The Doors - What Do You Think Of Them?

I always thought The Doors were the first real progressive rock group. Some might say The Beatles, but I don't think so.

First off, it's stunning that The Doors first album was in 1967, and L.A. Woman was released in 1971, which are both my favorite albums, but if I had to pick one, it would probably be "L.A. Woman".. "The Doors" self-entitled album starts with "Break on Through" and ends with one of my favorite songs by any group, "The End", but what's in the middle isn't as strong as L.A. Woman.

Back to "prog" - take all the different rhythms this band utilized in their very short time together.
-bossa nova
-Latin
-Tango
-Shuffle
-Military
-Jazz
-Tribal
-Rock
-Blues
-German Oompah
-Waltz
-Native American
-Disco (Peace Frog)
-Wild Child (whatever that is, during the verse, is awesome)
-Funky (The Changeling)
-Consistent Pounding on "Spanish Caravan"
-And whatever rhythm would be classified on "Love Me Two Times", going all over the toms, while keeping the beat

Musically, also very diverse. You had Robby with his flamenco, Middle-Eastern, Indiana influences, along with the bottleneck bluesy stuff, jazz, etc etc.... Ray with his classical influences, some boogie-woogie, jazz, etc., and with Jim's creativity, not just the lyrics, but how he delivered them rhythmically (with great melodies to accompany them), his pauses between lines that are simple, but always stuck with me, "Cops in cars, the topless bars, never saw a woman............ so alone"... speaking of L.A. Woman "motel, money, murder, madness" (I like alliteration), or unique phrases, hell, even interesting titles like "Peace Frog", "The Soft Parade" and many others.

Anyway, I'm sure many of you have things to add, so I'll stop there, but I'll post a cool interview of Jim, which is contrary to the lie that oliver stone movie was, and I'd advise the young people who haven't got "into" them to go to the primary sources - the band, not rumors of debauchery (Grace Slick admitting on Roseanne Barr's talk show she lied about having sex with Morrison, because her publisher paid her a million bucks) and second-hand rumors... Check out video, audio, print interview to have a good blueprint, and THEN read the books (Friends Gathered Together, Summer With Morrison)... Too many times (not here) I have discussions where someone references an inaccuracy from a movie, or whatever, and it sticks in their head, since it's been said that first impressions tend to stick the most, along with convenient fact, as opposed to truthful nuance.

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I liked the movie for the songs, but took the bio stuff with a grain of salt, since, after all, it's the screenwriter's interpretation and rendition. I'm a certified audiophile, and enjoy nearly every artist and style...each have their own place. I can't place one above the other unless I break them down into specific styles or moods. Music that moves me because of the sheer talent, or moves me because it takes me to a place and time which also moved me...those two things topping my list.

A bunch of goofs. "The End" still slaps, though.

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I haven't seeiously listened to the Doors for a long time, and I'm ashamed to admit that. In high school I remember getting turned onto them maybe my junior year and could not put them down. Probably, that was the movie's influence. I loved the movie as a kid as I felt it was visual poetry. For good or bad, it opened doors (no pun intended) to a new music scene (new to me being stuck in rural alabama before the internet existed). I ordered a greatest hits double-CD of theirs and would fall asleep with that on repeat.


Crystal Ship might be my favorite with L.A. Woman, 5-to-1, The End, Spanish Caravan, Waiting for the Sun, and Break on Through following in a tight group behind it. Just from memory.


I need to revisit them all again. Nice topic.

Nice


I didn't "break on through" until middle school, and I never heard them before, and the guy sitting to my right in class started recording me copies of his cassettes. I remember being excited, because this was the "cool" kid in our grade, and as soon as I got home, I got into my mom's car, put the tape in, and I remember expecting to hear heavy metal or something after the vibe I got from the classmate.. "Break On Through" was the first song, and I was hooked... I know somewhere in the middle since, I didn't listen to them as much, as I was probably too busy discovering and feasting on that, but for me right now, they're right behind Pink Floyd, and probably only because of longevity... Outside of music, I think Jim helped that inner conflict; rebellion, being an individual in a society full of conformity, etc., since it was the first time I could relate to someone.

Knew a guy who was pretty into the Doors, was also very into Jim Morrison. I get the feeling now that he saw me as retarded as a human being because I didn't quite understand the pros of JM's lyrics. He now runs his own small business and has a child out of wedlock.

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Thanks for the tutorial, Pike.
But my question is...Did the Doors use cowbell, and if so, did they need more?

I believe that the first prog rock band was the Mothers Of Invention (Frank Zappa). The Beatles had done some progressive instrumentation on Rubber Soul from 1965, but they couldn't be considered a prog rock band, at least at that time.

Freak Out! by MOI was released in '66, which contained plenty of music which could be considered pure progressive. It was also one of the first double albums in rock, and a unique concept album. Take for example, Who Are the Brain Police?, Help I'm a Rock, and The Return of the Son of Monster Magnet.

From that point on, the MOI were pure prog.

Speaking of....did you ever meet the Beatles during your career? What did you think of them, as contemporaries? Did you get along with them?

Doors are great. You go in and sometimes you go out. You'd have to go in and out through a window if it weren't for The Doors.

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Not as big a fan as i used to be but its always great revisiting. Ive been to Jim's grave and also been down Love Street, and seen the store where the creatures meet.

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One of my favorite bands. With the exception of the first two albums, Strange Days is like a sequel, they each have a pretty unique thing going on. My Dad always called them pot music. I didn't know if he meant that in a good way or bad but I know he listened to them because he always had a copy of L.A. Woman in his cars. That's my fav album from them and is always a part of any long road trip. Favorite song is from Morrison Hotel and that has to be Peace Frog.

The movie was eh. It's an Oliver Stone pic so you take it with a grain of salt. Oliver knows how to make a great looking film but he's usually a little loose with the facts to make things more theatrical. Just look at his version of the Ed Sullivan Show appearance. There wasn't any chaos. They just played the song. Now, who knows what was going on the control room, maybe they were going nuts, probably were, but the only thing you see on tv is Robby give a little smile after Jim sings "higher".

No, I never met either of the Beatles. They had quit touring by the time I was with MOI. Harrison was at our 200 Motels concert in 1968 at the Royal Festival Hall in London, but I never met him.

I was good friends with Brian Rooney, who was Ringo's driver, valet, right hand man, and we did some serious partying together, but I never met Ringo.

I didn't pay much attention to the Beatles when they first became popular because I was in the symphony then, and I thought the music was silly. But by the time Sargent Pepper's came out, I really liked their stuff. Zappa of course had lampooned that cover in an album entitled We're Only in It for the Money. The album cover was a riot, but Verve Records chickened out and switched the inside and outside cover pictures:


But Paul McCartney is one of the greatest song writers of all time.

I fixed that link. The first one cut off the end of the song.

I love them almost as much as I hate them.

It is like they try too hard, but sometimes it pays off.

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I think that's as safe a choice as any, the second disc especially. 1966 was a special time. The Factory-era Velvets could make "The End" seem like "Love Me Do". I might consider adding some obscurities like Red Krayola, Holy Modal Rounders, AMM or The Godz, but none of them had the cultural impact of Zappa an the Mothers. Unfortunately, I don't believe that any of the legendary 1966 UFO shows by Pink Floyd or The Move have ever surfaced, but they were reportedly more adventurous than what they were putting on record at the time.

I didn't remember you being in the later 200 Motels film, so that answers the Ringo question.

I kinda like the decision of an anti-Sgt Pepper album turning its iconic cover art inside out. I'm sure it must have hurt sales though.

It's fitting since Freak Out's list of influences on the inner sleeve directly inspired the Pepper cover in the first place.

As for The Doors....they're ok.


I like quite a bit of their work, but the 68-69 stretch is such a bore, and I'm still convinced that Morrison's appeal is primarily more about his sexual charisma than poetic insight. As a writer, I think he's well beneath peers like Bob Dylan, Van Morrison or Leonard Cohen.

Yeah, Verve was concerned that they'd get sued over having an album cover that obviously lampooned Sargent Pepper's (and possibly could be mistaken for the Beatles' album). But Frank had phoned McCartney and told him what they were planning with the "Money" album cover, and McCartney said it was okay, and to go ahead. Still, Verve was too skittish.

While I adore many bands from that era, I could never get into The Doors. They clearly had their own sound and approach to songwriting, but their music never did anything for me on an emotional level, and in truth, I find most of it fairly annoying sonically.

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