When it comes to The Doors' self titled debut album, I have long and what feels like an old story about it. I recieved my first copy of this album on cassette. My uncle gave it to me. I had listened to it a few times, but never really got into it. One of my buddy's totally dug on it though, so I gave him the tape. It's wrong for music not to get played.
Years later, while filling up my subscription to one of the music clubs I decided to pick up a copy of the CD and give it a try again. I'll be honest with you. I do really appreciate and enjoy this album, and I totally respect it's place in the great pantheon of Rock, but it's not an album I feel a need to listen to very often.
I love The Doors, it's just that I've discovered over the years that I'm picky choosey about my songs, and my mood can often effect my views on some songs.
The album opens with Break On Through (To The Other Side). Now, while I have to respect the song, I have heard it played so many times that I just really don't want to hear it anymore. But talk about the perfect opening track to an album. It has a great build up, it's real bouncey and it's just an over all good song. I've just heard it too many times, and the song would have been considered old when I first heard it.
Soul Kitchen probably wouldn't be considered Rock if it came out now. At least not based on the opening. This would be Alternative, or Grunge. But because of the way the band worked together, the producer kept the feedback down, and the soul was kept in the song, this groovy track get's to be sub-catagorized as sixties West Coast Rock. You can feel L.A. all over this song. The Crystal Ship is one of those songs that I've never overly paid attention to. It's a fantastic song, and is filled with amazing artistry the whole way through. It's just one of those songs that I've never been drawn into.
I love when a song is sexy, when the music is groovy and dances all on it's own. I don't even need to pay attention to the lyrics on a song that's truly sexy, and that happens with Twentieth Century Fox. Although to be honest I do sing along with this one as well. How can I resist with these lyrics. "Well, she's fashionably lean / And she's fashionably late / She'll never rank a scene / She'll never break a date / But she's no drag / Just watch the way she walks / She's a twentieth century fox / She's a twentieth century fox / No tears, no fears / No ruined years, no clocks / She's a twentieth century fox, oh yeah / She's the queen of cool / And she's the lady who waits / Since her mind left school / It never hesitates / She won't waste time / On elementary talk / 'Cause she's a twentieth century fox / She's a twentieth century fox / Got the world locked up / Inside a plastic box / She's a twentieth century fox, oh yeah / Twentieth century fox, oh yeah / Twentieth century fox / She's a twentieth century fox".
I have an intimate personal working knowledge of Alabama Song (Whiskey Bar), and with that being said, it's a fun song to sing, and it's a great little Polka for those having a good time, but it's not a song I feel a need to listen to often.
We all know Light My Fire, and if you don't you have been robbed in your life time of experiencing a song that has been so over played that I personally would never miss not hearing it again. However, if it's your first time hearing this song you are actually missing out on something. Ray ManZarek's keyboad work on this track is fantastic. Also, it's a catchy tune.
I love when The Doors get that RoadHouse Blues kind of Rock going on, and they totally do that with Back Door Man. This cover track of a Willie Dixon classic is just amazing. It's raw, edgy and totally enjoyable.
I Look At You is one of those songs that to this day I know it to hear it. I can sing along, bop my head and enjoy, but can never remember the name of the track. This is one of those songs that'sjust a good, fun and playful album filler. But it's exactly what I think good album filler should be.
End Of The Night is one of those songs I have to be in a mood for. When I am in the right frame of mind this song can be one of the greatest songs ever written. Sweeping me away on waves of mystical dreaming. If I'm not in the right mood, the song feels forever long and leaves me waiting for the next track to start.
Take It As It Comes is a combination of the last two tracks. It's a really good album filler, but I find myself wanting the song to end sooner than it does. For some reason it really seems to drag on for a fast paced, upbeat number.
Then the album ends with The End. It's a bit cliche for sure, but hey why the fuck not. Especially since this song was so brazen, twisted and barrier smashing at the time. We all know that Jim Morrison is a poet. How much of a poet is debateable amongst many, but that's neither here nor there. I'm stating as a fact he was a poet. This song is one of his greatest epic poems. His words are chosen, precise and hauntingly disturbing. "This is the end / Beautiful friend / This is the end / My only friend, the end / Of our elaborate plans, the end / Of everything that stands, the end / No safety or surprise, the end / I'll never look into your eyes...again / Can you picture what will be / So limitless and free / Desperately in need...of some...stranger's hand / In a...desperate land / Lost in a Roman...wilderness of pain / And all the children are insane / All the children are insane / Waiting for the summer rain, yeah / There's danger on the edge of town / Ride the King's highway, baby /Weird scenes inside the gold mine / Ride the highway west, baby / Ride the snake, ride the snake / To the lake, the ancient lake, baby / The snake is long, seven miles / Ride the snake...he's old, and his skin is cold / The west is the best / The west is the best / Get here, and we'll do the rest / The blue bus is callin' us / The blue bus is callin' us / Driver, where you taken' us / The killer awoke before dawn, he put his boots on / He took a face from the ancient gallery / And he walked on down the hall / He went into the room where his sister lived, and...then he / Paid a visit to his brother, and then he / He walked on down the hall, and / And he came to a door...and he looked inside / Father, yes son, I want to kill you / Mother...I want to...fuck you / C'mon baby, take a chance with us / C'mon baby, take a chance with us / C'mon baby, take a chance with us / And meet me at the back of the blue bus / Doin' a blue rock / On a blue bus / Doin' a blue rock / C'mon, yeah / Kill, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill / This is the end / Beautiful friend / This is the end / My only friend, the end / It hurts to set you free / But you'll never follow me / The end of laughter and soft lies / The end of nights we tried to die / This is the end". However it's Manzarek's Keyboards, and Robby Krieger's Guitar work that really pulls off this track. The textures, sounds, and drifting notations just dance upon the ears and mind in a way that you want to last forever, until it starts to feel like it is. This song is understandably not for everyone, but it totally works for me.
You may have noticed that I never really talk about John Densmore on this album, and there's a reason for this. He's a very good drummer, in the sense that he does what a drummer is supposed to do, he holds the tempo, and give the song a beat. This is twice as important in a band that doesn't have a bassist. However, with the exception of the last song where he acts as more of a percussionist, most of the time he's only a pretty basic drummer. At least as far as this album goes.
When this album finishes it leaves me feeling more satisfied now than it did when I was younger. I think it's because I spend more time actually listening to it now, where as before I would just throw it on. This is an album that you have to listen to.
Just as one last note, Paul A. Rothchild gave this album an amazing sound. You could say that it was this man that was responsible for The Doors' sound the whole way around, since he had produced almost every album after this one. He understood the band, and he knew how to translate their essence into a recording. He did a fantastic job with it.
8/10 - content
9/10 - production
7/10 - personal bias
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