it. Strange Days, nevertheless, is an excellent album - the title track and Moonlight Drive being highlights. When the Music's Over is another 11 minute epic and different to The End.

Third album, Waiting for the Sun is quite a short album and the material isn't as strong as the first two albums. Still, it went to number 1 on Billboard thanks to a mighty single - Hello, I Love You. 

Some of the songs are quite experimental in approach - Spanish Caravan, The Unknown Soldier, Not to Touch the Earth and My Wild Love. The highlight for me is Five to One. Jim Morrison at his best on this song.

More experiments were undertaken for the next album. Following their esteemed producer's suggestion (Paul A. Rothchild) the band incorporates brass, and string arrangements. It's a brave move, which works at times - especially on Touch Me - the single.

Robbie Krieger supplies a lot of the songs and they aren't as inspired as Morrison's, but maybe it's those arrangements. I'm not sure, but this is the weakest album by The Doors with Jim as vocalist.

My two favourite Doors albums are Morrison Hotel and The Doors. The return to their previous blues rock style is very welcome. Every song is great but Roadhouse Blues, which starts the album, is sublime. The harmonica is by John Sebastian and it wails!

Peace Frog is similarly hugely impressive. Jim's vocals are always terrific when he is fully invested in the song. That's not often the case during a lot of the previous two albums, but Morrison Hotel is the real deal. Amazing too, as he was going through all sorts of personal stuff with arrests for lewd behaviour and whatnot. All up, Morrison Hotel is a stunning five-star classic.

L.A. Woman was the last Doors' album released in Jim's lifetime. I find it inconsistent. Maybe the pressure was getting to him by this point.

It has a couple of songs that don't move me especially - the title track and L'America, but it also has sublime moments that I rank amongst their best songs - Cars Hiss By My Window, Riders on the Storm, The WASP (Texas Rado and the Big Beat), and it has some really good songs - the rest.

After Jim's death the remaining members carried on for a spell - two albums in fact. I bought and sold Other Voices, but I've kept Full Circle. It has The Mosquito, The Piano Bird, It Slipped My Mind and Verdilac on it - songs I love. Plus, I love the cover. On the whole though - Jim's absence is keenly felt in the vocal department.

An American Prayer is a beautiful album, featuring Jim's poetry and spoken word sections with the remaining Doors providing the new musical accompaniment. It is superb full stop for both Jim and The Doors.

As AllMusic says: 'An American Prayer must be listened to in one sitting to be fully appreciated, preferably at nighttime when one is alone and can devote full attention to the listening experience. This album is not for everyone, but is a must-own for Doors completists and fans of Jim Morrison's poetry'.

On to the live albums: the only one that was released in Jim's lifetime was Absolutely Live. It's a double album and I find it tough going. My copies are the double album split into 2 single albums - Volume 1 and Volume 2.

The material comes from US tours in 1969 and 1970. It's a very loose selection with Jim doing loads of rambling improvisations, reciting poetry and sometimes singing. Not what I expected or wanted. But hey - it's The Doors live!

Alive She Cried is the second live album in my collection. Again, it's not one single concert, instead the recordings are from various concerts from 1968 to 1970 including shows in Los Angeles, New York, Detroit, Boston and Copenhagen.

Highlights from this cobbled together collection are Gloria, an extended Light My Fire, and Little Red Rooster with John Sebastian back on blues harp.

Where do they all belong? A lot of live stuff has subsequently been released but I'll be sticking with what I've got in this list.

A glimpse of heaven (Strawbs) (LP 4286 - 4287)

Jackie DeShannon   Songs  (Vinyl, Capitol Records, 1971) ***  

Strawbs   From the Witchwood  (Vinyl, A&M Records, 1971) ****  

Genre: Pop, folk rock, prog rock 

Places I remember: Slow Boat Records

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Witchwood (Strawbs)

Gear costume: Lay Lady Lay (Jackie DeShannon)

They loom large in his legend (The Album Collection playlists): Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5; Part 6; Part 7

Active compensatory factors: A recent visit to Wellington meant a few purchases from Slow Boat Records*. Nineteen seventy-one is one of my favourite years for music - here are two more from that stellar year.

Jackie DeShannon has featured from time to time in the collection's rundown (Jackie and For You). I'm not sure why I'm drawn to her brand of pop music, but I am. Songs is an unheralded album of hers, Jackie gets much more attention, but it's a good pop album with a variety of looks - pop, folk, gospel even. Her version of Lay Lady Lay is interesting and a highlight of this album.

From the Witchwood has been on my radar for a while. It's the second and final Strawbs' album with Rick Wakeman as a full member (Dragonfly has already appeared - he appears on one track, Just a Collection of Antiques and Curios). 

It is a game of two halves in some regards - a folk-rock side one and a prog rock side two. I enjoy both sides in equal measure. Dave Cousins has an appropriate vocal style for each and Rick Wakeman's keyboards can adapt to all sorts of styles.

Where do they all belong? *I also picked up Bob Weir's second solo album. I'll get to it eventually.

Spirit (The Doobie Brothers) (LP 4282 - 4285)

The Doobie Brothers  The Captain and Me (CD, Warner Bros. Records, 1973) **** 

The Doobie Brothers  What Were Once Vices Are Now Habits (CD, Warner Bros. Records, 1974) **** 

The Doobie Brothers  Minute By Minute (CD, Warner Bros. Records, 1978) **** 

The Doobie Brothers  Live at the Wolf Trap (CD and DVD, Sanctuary Records, 2004) **** 

Genre: Rock, pop 

Places I remember: Fopp, HMV

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Another Park, Another Sunday (What Were Vices... and Live at the Wolf Trap)

Gear costume: Jesus Is Just Alright (Listen to the Music)

They loom large in his legend (The Album Collection playlists): Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5; Part 6; Part 7

Active compensatory factors: I am not a huge fan of The Doobie Brothers but I do like many of their big hit songs. In the seventies it was impossible to ignore them. That helps explain my spotty collection. The albums I own came from the sale racks at Fopp many years after they were released.

The Captain and Me was their third album and at this time the band included Tom Johnston and Patrick Simmons (both -vocals, guitars), Tiran Porter (bass), John Hartman and Michael Hossack (drums).

It contains a couple of their biggest hits - Long Train Runnin' and China Grove. This one also has South City Midnight Lady on it. The album as a whole is a very successful combination of seventies guitar driven hard rock (China Grove), and country rock (Clear as the Driven Snow), with wonderful harmony vocals done in a now signature Doobie Brothers style.

There's more of this on offer in their next album - What Were Once Vices Are Now Habits. Another Park, Another Sunday is just a gorgeous song. The melody gets to me every time. The overall album is great too. The Doobie Brothers sound which is a combination of The Byrds, The Eagles, Creedence Clearwater Revival, with CSN like harmonies is fully realised on these early albums.

I was never a great fan of the Michael McDonald led version of the band - a bit too slick and commercial for my money back in the seventies which is a pretty dumb attitude now that I come to think of it. Minute by Minute is my only album from this era and it's fantastic - funky as all get out! I do miss the guitars but McDonald's warm honey vocals are superb as well as his distinctive keyboard style. The big hits on the album were What a Fool Believes and the title track.  

Live at the Wolf Trap is a fantastic party record, with hit after hit after hit by the returned Tom Johnston version of the band. Ignore the naysayers - this is how the band should be remembered.

  
Where do they all belong? A compilation like the 19 track  Listen to the Music: The Very Best of The Doobie Brothers is probably your best introduction.

Paid in full (The Desotos) (LP 4280 - 4281)

The Desotos  Your Highway for Tonight (CD, Ode Records, 2011) *** 

Paul Gurney with The Desotos  Shadow of Love (CD, Tailgator Music, 2017) ***  

Genre: NZ Music, Americana, country rock

Places I remember: Roger Marbeck, JB Hi Fi

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Paid in Full (Y0ur Highway for Tonight)

Gear costume: Neon Light (Your Highway for Tonight)

They loom large in his legend (The Album Collection playlists): Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5; Part 6; Part 7

Active compensatory factors: The DeSotos are Paul Gurney (vocals, guitar),
Stuart McIntyre (bass, vocals), Ron Stevens (Hammond organ, keyboards, guitar, vocals), Michael Burrows (drums, vocals). They lean on Paul Gurney's country blues guitar and his laid-back vocals.

Thanks to Roger Marbeck, I did have their debut album in my collection as well (Cross Your Heart), but I seem to have mislaid it somewhere. So, it's on to their second album - Your Highway for Tonight.

It's a lovely album full of cool JJ Cale inspired laid back Americana. Nothing gets too rushed in the country! That's probably my niggly thought too - it's all pretty much the same pace and I find myself hankering for some variety.

The Shadow of Love album isn't as good in my opinion. Too laid back and mellow for my taste.

Where do they all belong? A nice Americana corner of NZ music.

Shadow looms large (The Datsuns) (LP 4273 - 4279)

The Datsuns  The Datsuns (CD, Shock Records, 2002) *****  

The Datsuns  Outta Sight/ Outta Mind (CD, Hellsquad Records, 2004) **** 

The Datsuns  Smoke & Mirrors (CD, V2 Records, 2006) *** 

The Datsuns  Headstunts (CD, Hellsquad Records, 2008) *** 

The Datsuns  Death Rattle Boogie (CD, HellsquadRecords, 2012) **** 

The Datsuns  Deep Sleep (CD, Hellsquad Records, 2014) ** 

The Datsuns  Eye to Eye (Vinyl, Hellsquad Records, 2021) *** 

Genre: NZ Music, hard rock 

Places I remember: JB Hi Fi, Real Groovy Records

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: MF from Hell (The Datsuns)

Gear costume: Blacken My Thumb (Outta Sight...)

They loom large in his legend (The Album Collection playlists): Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5; Part 6; Part 7

Active compensatory factors: I love hard rock. It gets the blood thumping, my head bopping and my feet moving. I'm especially proud of The Datsuns. Part of my teaching career took in Cambridge High School where these guys got together. My eldest son was good friends with Dolf's younger brother.

The mainstay band members are Rudolf "Dolf" de Borst on vocals and bass guitar, Christian Livingstone and Phil Somervell, both on guitar. Their early seventies influences (Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Thin Lizzy) are obvious but so what. They do what they do so well!

They have contributed some superb hard rock in the 2000s, beginning with their amazing debut album in 2002. Every song hits home but the highlights are MF from Hell, Fink for the Man, Sitting Pretty, Freeze Sucker, Lady...actually every song is brilliant!

I was a little disappointed with their second album at the time and I can't think why now - the production by Led Zeppelin's John Paul Jones is great and the riffs and melodies are there as well. Ignore the critics and embrace Nu Zild's finest rock band (yes - better than Shihad).

Album number 3 - Smoke & Mirrors continued the prototype Datsuns brand of seventies inspired rock music. Blood Red is a highlight - displaying their customary energy, commitment, and melodic riffs. It's not as consistently brilliant as those first two albums though.

Headstunts was next in 2008. At this point the band was producing one new album every two years. Nothing much new on Headstunts, apart from new drummer - Ben Cole. For most of the songs, the sound collage feels a little more claustrophobic this time out. 

Kudos to the band for trying something new and expanding into more prog rock shapes on two tracks - Eye of the Needle and Somebody Better. Both stretch out and show the band are more than just a seventies fixated hard rocking boogie band. Overall - although it's got some good rockin', it's not an album I play much.

Death Rattle Boogie feels much more like it. Dolf's singing is back to its powerful best this time out as they embrace their true rock out selves again. The riffs are more potent again as they return to the form that led to those first two albums. There's more prog leanings to this one as well - with even a hint of Muse like prog metal.

Deep Sleep is their sixth album, released in 2014. It speeds by in just over 30 minutes but it doesn't sound as inspired as Death Rattle Boogie.

It's still very recognisably The Datsuns with it's retro rock sounds and Dolf's very distinctive vocals, but not a place to start if you are new to the band. That honour would go to their debut, Outta Sight/ Outta Mind or Death Rattle Boogie. The Sabbath influence is most pronounced on Deep Sleep - especially 500 Eyes.

An unusual seven-year gap came before their latest album - 2021's Eye To Eye. This is a much better effort than Deep Sleep as the boys (no longer boys) have a spring back in their steps with some almost punkish energy (Buzzcocks style). 

It's uneven, for sure, but the good bits make this a return to form. Highlights are the opening track - Dehumanise, Brain to Brain and Bite My Tongue.

Where do they all belong? You certainly know what you're getting with The Datsuns. After seven albums, they are now masters of their brand of rock'n'roll.

the holy hour (The Cure) (LP 4268 - 4272)

The Cure  Seventeen Seconds (CD, Fiction Records, 1980) ****  

The Cure  faith (Vinyl, Stunn Records, 1981) **** 

The Cure  Concert. The Cure Live (CD, Fiction Records, 1984) **** 

The Cure  Standing on a Beach. The Singles (CD, Fiction Records, 1986) ***** 

The Cure  Galore: The Singles 1987 - 1997 (CD, Fiction Records, 1997) *** 

Genre: Gothic, Alt rock

Places I remember: Fives, Margie's brother, King's Recording (Abu Dhabi)

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Just Like Heaven (Galore)

Gear costume: A Forest (Standing on a Beach)

They loom large in his legend (The Album Collection playlists): Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5; Part 6; Part 7

Active compensatory factors: I would describe myself as a casual follower of The Cure. They have never got their hooks into me fully. 

I would own their 1979 debut album, Three Imaginery Boys, except Roger Marbeck played it a lot in the shop and the tap's drip drip drip annoyed me. Now I don't mind it because it reminds of working at Marbecks - which I absolutely loved.

So my first Cure album is their second one - Seventeen Seconds. This is the one with A Forest on it which is an amazing song. It certainly inspired many a Flying Nun band down in Dunedin.

The rest of the album is of a piece - as in the sound is consistent and the chilly vibe extended over the whole set of songs. It's great for early evenings, I've found.

Faith is similar in sound and tone. The grey cover and the (lower case) song titles provide clues: all cats are grey, the funeral party, doubt, the drowning man. 

The slow atmosphere pervades for most of the songs (primary was the single and it's noisier in a punkish way). I don't find this, or Seventeen Seconds, depressing though. It's ambient approach is quite soothing.

The live album - Concert, was recorded in 1984 at the Hammersmith Odeon in London and in Oxford during The Top tour. The Cure live doesn't sound anything like Faith/ Seventeen Seconds. Instead they sound punkish and raw - which is a good thing!

Standing on a Beach. The Singles compiles singles from their first decade - 1976 to 1986 and it's invaluable. The CD version especially so as it has some extra tracks added that weren't singles, but they flesh out the picture.

Galore completes the next decade from 1987 to 1997. Although I prefer the Standing on a Beach era, Galore still presents The Cure as an ever-adventurous alt rock band. 

Where do they all belong? If you're new to the band I recommend Standing on a Beach. The Singles and Galore as a good starting point.

Friends again (John Sebastian) (LP 4267)

John Sebastian  Tarzana Kid (Vinyl, Reprise Records, 1974) *****  

Genre: Americana

Places I remember: Electric City Music

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Sitting in Limbo

Gear costume: Stories We Could Tell

They loom large in his legend (The Album Collection playlists): Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5; Part 6; Part 7

Active compensatory factors: I have a soft spot for Reprise Records and for John Sebastian, so when I visited the excellent Electric City Music recently (shout out to Dean Marden!!) and saw a copy of Tarzana Kid, I couldn't resist.

It's a superb collection of low-key lovely songs. If Americana was a genre back in 1974 this would have been huge!

The musicianship on it is fantastic, thanks to Sebastian and guests like Emmylou Harris, Lowell George, Milt Holland, The Pointer Sisters, Jim Gordon, David Grisman, David Lindlay, Ry Cooder, and Phil Everly.

This is a really under-appreciated album. I played it over and over again when I got it home. It just got better and better. Thanks again to Dean!   

Where do they all belong? Joins my other post The Lovin' Spoonful John Sebastian albums in my collection (John B Sebastian, The Four of Us).