Strange Days, hands down
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joekiddlouischama — 18 years ago(February 15, 2008 06:53 AM)
Personally, I think that eerily chilling
Strange Days
(1967) and the melancholically cathartic
L.A. Woman
(1971) are the best, not only for the quality and integrity of each song, but also because of the conceptual cohesiveness of the albums. The songs are tonally inter-related and collectively create a distinctive sense of mood and coloration with each album.
The Doors
(1967) features the most classic compositions, and the album's nascent freshness and lack of a true bassist create a sense of free-floating, newborn sub-consciousness. A few of the songs are callow and indicate that the band was making its maiden voyage on record, but the album's epochal value proves unmistakable.
Morrison Hotel
(1970) is underrated, constituting an eclectic, diverse, and dynamic mix of various genres, styles, and ironic moods. The album is at once simple and dryly sophisticated, raw and mature.
Waiting for the Sun
(1968) is vivid, inventive in places, and dangerously iconoclastic at times, but it's clearly over-produced, meaning that the final recordings are the product of too many takes and thus lack a sense of spontaneity. Still, few songs in history are as gently haunting as "Summer's Almost Gone."
The Soft Parade
(1969) is the group's most conventional album, often melding big-band jazziness with a pop-friendly sensibility. Still, that combination works spectacularly on the sensually and celestially bombastic "Touch Me," while the sobering "Shaman's Blues" and the complex "The Soft Parade" offer personal commentary within a fairly commercial venture.
But as Doc noted, they're all good, and taken together on a step-by-step basis, they clearly reflect the band's unique musical makeup and artistic arc. -
Doc-McCoy — 18 years ago(February 17, 2008 09:04 AM)
That's a great analysis, kidd. I rated the "The Soft Parade" and "Waiting for the Sun" lowest; not because they aren't good, but both were over-produced and suffered from writers block (at least "WFTS" did, according to their chief songwriter, guitarist Robby Krieger). Also, at the time of "WFTS", Jim Morrison's personal life and dedication to working with the group was plummeting; he often failed to show up for recording sessions and when he did, it often was with groupies or other hangers-on and/or he was in no condition to record his vocals - leading to endless re-takes.
"Those are my principles, and if you don't like them.well, I have others" - Groucho Marx -
absolut420 — 16 years ago(December 15, 2009 09:27 PM)
"Waiting for the Sun"
Not only does it have my favorite Doors song, Love Street, but it has the most amazing drawing of a lizard on the inside album cover which I got tattooed around my ankle. One of my friends got my copy #74024 (yes, the last 3 digits are 420 backwardsdon't even ask how the hell she managed that) of WftS and I will treasure it always
My tattoo:
http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewImage&friendID=2275372&albumID=211172&imageID=16599542
Anyone know who drew that lizard? I've never been able find out, but one of my favorite moments in life was showing it to Robby Krieger when I ran int5b4o him in a parking garage
~Jen
"Too weird to live, too rare to die" - HST -
PoppyTransfusion — 14 years ago(August 18, 2011 02:36 AM)
My choice is not a hands down winner but just edges ahead of their first two releases. I vote for Waiting for the Sun. I wonder why they didn't have the song of the same name on this album instead recording it for Morrison Hotel?
I'm a fountain of blood
In the shape of a girl -
jefgg — 13 years ago(February 11, 2013 04:39 PM)
I like all The Doors albums. That is the mark of a great band. All their albums are at least listenable. There are no duff albums. If I had to pick a fav5b4orite it would be "L.A. Woman". And if I had to pick an underrated album it would be "The Soft Parade". Some people talk about it like it stinks. I like all the songs and the production. The music of The Doors is timeless. They had their own sound and great chemistry.
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joekiddlouischama — 11 years ago(April 24, 2014 06:56 AM)
And if I had to pick an underrated album it would be "The Soft Parade". Some people talk about it like it stinks. I like all the songs and the production.
What occurred to me was how
The Soft Parade
proves what a great singer Morrison happened to benot just a rock singer or a blues singer, but someone who could be a great jazz/pop singer in the mold of Sinatra.
And again, as I mentioned earlier in the thread, "Shaman's Blues" is one of the band's best songs in my opinion, haunting and wrenching with an impeccable degree of musicianship that showcases the distinct skills or personalities of the four members. It's more low-key than the band's more famous songs, and more underrated for that reason.
Plus, the first phase of "The Soft Parade" is among The Doors' most chilling and memorable pieces of work. -
jefgg — 11 years ago(April 24, 2014 10:03 AM)
Maybe the song "The Soft Parade" should have been broken up into movements. Some bands like YES have done that. My favorite part is about three minutes into the song when Jim says "this is the best part of the trip".
I think Jim influenced the intro to Meat Loaf's "You Took the Words Right Out of My Mouth (Hot Summer Night)". That was spoken by Meat's writer Jim Steinman. 2000 -
The Kraken — 3 years ago(March 12, 2023 03:06 AM)
Plus, the first phase of "The Soft Parade" is among The Doors' most chilling and memorable pieces of work.
Agreed. I'm listening to it now.
They used their free speech on the most dating ways.
You cannot petition the Lord for prayer.
But honestly most of that album is almost a remix of their earlier work. -
MortSahlFan — 6 years ago(September 06, 2019 05:32 PM)
LA Woman
The Doors
https://www.patreon.com/LoyalOpposition