WEIRD SCENES INSIDE THE GOLD MINE

I'm one of those annoying purists who hates the "greatest hits" albums and pointless compilations put out incessantly by bands. I rarely buy them as I believe most old school bands made albums best heard in context. There is nothing more absurd than some of the prog "best ofs" which provide such a convoluted presentation of the songs (think Floyd's "Great Dance Songs"). "Weird Scenes" is one of the rare exceptions and it's a crime that the title has not been released on CD as of this date. Here is a collection that served a purpose beyond collecting hits, the songs appear to have been chosen to create a worthwhile listening experience as opposed to purely commercial considerations. Unlike most collections it has maintained listenability over the years because it contains songs you don't hear on the radio much, even some hard to find rarities.

The album culled Doors tracks from various albums which might be referred to as the more "mystical" songs, the "stoned immaculate" songs as Jim would say, songs which leave you off balance and take you on a journey through the desert. These are songs which mostly show off the Doors "late night" side. Their dark side, their psych-bluesy side, and their wild side. Blissfully free of "Light My Fire" and "Touch Me" this album is solid cover to cover and shows how truly great this band could be. While there are a few hits here and there, the stars of "Weird Scenes" are the oddities like "Shaman's Blues" and personal favorites like "Love Street," "Spanish Caravan," and "When the Music's Over." There are groovy jams like "Peace Frog" and "The Wasp." And then you are served up some of the Doors most iconic epics such as "The End" and "Riders on the Storm." Two singles B sides made the album an even better value, to my knowledge those tracks were not available again until latter day box sets. You never get tired of "Weird Scenes." It's one of those albums that will always do the job.

This is a compilation album that stood on its own and one that felt like somebody actually gave a damn. This is carried through to the outstanding artwork and the heartfelt liner notes. You can currently only get it on vinyl, but someday, perhaps one of the suits will figure out this album has a following all its own. We'd buy it again on CD, provided it is duplicated per the original. In fact, they should try being classy and doing a gatefold mini-lp sleeve of this---now THAT would be a gold mine.

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