Doors First Album Debuted 50 Years Ago Today

[MylesBAstor]

[MylesBAstor]

Was there a better first album by any group?

[Johnny Vinyl]

Plenty, but I'm not the biggest of The Doors fans.

[JCOConnell]

boston aint bad

[jonathanb]

Yes. For instance: King Crimson's In The Court of the Crimson King. Or Hendrix's first album. Or…

[Guest]

The killer awoke before dawn, he put his boots on ...

I remember seeing them at Alexandria Roller Rink (outside DC) just days after that album came out, before it took off. Morrison pushed this fat dweedly DJ named Jack Alex off the stage for trying to cozy up to him.

Being a keyboard player in a rock band,I loved The Doors.

Was there a better first album by any group?

Procol Harum ?

[JCOConnell]

I have an early mfsl pressing of THE DOORS, and it sounds great. Love that album, its a true classic. Also have the classic albums DVD of that title which is good.

[MylesBAstor]

Chad did a great job reissuing The Doors albums--and at 45 rpm to boot. Little OT but the 45 rpm of LA Woman is fantastic.

[MylesBAstor]

Loved the story of Larry Knetchel on bass. Never knew that. Also loved the fire extinguisher story!

[mkuller]

I lived in So. CA at the time and it seemed like "Light My fire" was played non-stop on the radio. Then on New Year's Eve 1967 I saw them live at the Family Dog in Denver.

[user510]

I did enjoy that Rolling Stone article on The Doors. Is it me or is it ironic that Rolling Stone Magazine ,the rag that published a condemning article on Jim Morrison after being arrested on charges of indecent exposure at a Miami, Florida concert., now publishes a somewhat fond historical piece on him 50 years later.

I also find that the passage of time eases somewhat the more disturbing aspects of this lead singer / poet / rock star's life. I recall in the years 1967/68 being a fan of the first two albums. But initially, when "Light My Fire" hit the radio air waves, I was a 10th grader living in the suburbs of Portland, Or. (East side). That song was played so often that it became old fast, and the pop 40 stations continued to give it air time for months on end. Manzarek's keyboard intro to "Light My Fire" signaled yet another play.The local stations had two versions of it; short and long. (The long version as it is on the self titled album, 6 minutes, 50 seconds.) What was that Portland station?.......KISN AM. I forget the frequency.

What really attracted people to the song was the lyric. There was an appeal, and a hipness to the language that seemed just right for the time. What krieger wrote, and the Doors performed, seemed to have a sense of the eternal; the repetitive cycle of life, I think. A year later Jose' Feliciano covered the song and that record climbed the charts, giving those lyrics yet more air time. Impressive. Krieger really nailed it.

I owned all the albums, and then, after Morrison's death, became somewhat disgusted with the man and gave my 'Doors' albums to my younger brother. Decades later, little bro returned those albums I'd bestowed upon him. So they are all back. Plus I found a nice copy of the MoFi "The Doors". A worthy remaster imo. And this version offers up some needed bass on that Willie Dixon tune; "Back Door Man". A monumental cover of it.

"The End".

“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...”

There was a cheaply made TV movie that was getting some airplay in afternoon local station programming about that time. It played like a re-enactment of the 1966 library tower sniper, but is now hard to find. And I am not refering to the 1975 movie with kurt Russell. Anyway, Morrison's verse seemed to be taken directly from this film. So I'm quite sure he'd seen that movie and used it. At the time I recall that everyone I knew that heard this lyric were quite disturbed by the oedipal implications (kill father, rape mother). And in 10th grade, we'd all read Oedipus Rex as assigned reading for High School Lit classes. Still, disturbing.
Other parts to that song:

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

More wierd vivid sexual inuendos.

The Doors were both attractive and repelling in the same breath. And it is not lost on us that the group was not invited to WoodStock. Certainly not after the Miami fiasco.

I know that I am not alone in having some serious misgivings about Morrison. Perhaps those who knew him saw him differently. The business in the OP article about how Morrison and his sibblings endured some rather strenuous discipline at the hands of their father, the Admiral; we didn't know that then, but it seems to add up now. Children are very impressionable in their pre-adolescent years.

The accounts of Morrison taking the fire extinguisher to the recording studio while tripping on some LSD, and while everyone else was gone......, that really seems to fit the personality. We'd expect that sort of thing from Jim Morrison.

Anyway the article speaks of the first version of "Moonlight Drive" as being darker and more mysterious. Then it goes on to note that a revised alternate version was included in the "Strange Days" album. Now I'd like to hear the original version. As it is on Strange Days, Moonlight Drive does have something going for it. Lyric and melody, a sense of swing and a sense of mystery and a sense of wonder. Maybe not everyone gets this song, I do.

Does anyone younger, say of the millenial generation, have any interest at all on The Doors? I'm guessing only musicians study their albums while looking for material for themselves. But to us boomers, they were ours. So it is fun to reminisce.

The QRP 45 rpm albums. I suppose it is no secret why I didn't get the self-titled album from them at the time. Instead I opted for Strange Days and also LA Woman. Both excellent re-masters and at higher definition. On that second Doors album, Strange Days, the track just prior to "When The Music's Over", "I can't See Your Face In My Mind", it strikes me as being extraordinary, exquisite, fragile and ephemeral. And on every Lp version I've heard, including the 8-track tape way back when.

That's all I have on The Doors. The Rolling Stone article in the OP was a fun read. Thanks,
-Steve

[JCOConnell]

to those who haven't seen it, I recommend getting the classic albums dvd of the making of "the doors"

[Dr.Ears]

As fans lit matches during "Light My Fire", they were treated to a yellow shower by Jim Morrison, who was subsequently arrested.
Where have all the good ole days gone?

[MylesBAstor]

As fans lit matches during "Light My Fire", they were treated to a yellow shower by Jim Morrison, who was subsequently arrested.
Where have all the good ole days gone?

Patti Smith spit on her fans. Iggy Pop slid on broken glass. The Dead threw drugs into the audience for their fans.

[Bobm]

Saw the band when they came around about two years ago, just before Ray Manzarek died. They put on a great show. Robby Krieger is an awesome guitarist and never got the recognition he deserved, I think.

They had a younger guy singing for them. He looked, sounded and acted just like Jim. Don't know where they found him but he was perfect for their tour.