MORRISON HOTEL

It seems The Doors took the criticism of The Soft Parade to heart and decided to make a "back to basics" album to follow it up with. The result is a shot in the arm for the band; whilst Morrison Hotel is not an essential Doors album, it does include several excellent songs, with just enough of a progressive edge (especially on the foreboding Waiting For The Sun) to show that they hadn't given up entirely on sonic experimentation. Jim Morrison sounds confident and full of vigour in a way he never was on The Soft Parade, and the band's sound is greatly improved by the loss of the string and horn sections from that album. A successful return from the brink.