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.

Into this world we're thrown like a dog without a bone (The Doors) #102

The Doors Riders On The Storm/ Changeling (Elektra, EKM 45738, 1971)

Apparently (according to Ray Manzarek) this was the last song recorded by the members of The Doors with Jim Morrison. The single was released in 1971, shortly before Morrison's death, entering the charts on 3 July 1971, the day that Morrison died.

I have a very distinct memory of hearing this song for the first time. I was 14, waiting for my mother in the car outside an antique shop in Auckland when this song came on the radio. It was one of those moments of epiphany that come along from time to time. Something connected me to the song there and then.

In my head I immediately linked it to the Marvel comics character - The Silver Surfer. I don't know why (I was 14! Strange associations pop into my mind still) but I guess it was the rider/storm idea.

I didn't really consider the literal situation of the song - the killer on the road (I misheard this for years - thinking it was 'row' as in death row) and the sweet family who he'd kill - instead I was riding the cosmic storm as the Silver Surfer!

Being the teenage me - I also misheard those sound effects for years as well - I thought they were waves crashing on a beach!

The video below is the edited single version - some three minutes shorter than the album version. Just shows - if it's a great song it can stand up to rough treatment.

Hidden gem: The B side is also on LA Woman and not their strongest track - again - a worthy B side but nothing particularly special.

To freak out or to be beautiful? (The Doors) #100 and 101 (of about 300 singles)

The Doors Love Her Madly/ (You Need Meat) Don't Go No Further  (Elektra, EKM 45726, 1971)

The Doors Wishful Sinful/ Who Scared You  (Elektra, EK 45656, 1969)

Two contrasting singles from The (mighty) Doors (Of Perception) kick off the next hundred singles in my collection.

Love Her Madly is a terrific pop song. They could write nifty singles when they wanted to. Even though the lyrics are very basic, they are on the top of their game here.

Wishful Sinful is NOT a terrific pop song. I'm not exactly sure what they were attempting with this song. It's not rock and roll, there's no bluesy Doors sound going on here and it's not pop. A bizarre choice for a single. Sure enough it bombed!

Hidden gems: The two B sides are reasonably rare in the Doors discography in that they are two of only three B sides that did NOT appear on their current albums (I'm sure they've appeared on compilations since and what with the interweb/ Spotify/ Amazon/ itube etc they are no longer rare songs - a good AND a bad thing in my humble).

You Need Meat is a cover of a Willie Dixon song and is an okay version - you can't improve on Willie though so...

Who Scared You is a Morrison/Krieger song that didn't make the cut for The Soft Parade. Oh dear - not their best album is it? Who Scared You is actually a pretty choice cut and is much better than a lot of the stuff on the album. Some nice organ from Ray, some tasteful brass parts and a sinewy little riff propel the song forward. Unfortunately it's not a great vocal performance from Jim so that was that - it made a B side.

Burn me in hell but as long as it pays (10CC)

Okay - so the final post in my album cover series and it's the second, best of the rest and last one on the arty farty theme. Next post - the Big Man remembered.

Aren't these covers awesome??!!

Neutral Milk Hotel - In The Aeroplane Over The Sea

King Crimson - In The Court of the Crimson King

Frank Zappa - The Grand Wazoo



My series ends with the first cover that really zapped me between the eyeballs.

 Love and peace - Wozza

Gimme in the kitchen, gimme in the hall (10CC)

The theme is musicians taking centre stage or out standing in their field - location doesn't matter. I couldn't narrow the whole group shot thing down to my favourite ten so here are twenty!


Allman Brothers Band - At the Fillmore East







The Byrds (without Crosby who is replaced by...)



Ummagumma





Yes



The Who



Wings - Wildlife





Beatles - Abbey Rd



Beatles - Hey Jude



Creedence Clearwater Revival - Green River





The Doors