AN AMERICAN PRAYER

This album is a rather bizarre but very interesting album based on some tapes of Jim Morrison's declaimed poetry put to music (mostly Ray Manzarek if memory serves) and the results are a bit mixed bag, but on the whole this is a very worthy album and almost indispensable if you are a complete Doors fan. Do not expect anything like any other Doors album as none of the tracks are sung except for a live version of Roadhouse Blues were Morrison scats extensively because he forgot the lyrics in his drunkardness and an in- progress The Wasp.

One of the main point of this album is to underline and highlight some of Morrison's most arresting poetry, and they used some of the most shocking passage mostly when spewing his hatred on his father's admiral post. Other passages holds some disturbing thoughts on death and its link with sex, while a long soul search seems to be the ongoing thread in the album.

When a teenager, I must say that this album exerted a rather strong fascination on me, but the spellbinding music behind the poetry was also strongly responsible of it. For years, I hoped that they would actually release another album of Morrison's poetry and highlight in the same manner. Alas, I think his obscene family have managed to put a lid on their stinking garbage can.

"Do you knowthat we are being led to slaughter by placid admirals and that fat slow generals are getting obscene on young blood?" Looking at Iraq, not much has changed some 40 years later. Your call on this album, but to me this is a must-have.