The final album with Jim Morrison in the lineup is by far their most blues-oriented, and the singer's poetic ardor is undiminished, though his voice sounds increasingly worn and craggy on some numbers.
Actually, some of the straight blues items sound kind of turgid, but that's more than made up for by several cuts that rate among their finest and most disturbing work. The seven-minute title track was a car-cruising classic that celebrated both the glamour and seediness of Los Angeles; the other long cut, the brooding, jazzy "Riders on the Storm," was the group at its most melodic and ominous.
I talked to a friend about The Doors today and thought it would be a good idea to post their last album (a masterpiece of modern music by the way). Also because I haven't appreciated the Doors here yet. On the bonus disc are (at that time 2011) unreleased recordings of some songs from the album. In total the bonus disc has nine tracks. Enjoy.(Frank)
Disc2 FLAC
mp3@320
Thanks, Frank! Actually, the only Doors album I have (and cherish). When it comes to the entire output of the band, I'm happy with a "Best of" sampler.
ReplyDeleteTo tell the truth, I wasn't too enthusiastic about The Doors. O.K., there were a lot of wonderful songs, but overall I had this impression of overwhelming drama and a distinctive knowledge of oneself's exaggerated importance - an uneven mixture of pretence and method acting on speed.
With "L.A.Woman" it was different, though. By reducing the musical formula to simple blues patterns they gained a lot of cohesion, and with waivering of late-pubertal psychedelic nonsense they managed to create a more rock-orientated band sound.
Plus, "L.A.Woman" contains the epitome of THE classic rock song: "Riders on the Storm". You will, in rock history, only find very few songs that can match "Riders" in terms of perfection, clarity and vision. That sounds especially weird considering reports and rumours that the band - with all the bad signs and dark auspices (Morrison wanted to be a writer and actor rather than lead singer of a rock band) - appeared to be lethargic and passionless during the recording process. You don't hear much of that on the finished album, though. That's why I'm particularily happy with disc 2 which - thanks to all the alternate versions - gives us a fleeting glimpse of insight into what was really going on in the studio.
Hello Greeny,
DeleteJust a few words or maybe a few more, lol (and it is always difficult for me to express my opinion and/or impressions in a foreign language, because it can often lead to misunderstandings. But I will give my best, lol). I don't think the band consciously wanted to create a ''dramatic'' image. I think Morrison's lyrics (which contributed a lot to this image) came from his ''inside'', his intellectual soul (if you can call it that). You should keep in mind that many of the lyrics of the songs were written before the band became famous. Of course one can assume that the band started to cultivate this image consciously at some point. But I think this applies to most successful artists. Without judging it morally now.
Personally I am surprised from today's point of view how many good and also different songs as well as a distinctive style the band has created. I think however the public and people feel about the band, they have made an important contribution to the American music history of the sixties and early seventies. The Doors were an American band (from a musical point of view). They drew their music from American pop, rock and blues. There are very few other musical influences in their work (Spanish Caravan). But I digress, hahaha. I share your opinion about ''Riders'' and I am also amazed at where the band (and especially Morrison) got the energy at that time to write and record such an album. So now it's over, lol. I just want to add that I'm not a big ''Doors'' fan, but they did a lot of songs that I like and I really appreciate their contribution to the history of American pop music.
kind regards
Frank
Password?
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Deletehi man, can you tell me the password? i can't extract the files
ReplyDeleteSB1
DeleteSB1
ReplyDeletethank you so much man, i appreciate it.
DeleteI really Love the Doors, they helped form my musical tastes. Thanks for all your efforts on our behalf
ReplyDeleteHueman
capo!!!
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