Hard to imagine, but had he not died in that bathtub in Paris in 1971, Jim Morrison would be turning 65 this summer. In the years since the singer’s untimely demise, interest in the Doors has waned at times, but invariably something comes along (a movie, a book) that kickstarts renewed fascination with the band. During their five-year reign as America’s premiere rock group, Ray Manzarek, Robbie Krieger, John Densmore, and Morrison released a series of albums that both embodied and transcended the turbulent spirit of the late ’60s. Working with a stylistic palette that ranged from avant-garde theater to primitive electric blues, the band framed Morrison’s Dionysian attempts to “break on through" in music that was perfectly suited to the task at hand. The group’s essential albums—as described below—testify to the timeless nature of their songs.
The Doors
Recorded in just two weeks, this 1967 debut constituted one of those rare instances in which a new band emerged with a distinct sound, a clear musical aesthetic, and a group chemistry that bordered on preternatural. Stylistically, the album ranged from incendiary blues (“Back Door Man”), beer-hall cabaret (“Alabama Song”), carnival-esque pop (“Light My Fire”), and classically-influenced balladry (“The Crystal Ship”). Morrison’s vocals cut a similarly wide swath that ran from the sensual to the mystical to the defiant.
L.A. Woman
The last studio album the Doors made with Jim Morrison was also their rawest and most garage-like. Employing longtime Elvis Presley sideman Jerry Scheff to handle bass, the group adopted a live-in-the-studio approach that served to approximate the band’s on-stage chemistry. Morrison’s husky, booze-soaked voice added a gritty texture to the plethora of blues songs, while Ray Manzarek’s liquid-sounding electric piano on “Riders on the Storm” helped present the Doors at their most ethereal and jazzy.
Strange Days
Released in late 1967, the Doors’ second album more fully embraced the decadent themes hinted at on the group’s debut. “Love Me Two Times” and “People Are Strange” sported catchy melodies, but the prevailing tone was one of sensual indulgence and danger romanticized. With its foreboding lyrics and animalistic wails, “When the Music’s Over” laid bare Morrison’s obsession with what lies in the next world. In a word, the singer emerged as a dark poet of alienation.
Morrison Hotel
Much like L.A. Woman, this 1970 release featured the Doors at their most stripped-down and bluesy. Unlike the band’s previous efforts, Morrison Hotel contained no horns, no strings, and no extended cuts. High points include the barrel-house rocker “Roadhouse Blues” (which sounds as besotted as anything on the Stones’ Exile On Main St.), the groove-oriented “Peace Frog,” and the mysterious, slide-guitar-laced “Waiting for the Sun.” Lyrically, the album was Morrison’s On the Road-style contemplation of America.
Waiting for the Sun
Released in July of 1968, the Doors’ third album was perceived by some as a concession to the flower-power excess that had permeated the culture the previous summer. Eschewing, for the most part, the mysticism and epic tracks scattered across previous efforts, the band instead turned to straight-ahead pop (“Hello, I Love You”), pastoral ballads (“Summer’s Almost Gone”), and even a stab at flamenco (“Spanish Caravan”). Some fans cried “sell-out,” but the album packed enough wallop—most notably on the sinister “Five To One”—to dispel any notion that the band had gone soft.
In Concert
Released in 1991, this two-disc set compiled material from three previously-released Doors live albums and added a (till then) unavailable live version of the Oedipal opus, “The End.” Even sans the visuals, Morrison’s Lizard King persona shines through, and his on-stage volatility is much in evidence. High points include tear-the-roof-off covers of Bo Diddley’s “Who Do You Love” and Van Morrison’s “Gloria,” a full reading of Morrison’s epic poem, “The Celebration of the Lizard,” and a fiery version of “When the Music’s Over” that sounds like a promenade for the apocalypse.
The Best of the Doors
To some degree, Doors fans can be divided into those who prefer the band’s radio-friendly fare, and those who gravitate toward the group’s flair for the avant-garde. As the title implies, this “greatest hits” package is aimed primarily at the former, although it does constitute a primer for those who might want to explore the band’s work more deeply. Heard consecutively, “Hello, I Love You,” “Light My Fire,” and “People Are Strange” point up how richly melodic the Doors could be. Conversely, “The Ghost Song” and “The End” illustrate the group’s more panoramic ambitions.
An American Prayer
Released originally in 1978 (and reissued with bonus tracks in 1995), An American Prayer features the surviving members of the Doors adding “after the fact” music to original poems recorded by Morrison during the last year of his life. The results are dazzling. Morrison brings a sleepy-eyed charisma to his elocution, and the band provides the perfect rhythmic sea for his words to swim around in. Morrison clung tenaciously to the guise of poet, and this disc presents a persuasive case that the role suited him perfectly.
Stoned Immaculate: The Music of the Doors
This celebration of the Doors’ music, released in 2000, constitutes a spectacular success in a genre (specifically, the tribute album) notorious for yielding sputtering duds. Featuring a lineup that mixes Doors acolytes (Creed, the Cult, Stone Temple Pilots) with vintage artists who helped shape Jim Morrison’s blues-Bacchus aesthetic (John Lee Hooker, William Burroughs), the disc shines a light on the group’s timelessness and historical significance. The three surviving members of the band contribute throughout, inspiring their younger peers to great heights while tempering any tendency to be overly reverent towards the material.
The Doors: Box Set
This four-disc collection, released in 1997, isn’t the best starting point for newcomers, but for the established Doors fan it offers an abundance of riches. In addition to the requisite demos, alternate versions, and outtakes, the set includes a till-then-unreleased complete live concert staged at Madison Square Garden, and favorite Doors songs handpicked by the three surviving members of the band. Add to that a 50-plus-page booklet highlighted by an insightful essay penned by novelist Tom Robbins, and you’ve got that rare box set that uplifts and refreshes the band’s body of work.