You're very brave. Thanks for tackling this. As a consummate Doors fan, I enjoyed the read. My fave part was if you were in the band, you'd have to punch him in the face. No kidding.
You might be interested in seeing When You're Strange doc about the Doors 2009. Its film footage pieced together with a short Jim made in film school and performance footage.
That was perfect. Love The Doors but probably couldn’t endure the albums in succession. To be fair, I’m not sure I could do it with anyone. I agree completely with your “best of” analysis. A complete waste of time.
This whole post is brilliant and a great read -- I don't even like the Doors, but will need to go back and listen to some of the songs Jason describes.
Excellent piece! I am also a hardcore Doors fan (1st gen, I was 11 when the first LP came out), and you've verbalized many of my own feelings about the band - specifically that they "never played it safe." Personally I love all their studio work [almost] equally - your comment about Soft Parade "failing spectacularly" has merit, but it's the "spectacularly" part that keeps me going back to the album, which I loved when it came out & still do.
I have a theory (well, an opinion) that the *truly* great bands of classic rock almost never repeated themselves - every new album was different than the one before it. Maybe not a forward progression, but far from a repeat of any formula and sometimes style. This is true of the Doors, The Beatles, The Stones until the late '70s, Pink Floyd, Led Zep, J. Tull, Bowie, etc etc.
I realize this is a discussion about The Doors studio albums, but since I'm pontificating about them I have to state that they were an *incredible* live band - over & above Jim's unpredictable behavior, the three musicians had an alchemy that bonded them in the face of all the craziness, and they could jam and improvise like very few other bands, something that doesn't really get talked about much.
I highly recommend the Felt Forum box set, and any & all of the "Bright Midnight" authorized live CD releases from the last few decades. They put out a great Detroit show from 1970 and my favorite - a Boston concert from the same tour that was one of "those" shows - Jim is alternately wasted and brilliant, and the band rises to the occasion like musical supermen. They were one of a kind.
"Hell, I am a better poet on a bad day and three hours of sleep. And I no longer have patience for the hagiography that insists every drugged-out howl was some divine communiqué."
Morrison was the first rock god I understood *as a god* - someone who put themselves on a different plane and expected to be worshipped. I was a few years older than you when the movie came out, but I was captivated in a similar way. Their music got under my skin in a visceral way that my other favorite artists hadn't, yet. When the (relatively mild) fever burned itself out, I was well on my way to being an atheist.
You inspired me to put on the first four albums this morning and relive some of that. It's always worth revisiting old love with a critical eye.
You're very brave. Thanks for tackling this. As a consummate Doors fan, I enjoyed the read. My fave part was if you were in the band, you'd have to punch him in the face. No kidding.
I appreciate that! Thank you for reading it. Truly.
You might be interested in seeing When You're Strange doc about the Doors 2009. Its film footage pieced together with a short Jim made in film school and performance footage.
I am indeed. Where can I find it?
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=kba0zaE-rUc&pp=0gcJCdgAo7VqN5tD
You can catch it on YouTube and Prime
Oh sweet! Thank you!
Re greatest hits. . .didn't you ever see the Kids in the Hall sketch about how greatest hits are for housewives and little girls?
https://youtu.be/5xillqqt0Y0?feature=shared
That was perfect. Love The Doors but probably couldn’t endure the albums in succession. To be fair, I’m not sure I could do it with anyone. I agree completely with your “best of” analysis. A complete waste of time.
This whole post is brilliant and a great read -- I don't even like the Doors, but will need to go back and listen to some of the songs Jason describes.
Excellent piece! I am also a hardcore Doors fan (1st gen, I was 11 when the first LP came out), and you've verbalized many of my own feelings about the band - specifically that they "never played it safe." Personally I love all their studio work [almost] equally - your comment about Soft Parade "failing spectacularly" has merit, but it's the "spectacularly" part that keeps me going back to the album, which I loved when it came out & still do.
I have a theory (well, an opinion) that the *truly* great bands of classic rock almost never repeated themselves - every new album was different than the one before it. Maybe not a forward progression, but far from a repeat of any formula and sometimes style. This is true of the Doors, The Beatles, The Stones until the late '70s, Pink Floyd, Led Zep, J. Tull, Bowie, etc etc.
I realize this is a discussion about The Doors studio albums, but since I'm pontificating about them I have to state that they were an *incredible* live band - over & above Jim's unpredictable behavior, the three musicians had an alchemy that bonded them in the face of all the craziness, and they could jam and improvise like very few other bands, something that doesn't really get talked about much.
I highly recommend the Felt Forum box set, and any & all of the "Bright Midnight" authorized live CD releases from the last few decades. They put out a great Detroit show from 1970 and my favorite - a Boston concert from the same tour that was one of "those" shows - Jim is alternately wasted and brilliant, and the band rises to the occasion like musical supermen. They were one of a kind.
So many artists I love deserve this treatment:
"Hell, I am a better poet on a bad day and three hours of sleep. And I no longer have patience for the hagiography that insists every drugged-out howl was some divine communiqué."
Morrison was the first rock god I understood *as a god* - someone who put themselves on a different plane and expected to be worshipped. I was a few years older than you when the movie came out, but I was captivated in a similar way. Their music got under my skin in a visceral way that my other favorite artists hadn't, yet. When the (relatively mild) fever burned itself out, I was well on my way to being an atheist.
You inspired me to put on the first four albums this morning and relive some of that. It's always worth revisiting old love with a critical eye.