Roadhouse Blues: a visit with The Doors

This edition is about one of my favorite bands of all time, the Doors. Formed in 1965 out of Los Angeles with four musicians, this band was unlike anything to come out of the 1960s. Dark, moody, and unpredictable, the Doors broke all kinds of molds- they had no bassist, instead option for a keyboard, and lead singer Jim Morrison was a volatile poet who often caused as much trouble on stage as he did off. 

The name of the band comes from a William Blake poem: "If the doors of perception were cleansed every thing would appear to man as it is, infinite." (The Marriage of Heaven and Hell).


I became more fully aware of the Doors through a movie released in the 1990s directed by Oliver Stone. Since then, I have been a fanatic, collecting all the albums including live ones, rare releases, and plowing through books. I even wrote a high school paper about the band. The music is haunting and fantastic and the lyrics intriguing. Jim became one of many musicians to die at the age of 27 in the early 1970s, including Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin. 

The Doors produced two more albums after Jim's death, and have even toured again in recent years with some of the surviving members and guest lead vocalists. Their song "The End" was used as an anthem for Francis Ford Coppola's Vietnam movie "Apocalypse Now." The Doors were elected to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993.

Although we don't own a great deal of Doors albums, here is what you can find in the library catalog. At the bottom I will list other essentials to look for if you seek their music elsewhere.



Books:

Jim Morrison : life, death, legend / Journalist Stephen Davis writes about Jim including his last days of his life in Paris. This is considered a definitive biography of the "Lizard King." 

I'm with the band Confessions of a Groupie [electronic resource] / by Pamela Des Barres. This includes stories from a groupie who knew Jim as well as Mick Jagger and Keith Moon.

No one here gets out alive / by Jerry Hopkins and Danny Sugerman. This book was used a lot as a resource for the Door's movie.

The Rolling Stone Interviews Jim Morrison is included in this large book of great interviews with rock and film legends.

CDs

L.A. Woman (40th Anniversary Edition) This is the final official Doors album released with Jim Morrison singing. It contains more gritty, bluesy-sounding. Big hits included Love Her Madly, Rider's on the Storm, and L.A. Woman. This particular album includes bonus tracks and alternate versions of songs. 

Live in Boston 1970 This pretty much says it all, it's live, it's Boston, and it's 1970. Jim passed away in 1971, so this is late in the Door's career. Big hits are on this album as well as famous Jim rants.

Stoned Immaculate: The Music of the Doors Lots of musicians cover Door's songs on this album, including Aerosmith, Creed, Bo Diddley, John Lee Hooker, and the Cult. There are some tracks with the Doors on it, including one mixed in with Beat writer William S. Burroughs.

The Very Best of the Doors Your basic hits and singles are on this 2-disc album. If you are a Door's fan or just curious, you'll find all you need on here. 

Guitar Heaven: The Greatest Guitar Classics of All Time Includes a nice track of Door's keyboardist Ray Manzarek performing Riders on the Storm.

Also, look on Freegal for some spoken word poetry from Jim Morrison.
Use these keywords to search:

Jim Morrison  The Ultimate Collected Spoken Words 1967-1970

Dionysus

We don't own, but you gotta have 'em

The Doors (1967 debut album) includes great hits like Light My Fire, but lesser known ones like The Crystal Ship, and Moonlight Drive.

Strange Days (second album) includes Moonlight Drive, People Are Strange, and When the Music's Over. 

Waiting for the Sun (third album) is an album of what I call love ballads mixed in with Jim's darker vision for poetry and music, the Celebration of the Lizard, of which Not to Touch the Earth is on this album. It also includes beautiful love songs like Love Street and Hello, I Love You. Of course, love ballads by the Doors are never normal.