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STRANGE DAYS

The Doors

Proto-Prog


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The Doors Strange Days album cover
4.25 | 621 ratings | 40 reviews | 47% 5 stars

Essential: a masterpiece of
rock music

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Studio Album, released in 1967

Songs / Tracks Listing

1. Strange Days (3:09)
2. You're Lost Little Girl (3:03)
3. Love Me Two Times (3:16)
4. Unhappy Girl (2:00)
5. Horse Latitudes (1:35)
6. Moonlight Drive (3:04)
7. People Are Strange (2:12)
8. My Eyes Have Seen You (2:29)
9. I Can't See Your Face in My Mind (3:26)
10. When the Music's Over (10:59)

Total Time 35:13

Bonus tracks on 2007 remaster/remix:
11. People Are Strange (False Starts & Studio Dialogue) (1:57)
12. Love Me Two Times (Take 3) (3:19)

Line-up / Musicians

- Jim Morrison / vocals, percussion, Moog (1)
- Ray Manzarek / Vox Continental organ, Fender Rhodes (4,10), harpsichord (3), backwards piano (4), marimba (9)
- Robby Krieger / guitar
- John Densmore / drums

With:
- Douglas Lubahn / bass (1-3,6-9)

Releases information

Artwork: William S. Harvey with Joel Brodsky (photo)

LP Elektra ‎- EKL-4014 (1967, US) Mono version
LP Elektra - EKS-74014 (1967, US)

CD Elektra - 042 016 (1985, US)
CD Elektra - 74014-2 (1994, US) Remastered by Bruce Botnick and Paul A. Rothchild
CD Elektra - 7559-74014-2 (1999, US) Remastered by Bernie Grundman and Bruce Botnick
CD Elektra - R2 101183 (2007, US) Remixed & remastered by Bruce Botnick with 2 bonus tracks

Thanks to erik neuteboom for the addition
and to Quinino for the last updates
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THE DOORS Strange Days ratings distribution


4.25
(621 ratings)
Essential: a masterpiece of rock music(47%)
47%
Excellent addition to any rock music collection(40%)
40%
Good, but non-essential (12%)
12%
Collectors/fans only (1%)
1%
Poor. Only for completionists (1%)
1%

THE DOORS Strange Days reviews


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Collaborators/Experts Reviews

Review by Seyo
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Honorary Collaborator
5 stars On the second album THE DOORS repeated the formula from the debut, but additionally they made better production and music is better arranged, containing more experimental and psychedelic elements. There is not a weak spot on the album. The songs are disturbing, with Manzarek's eerie organ, Kreiger's gentle bottleneck solos and Morrisons frightening lyrics. In certain moments like in the noisy poem "Horse Latitudes", or in "I Can't See Your Face in My Mind" you can feel a real horror. The long psychedelic epic "When the Music's Over" completes the album in a best possible way, being perhaps THE essence of The Doors. Wonderful experience. A masterpiece album! West Coast psychedelia at its best.
Review by Chicapah
PROG REVIEWER
4 stars An eerie, electronically altered voice calls out from inside the circus tent. "Strange days have found us," Jim Morrison sings. Indeed. Only a year earlier The Doors were just another starving band on the Strip and now their songs blared from every radio and their faces were plastered all over magazines around the world. Back then the mantra of the powers-that-be was to strike the iron while the fire is still hot so Electra sent the boys right back into the studio to mine for more top-40 gold. After all, "Light My Fire" was still a huge hit. And that mine was still rich with tunes they weren't able to include on the debut LP so the songs came quickly and before 1967 had ended this album with its macabre, captivating cover art was in the record bins. In many ways this album is as good as their incredible first one. Musically the band is as tight and confident as ever. The real difference to my ear is that there is less of a sinister undercurrent to the sexuality and cockiness of the lyrics. The message doesn't seem to be quite as urgent as before. Morrison seems less like a Casanova and more of a slick, smooth-talking predator on "You're lost little girl," "Unhappy girl" and "My eyes have seen you." "Love Me Two Times" sounds more like a request than a demand and, on "Moonlight Drive" (one of their best songs ever) he's downright romantic! But things had turned ever so slightly strange for this foursome and when Jim sings "I can't seem to find the right lie" on "Can't See Your Face in my Mind" you get the feeling that he wonders how long he can keep up the rock star charade. And in "When the Music's Over" he expresses a foreboding sense of his limited time on this earth with "We're gettin' tired of hangin' around, waiting around with our heads to the ground" and "We want the world and we want it NOW." But when the world came to them he realized far too late that he didn't want any part of what they brought along. However, that was yet to come. For now they were still a tightly-knit group of friends with a common artistic goal and they effortlessly produced an album of songs that were almost as earth-shaking as the first batch. They are all at the top of their game on these recordings but Robbie Krieger is especially good on "Moonlight Drive," "People are Strange" and "When the Music's Over." If I could give it a 4.5 star rating I would but it just barely misses being on the same level as their previous blockbuster. Nonetheless, it's a fantastic collection of songs.
Review by memowakeman
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Honorary Collaborator
4 stars My personal favorite!!

Well maybe you can imagine the fate of this review since the first phrase, i consider myself a great The Doors follower and lover of their music, they are one of my favorite bands ever, and as i know them very well, i will review all their albums eventually, this time im taking the time to talk a bit about their second effort, released in 1967 and called "Strange Days" and who has become in my personal The Doors favorite album, i honestly like them all, but i adopted this since long time ago and whe ni listen to it i simply love it.

In the review of their first album, i mentioned that it was a must having in every rock fan, now i will repeat it, because this album is also essential to any collection, so if you don`t have it yet, go and buy it, actually their albums are very cheap nowadays, this album doesn`t have that memorable songs as Break on Through, The End and Light my Fire, but it has it`s own masterpieces.

Also the cover art in this album is pretty different to the other ones, and even looking at the album we may imagine that it is a weird musically and lirically composed album. After a powerful debut, and with the huge amount of repertoire, the placed 10 songs within this record, some are good, some are pretty good, some are excellent and one is a masterpiece.

"Strange Days" is te opener song here and here what i love the most is the bass which is playing with the synths of Manzarek, the lines are excellent and the song is one of the best here, with the authentical style of the band, and the extravagant lyrics. "You`re lost Little Girl" a soft ballad with again noticeable bass lines, they are simple but good, a nice song here, "Love me Two Times" is probably the better hit of this album, not a complex song, not the best, but definitely good and made to sing, who doesn`t recognize it since the first notes. "Unhappy Girl" not so known and probably one of the less good songs here, i still like it a lot, "Horse Latitudes" is the prelude to another memorable song, this is kind of poem (you know Jim was also a poet), good because of the meaning, so next is "Moonlight Drive" one of my favorite songs, i love it and it is so memorable, it`s actually one of the earlier songs that they created. "People are Strange", when you`re a stranger, faces look ugly, when you`re alone... well what more can i say about it, great! "My Eyes Have Seen You" is the worst song here, good anyway, but nothing new. "You`re Lost Little Girl" is another soft song with the bass lines, another good one. And.... the last songs, pleas people prepare yourself to the best songs that The Doors ever released, "When the Music`s Over", this song is a complete masterpiece, and (yes, a song which fits perfectly in the progressive realm) 11 minutes of a weird and mystic trip to the doors of perception, as Jim said, thw whole song is fantastic, it blows my mind away every time i listen to it, the lyrics are weird but excellent and the music is simply amazing.

So i repeat, this is my favorite The Doors album, i really love it, and this has influenced so many popular bands, but this is definitely NOT a prog album, (but When the Music`s Over itself could make your day), my grade in a ROCK site would be without a doubt 5 stars, here i make public that for me is a 5 star album because is excellent and essential, but this is not a masterpiece of proggresive music, so i cannot give it 5 stars, 4 are perfect here, excellent addition to any prog music collection!!!

Review by Guillermo
PROG REVIEWER
5 stars My favourite album from The Doors.

From the cover design to the music in this album, everything is very good.

"Welcome to The Doors`World": dark, menacing, psychedelic, with poetic lyrics, very good arrangements. The Doors`and Morrison`s visions are very good. They let the listener to listen carefully to the music, to introduce himself in a fantastic world, to be caught in their strange atmospheres. This is a very "artisitic" album.

"Strange Days": the first dark song, with great musical atmospheres, which include the use of a synthesizer. Clearly, the addition of a good bassist helped the band a lot to sound better. Douglas Lubahn, who at that time was a member of another band signed to Elektra Records (called "Clear Light"), was a very good choice as guest bassist.

"You`re Lost Little Girl": another very good song, one of my favourites from this band, with very good atmospheric guitars by Krieger.

"Love Me Two Times": the obligatory single, still it is a good song, despite being played a lot on the Radio.

"Unhappy Girl":similar to "You`re Lost Little Girl", the lyrics of this song are about "confused women", with a bit of humour in the lyrics.

"Horse Latitudes": a brief dark song about horses trying to survive in the sea when one ship is trying to not sink during a storm. A great atmosphere of "horror" created by the lyrics and the use of tape effects and people screaming in the studio.

"Moonlight Drive": another of my favourite songs from this band, with very good keyboards, and some use of "perverse vocals" by Morrison. Densmore also plays very well.

"People are Strange": another enjoyable song, with dark atmospheres, with lyrics about a loner, I think.

"My Eyes Have Seen You": a Rock Pop ballad, a light moment in this album.

"I Can`t See Your Face in my Mind": a psychedelic song, with good use of a marimba by Manzarek, and backward cymbal effects.

"When the Music`s Over": in this song the Fender piano bass is used again. This song sounds like being recorded "live in the studio". A "revolutionary " song which also grows in intensity, like "The End" from the previous album, finishing it with a very good climax.

I think that this album is the most representative of the style of The Doors. It was recorded and released in 1967, which I consider a very good year for Rock music in general. The creative powers were free.

Review by Sean Trane
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Prog Folk
4 stars After their immensely successful debut album, The Doors managed to confirm with an album that is every bit as superb, but is the only album not sporting a picture of them on the artwork. Legend has it that one of the reasons for this was that Morrison was posing bare-chested and Elektra did not want it. For better (and not for worse), the artwork boasts a series of circus artistes giving it a little conceptual air, but this is not the case.

The usual short hits are again infallible (Love Me Two Times and People Are Strange), and Morrison's lyrics are intriguingly strange (Moonlight Drive and its intro, the spooky Horse Latitude), this album flows incredibly smoothly, but with fewer surprises than its predecessor. Compared to the debut, the album is not as proggy, but definitely more psychedelic. And obviously they tried to repeat their epic ending as they had so brilliantly closed on their debut, but a little sadly, they did not manage it as well. When The Music Is Over lacks the incredible drama of The End, and also its exotic feel, but still remains quite excellent, as it is more powerful.

While not as stupendous as its debut because less prog, this album flows much smoother and on the whole is just as essential as its predecessor. "So when the music is over, turn out the lights. The music is your special friend, dance on fire as it intends, music is your only friend, until the eeeeend!!! "

Review by Chris S
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Honorary Collaborator
3 stars I have to disagree with the majority of reviewers here and and only give this album a three star rating. The material is very good but generally I find the songs way too short to make a proper impact with of course the exception being the final track, " When The Music's Over", quite possibly their best song ever.' Horse Latitude' is a strange song but good nevertheless and other worthwhile numbers being ' I Can't See Your Face In My Mind' and " Love Me Two Times" I think the Doors were already scrambling for material with Jim Morrison's erratic behaviour yet even so their best was yet to come! A Good album at best.
Review by ZowieZiggy
PROG REVIEWER
3 stars Nine months after the release of their fabulous first opus, The Doors came back with a new release. At that time it was not an exception for a band to produce a album every year or even two (the Beatles will do so during their whole - short - career; the Stones as well at least till 1969). But could they be on par with this masterpiece ? Let's hear.

I guess they wanted to capitalize on their growing fame generated by their first effort as well as their incredible live sets.

The opener "Strange Days" is superb. Bizarre atmosphere, catchy and dark melody. Manzarek is, again, very present and his sound so unique. Really good. "You're Lost Little Girl" is a nice rock ballad with childish lyrics but it sounds fresh and harmonious. "Love Me Two Times" is a strong bluesy song with a very catchy chorus. The whole band is backing Jim superbly. I guess lots of ladies would have loved to do what Jim was asking (maybe on purpose, I don't know).

"Unhappy Girl" is a short mellow psychedelic track. It could have come out of Syd's mind. A bit naïve and innocent. We are far from "The End". "Horse Latitudes" is more a "poem" than a song. Completely crazy. "Moonlight Drive" is another bluesy one. Good rythm but nothing really exciting. This is the main problem of this album : it's a collection of good songs (like the next one : "People Are Strange") but little highlights.

I understand that it is very difficult two produce two great albums so rapidly. They put maybe too much efforts in their first release ? "My Eyes have Seen You" is a good rock song. This is the Doors'side I prefer. I could hardly enter very much in their bluesy side which will have more and more the leading in their production. This song though does not belong to their classic repertoire but is quite good.

"I Can't See Your Face in My Mind" has a weird sound (somewhat trippy). Some marimba in the background adds an exotic flavour to this rather bluesy song. Light to no drumming. The rythm is marked by the bass and the organ play. Bizarre, bizarre.

The closing number is of course the highlight of this album. IMO, it is obvious that The Doors tried to recreated a second version of "The End". Not only by its lenght ("Music is your only friend, Until the end"). The hypnotic keys from Ray are really great. Strong bass. The band serves Jim as a backing musical element to his "vocal jam" in the middle part before taking the lead for the finale. A very good song. More strutured but less psyche than "The End". A great closing number.

The incredible feeling led by their initial album is a bit set aside with this one. I guess I had waited more from the Doors than just an average album. The bluesy orientation is felt a bit more with this album.Three stars.

Review by Mellotron Storm
PROG REVIEWER
3 stars For me this is easily surpassed by their debut as well as "L.A. Woman". I don't know, I just had trouble getting into this one. With songs about strange days and people, or lost and unhappy girls, there seems to be a theme of alienation that runs through this record. I hate the cover as well.

Highlights for me are the cool guitar melodies throughout "Love Me Two Times" and also the great sounding guitar in "My Eyes Have Seen You". The best song though is the final tune "When the Music's Over". It has a psychedelic feel to it and the organ to open is quite catchy. A great sixties tune on a good album. 3 stars.

Review by Eetu Pellonpaa
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Honorary Collaborator
5 stars After releasing their first album, the band managed to produce another masterpiece straight after it during the same year, which I see as a really exceptional achievement. The album starts with solemn and surreal feelings of the opening title song, followed by the very hazy "You're Lost Little Girl", which has really very dreamy feeling in it. "Love Me Two Times" moves into more down-to-earth rocker, reaching really powerful levels from the singer in the end. The next tune "Horse Latitudes" is a really great and powerful opener for the following "Moonlight Drive". It consists of Morrison's surreal poem which he recites in powerful pathos over the chaotic psychedelic soundwall created by the band. The song which follows it is then more traditional rock song, also growing to exceptional heights of power. Jim was such a powerful singer, and in this kind of performances he really shines. The following tune "People Are Strange" is another melodic Doors classic, and after the few following good tunes the album ends to a long epic "When the Music's Over". I really like this powerful track, and it's not any kind of carbon copy from "The End", the long closer of their previous album. Along with that record mentioned, if you get this and "Waiting for The Sun", I think you have an ultimate trilogy of classic 60's American psychedelic music in your hands, burning with power and shining with innovative ideas.
Review by The T
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Honorary Collaborator
5 stars When I reviewed The Doors' first album, I said that, although the record deserved 5 stars for its importance and for the quality of some of its tracks, for me it is not the best album by the American band, and it doesn't quite reach perfection. STRANGE DAYS, on the other hand, though maybe less groundbreaking than THE DOORS, is, for me, their best work and their crowning masterpiece.

In this album the music has taken a shift towards the darker side of the spectrum. Morrison's lyrics are more obscure, weirder, even more personal; Densmore's drumming is more present, Krieger's guitar more haunting, more hallucinating, and Manzarek's keyboards are much more psychedelic, narcotic, trip-inducing. But the whole band's music changes as a result: whereas THE DOORS was, in spite of its rather dark corners, still rock-pop with just some shamanistic touches, STRANGE DAYS is a complete shamanic ritual with rock songs as background, a complete psychedelic and psychological voyage through the inner, more confused, yet more aware, corners of Morrison's mind. If their debut album was "California rock" made under the influence of mind enhancing substances (to open "the Doors of Perception"), this second album is a mind-travel on its own, this is the mind-altering substance, the music itself.

The 2007 re-issue by Rhino Records is, again, a success. In this case we don't get a "higher" version of the album as the speed-problem was only present in the first record by the band. What we get here is, of course, liner notes, more pictures, and, sound-wise, a much crisper, clearer experience of the already-decently recorded album (for 1967, that is). The clarity of the sound is so high that we can even hear some details that were lost in the older versions, as a couple of vocal harmonies and some guitar arpeggios. The extra tracks are a "false starts and studio dialogue" of "People are Strange" and "Love me Two Times", take 3 (by this time the necessity to do multiple takes in The Doors' albums was starting, as Morrison was also beginning to be quite problematic to work with in a studio).

Strange Days (10/10) From the start we get an introduction to the new psychedelic voyage courtesy of The Doors. The menacing, obscure keyboard notes that start the song give us the idea of a zigzagging mind which dwells between absurd figures, oblique streets, funny faces, like the vision of a person with perfect eyesight wearing extremely big eyeglasses; everything distorted. Fantastic song.

You're lost Little Girl (9/10) What could be more intriguing than this song? The opening lines are so dark, menacing. Suddenly Morrison sings about a little girl; the odd pairing of lyrics and music work wonderfully. I don't love the chorus, but the verse is just superb. Singing of a lost little girl, the song seems to tell us that the singer is lost, not knowing who he is. Almost fantastic.

Love me two times (8/10) The most "normal" rock song in the album, an entertaining number that bears the same mark of quality of every song in The Doors' early output. Manzarek's keyboards give this song a strange aura, an ironic smell. Good.

Unhappy Girl (8/10) This incredibly-short song starts with a descending figure that reeks of psychedelia, and then turns into a more regular song. Another good song.

Horse Latitudes (?/10) Not really a song but studio noises under Morrison's voice reciting a weird poem. More of an experiment than a track (Botnick tells us so in the booklet, about how the band tried to use the studio after hearing SGT. PEPPER for the first time), it blends perfectly with the start of the next song.

Moonlight Drive (9/10) The song that started it all, the one that, legend tells us (well, and many Manzarek's and Morrison's biographers) Jim sung to Ray in Venice Beach and that astounded the latter so much that a project for a rock band was formed. The guitar notes by Krieger give this otherwise regular song a strange, dreamy, multi-color (like a Kaleidoscope) flavor. Krieger does so little in this song, yet he does SO MUCH. A good, very good weird song, weird because, although at first it sounds like a happy, merry-go-round song, Morrison and Krieger makes us doubt a lot about the true nature of the dancer, or the driver, in this case. Should the girl trust him? I don't know, but we can trust this song to give us some entertaining 3 minutes.

People are Strange (10/10) There's not much that I could say that would do this minimal track justice. Packed in 2 minutes, the same two minutes that other bands need just to get a song started, is so much wit, irony, sarcasm, joke, desperation, helplessness, LSD. Morrison was starting to see things differently, with other eyes, with The Lizard King'seyes. Superb.

My Eyes have seen you (8.5/10) Another more "normal" song, a straight rocker but with the same dark, evil impetus of most The Doors' songs (of the early period, we haven't gotten to "Tell all the People" yet). This new recording is so fantastic, everything sounds so incredibly clear. Good, because this album deserves to come "stoned, immaculate" to the ears. Great song.

I can't see your Face in my Mind (9/10) What a dark, ominous start. Morrison almost cries because he can't see her face in his mind. Is it because he is so out-of-himself that he can't see her? Is it because he is seeing HIMSELF so much that he can't picture anybody else's face in his mind? Is it finally happening, Morrison and The Lizard King starting to part ways? This band surely had a strange way to write songs talking about (or TO) a woman.

When the Music's Over (10/10) This is "The End" for this record, another epic conclusion. Though less shocking and insane than the last track of their debut, this is actually a superior song, with everything falling in place, from the rhythm to the sound of the organ, from Morrison's vocal delivery to Krieger's minimal-yet-important input. Instead of the shamanistic, LSD-induced, Oedipal, psychological ritual of "The End", we get a more carefully-constructed, focused, calmed song that mixes some ethanol with the acid. The climax-after-the-storm near the end doesn't reach the level of ecstasy of the tribalistic dance at "The End's" finish, but works perfectly after several minutes of just Morrison and the bass (played in keys by Manzarek) making the mind-trip more unreal. A superb conclusion.

All in all, a better album than the first one and, without a doubt in my mind, The Doors' best and highest masterpiece. Darkness, Acid, Rituals, Freud, Psychedelia, all have come together to, finally, give birth to The Lizard King, something that, sadly, was not so good in terms of musical-production for the band.

Recommended for: Everyone. The minimum desire to get a great classic rock recording qualifies you to fit this recommendation.

Not recommended for: If you want only "modern" music, well.

.actually, even you should get this album. It sounds so present-day, so original, so unique. This hasn't been done again. Prog? I can swear that many prog giants heard this and got inspiration. That's why this is in the "Proto-Prog" category, isn't it?

Creative-wise, those were truly Strange Days. Great Days.

Review by Easy Livin
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Honorary Collaborator / Retired Admin
3 stars Short and to the point

Less than a year after the release of their debut album, The Doors returned with this fine follow up. While the album runs for a rather miserly 35 minutes (short even for the LP generation), we are nevertheless presented with ten new songs, including a ten minute feature track.

Much of the album is made up of sophisticated but straight forward pop orientated songs. The prog relationship here can be found in the innovations in sound techniques and the superb production, rather than in the compositions themselves. The opening track for example sees Jim Morrison's vocals being subtly distorted, making for a slightly eerie atmosphere.

The instrumental support for "Unhappy girl" sounded far more ground breaking in the late 1960's than it perhaps does now. Had the track been extended by an instrumental section, it could have been one of the band's most revered songs. Indeed, in retrospect that comment holds good for many of the tracks here. Nowadays songs of the quality of "People are Strange" would never be considered complete after just over 2 minutes. The even briefer "Horse latitudes" is an early example of Morrison reciting his unique poetry.

At over 10 minutes, the closing "When the music's over" is a monster track in comparison with the other nine. Comparisons with "The end" are inevitable, but for me there is a real progression here, the track demonstrating how the band's confidence is growing at the same pace as their creative abilities.

In all, another album which laid the foundations for prog, and which stands in its own right as an excellent work.

The sleeve, notable for its lack of reference to either the band or album name, has a bizarre photograph of a circus troupe in an alley. Strange indeed.

Review by The Whistler
PROG REVIEWER
5 stars Perhaps someone can clear this up for me...just what the crap genre should this be listed under? The fact that, barring a certain ten minute exercise, every number is about a well rounded three minutes (in fact, a couple are less than two!), would lead one to believing this is a largely “pop” album. Except it’s not pop. Hardly. Pop would never be this deep or mystical, lyricswise, or spookily played. That pop moniker keeps haunting me though...maybe it’s art pop, right? This IS a prog site after all. Uh...no. There does seem to be a mild conceptuality about this thing (the themes of lonely girls and strange people keep coming up, so it’s certainly thematic), but it refuses to contribute to the basic sound of art pop (overblown, usually with strings, but still radio friendly). No, that ain’t it. Its beauty lies in its simplicity (of approach, mind you, not mood).

Perhaps it’s psychedelic, eh? Well...I doubt that too, since most psycho songs are crafted to listen to while tripping. And, although this album is perfectly acceptable under those conditions, you really have to HEAR this thing, analyze it. And by “hear it,” I mean, “listen to it in a dark room with the headphones cranked up to eleven.” I can’t even really call it “mope-rock,” whatever that means, since the songs aren’t there to depress you. No, these songs are there to unnerve you.

Goth-pop maybe? Whatever (besides, what else fits that moniker? Dylan’s “All Along the Watchtower?”). The point is, this is one of the most fascinating albums of all time, and there’s only one tiny, nagging thing keeping me from calling it perfect. So please allow me to shut up and keep talking, as I go into a little more detail.

As the atmospheric keyboards and echoey Jim open “Strange Days,” one has to wonder, how on earth these guys thought this thing could honestly compete with Sergeant Pepper. Which is not to say it’s horrible, I just mean that it’s apples and organs dude! That is, something sweet and tasty, as compared to something gross and gory that you’d really rather not have out in front of your family. Gotta love those creepy, mystical lyrics (“Strange days have dragged us down, “The hostess is grinning.” Brr), and that solid organ riff. Far cry from “Little Help From My Friends,” that’s for sure.

“You’re Lost Little Girl” is just plain creepy. Floaty, ethereal guitar solo, and more weird lyrics. “Love Me Two Times” proves that the Doors’ blues fetish is still in place. Mystical though the album might be, Jimbo wasn’t gonna let it go without this thing. Helluva song too, since “blues” still equates “Doors blues.” Bouncy guitar riff, and some highly intricate piano soloing. Dig how it gets scarier as it goes along. “Unhappy Girl” opens with a psychedelic keyboard, but fear not. Still the same ole Doors. Which means that you can’t quite tell if the song is freaky or creepy, and the slide guitar meshes with the noble, medieval keyboards flawlessly.

I was originally worried, nay, horrified, concerning the rumors of “Horse Latitudes,” a certain poetic ranting non-song. After all, wasn’t it pointless poetry that killed Days of Future Passed? However, all fears were abated when I actually just listened to the damn thing. Hell, it’s practically a highlight. For one thing (although I’m no great shake when it comes to poetry), it sounds a million times more mature than other poetry I’ve heard dropped on albums. Or, at least, it’s delivered more maturely, and if Jim believes it, I have no choice but to play along. And, secondly, and more importantly, it fits into the flow and mood of the album perfectly! It’s scary man, what with the bizarre instrumentation and screaming; them horses’ll give you nightmares.

“Moonlight Drive” proves that perhaps the Doors’ best trick was build. God, the build! You THINK it’s a love song, but it just keeps getting scarier and scarier, and in the end, everyone dies! Ain’t that great? Sure is. Pretty cool martial drumming too.

It’s hard to pick a favorite number on this album, since it’s all so God damned EVEN, but I nominate “People Are Strange” as the best song. And, yes, I do realize that it’s considered the Doors’ best acknowledged “pop” outing, but it’s good! Besides, would a real pop song contain such dark, repetitive lyrics (I mean, a pop anthem to being a weirdo? C’mon!)? Couple that with a deliciously lazy Krieger solo, and some brilliant piano work, sophisticated drumming, and it’s amazing to think of what these boys can cover in less than two minutes.

“My Eyes Can See You” is a great, hard rockin’ bit. Best guitar solo on the album (or at least tying with the one on “When the Music’s Over”), and desperate, menacing piano. I’d call it a love song, but it’s kind of a perverse one; every time I hear it, I keep getting images of a dilapidated hotel. Perhaps the only thing that can be honestly considered a love song is “I Can’t See Your Face in My Mind.” Except that it’s totally creepy and atmospheric (“Carnival dogs consume the lines.” Back to the album cover). Great use of percussion.

The closing epic “When the Music’s Over” is a definite highlight, perhaps better than anything else on the album, and certainly the best possible way to end it. Open with that deceptively jaunty, rising keyboard, then launch into a full frontal musical assault. After some lyrics with Jimbo moaning about how “the music is your only friend,” Robbie steps in with a truly nightmarish guitar solo. Gosh, with friends like that...

Then it all slows down. Pay attention to the relation between Jim and the band (“I hear a very gentle sound,” guitar noises), especially John Densmore. When he was good, he was GOOD. Oh, and, that part where drums, organ and guitar are banging out the same ascending/descending riff? Sheer Gothic, psychedelic, metallic, insert-genre-here bliss. This song has so many twists and turns, that if you (please PLEASE) listen to it in a dark room, headpones at eleven, I can practically guarantee that you won’t sleep for days. Worth every minute.

So, every song is memorable, every song is intelligent, every song is well played, every song is different, and every song accomplishes that ever important mood that the album is going for. Why ain’t it flawless? Well, to tell I’m not sure at the moment...

The length, damn it! The length. This album is WAY too short, and so are most of its songs. Then again, shortness is in and of itself not a sin (before you criticize, recall that Gentle Giant, a “real” art band, always kept to short material). Perhaps it’s just that these songs are meditations on strange things that come out of the rain...heh.

In the end, when the music’s over, what really matters is that this is an album that no one else on earth could have ever produced. Not even Procol Harum. They were just human beings, whereas Jimmy Morrison was a psycho. A good psycho. No one else on earth has ever yet popped in some poetry that has, not only failed to offend me, but has actually served the overall recording. I mean, this album is GOOD damn it! Forget about me and buy it. If only for the cover, TOTALLY fits the album. Seriously, ever song I can link back to that freaky, washed out circus. Better’n Brain Salad Surgery’s maybe.

(DAMNIT! Why, why, why is almost every great album cursed with such lousy bonus tracks? Strange Days gets just two, and they’re both practically useless to all but whacked out Doors fans. It’s just dicking around in the studio, trust me. Okay, so it is a little cool to hear Robbie construct the opening riff to “People are Strange” on the “(False Starts and Dialogue)” bit, and “Love Me Two Times” is different enough to deserve a listen (drum heavier, and the piano is switched for organ). But do you REALLY need to hear this? Well...maybe. Just every now and then. But no change in rating.)

Review by Queen By-Tor
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Honorary Collaborator
4 stars Strange days are coming...

The Doors second album, often overlooked, is a great piece of work. It may not be the masterpiece that their first one was, but the album is definitely one of the most classic albums out there. There are many hits off this album, LOVE ME TWO TIMES and PEOPLE ARE STRANGE are likely the most obvious, but STRANGE DAYS and MOONLIGHT DRIVE also faired fairly well, and are a pair of great songs.

Of course, there are other songs, and they all have their moments. The most notable of the remaining songs being WHEN THE MUSIC'S OVER, which is a great proto-prog track, likely one of the best long songs The Doors ever made. HORSE LATITUDES is a bizarre song that features some haunting moments, including a good bit of screaming from Morrison, it's actually a really good track! The other short songs are not nearly as up to par as the singles and the coda track, but they all work together to form a nice album that fits well into any prog lover's collection.

4 stars, excellent addition for people who want to see the best of Proto-Prog...

Review by UMUR
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Honorary Collaborator
5 stars Strange Days is the second album from The Doors. Their debut introduced the now classic Doors sound of Carnival/ circus organ music mixed with dark sixties rock. A strange mix then as it is a strange mix today. Strange Days shows The Doors at their most creative and inspired. All the rough edges from the debut are gone and this is a masterpiece album. Not a single note on this album is unneccessary. This is the Doors album that I always return to. Like many others my age I was introduced to The Doors through the Oliver Stone movie from 1991 and allthough it took my a while to appreciate their music I was eventually sold. But what really tricked my excitement about The Doors was an auto biography by John Densmore I read a couple of years back. It was such a great insight into a world of drugs, internal fighting, ladies and a dark philosophy that I as a metal head embrased with joy. Jim Morrison was a troublemaker no doubt. The mans personality often resulted in fights with the other members of the band and his drug abuse didnīt make things any easier. Itīs really a wonder they made six albums together with the original lineup. The first three albums were their most psychadelic albums and Strange Days is probably the most psychadelic of those three albums.

I want to mention some highlights on Strange Days even though the whole album is really one long highlight. Itīs very seldom you come across an album where you like everything about it. The title track starts the album and itīs a psychadelic track which has always been a favorite of mine. Great obscure vocals from Jim Morrison, and some really eerie carnival organ parts from Ray Manzarek. Note the changed bassline after the second chorus. Simple gimmick really but great. You're Lost Little Girl is another favorite of mine with the beautiful sensitive vocals from Jim Morrison and the melodic acoustic guitar from Robby Krieger. This is another favorite of mine from Strange Days. Love Me Two Times is the most known song from Strange Days but itīs a great track and another highlight on the album. People Are Strange have always had a strange attraction on me and itīs a song I will always love. Of course I also have to mention the last song When the Music's Over. Itīs a Doors classic and a live favorite. Absolutely one of the best songs they ever made. As mentioned the rest of the songs are also great dark sixties pop/ rock songs that shouldnīt be missed.

The musicianship is even better than on the excellent debut. These musicians just seem to come up with new tricks all the time. I especially noticed that Robby Krieger really evolved since the debut.

The production is really detailed and very good for the time and even in todayīs standards this is a great sound quality. Of course itīs obvious that the album is made in the sixties but itīs really great.

The cover needs to be mentioned as well. Itīs always drawn me in with itīs eerie and dark atmosphere. Clowns and circus freaks have always scared the [&*!#] out of me.

With Strange Days The Doors superseeded all expectations after their brilliant debut and delivered what I think is their crowning achievement. Iīm so happy every time I give this one a spin because I know that my love for this album will last forever. A true psychadelic evergreen. The 5 stars is a matter of course for this masterpiece album. If youīre curious about The Doors, start here.

Review by Bonnek
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Honorary Collaborator
5 stars Strange Days is the second Doors album in one year. Artists had ambitions in those days. It fully delivers on the promise of the debut and due to its consistent quality and its eerie, melancholic, and alienated feel; it easily ranks as my favourite Doors album. I have something of a circus trauma (not the only one here apparently :) and the album art only makes the experience even more scary and unsettling then just the music.

Strange Days and You're Lost Little Girl have that downcast beauty and brooding intensity that has only been equalled since by Joy Division on songs like Heart And Soul. The Doors were obviously a great inspiration on the estranged post punk generation in the 80's. Love Me Two Times lightens up the mood with a playful harpsichord and attractive blues swing. But the slight twist is short-lived. In under 2 minutes, Unhappy Girl has a great contrast between sad lyrics and almost light-hearted circus music. After a bit of deranged poetry, the sublime Moonlight Drive continues Jim's pensive mood, but the music keeps providing that interesting psychedelic counterweight. In just 2 minutes, People Are Strange is both strange and catchy, gloomy and subtle.

The great thing about this album is that it doesn't falter for one second. Also My Eyes Have Seen You and I Can't See Your Face In My Mind continue the high standard quality of this unique music. The closing 11 minutes When The Music's Over proves their grown maturity since the debut album. They deliver a flawless and coherent epic with a well-timed climax that not only shows where Nick Cave got the inspiration for his gloomy epics but it is also the obvious point of attention for prog heads. Where the The End was little more then a stretched out jam, this track has a decisively more composed structure then other early epics like Rondo or Instellar Overdrive. Of course, the basis of the song is still a repetitive blues lick but coming from 1967, this was a huge leap in proggy directions.

The album is relatively short but with all those beautiful little songs there's more hooks and angles to this album then on many products that are twice as long. A landmark of psychedelic rock indeed.

Review by friso
PROG REVIEWER
4 stars On the second album of The Doors the band again delivers a full sweep of original melodic psychedelic bluesrock songs with poetic lyrics and soulful vocals. Progression comes natural to the early Doors and it just mind-blowing how good they were compared to their contemporaries in creating varied albums. Now most of us know all about most of these songs and I don't see why I should write much about it; but I would like to mention the lesser known 'You're Lost Little Girl' and 'I Can't See Your Face In My Mind' for their brilliant psychedelic atmosphere and intimate performances by Jim Morrison. The final songs 'When The Music's Over' is the only song I don't find that impressive; it is overly long and it never reaches that heavenly blues bliss of 'The End' from the debut.
Review by Rune2000
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Honorary Collaborator
4 stars I've heard that Strange Days was created mainly out of the leftover material from the debut album. If that is the case then the debut album had suspiciously many great compositions omitted for some inferior material!

What makes Strange Days a much smoother album is the fact that it doesn't have any forgettable material on it. The album may not contain as many the Doors classics as debut album, but what it lacks it quality it makes up for in consistency. I personally enjoy this release slightly more than the band-titled recording and if they only could combine some of the best material from the two then we, the audience, would have had a lethal album on our hands. But as it stands today we have no show-stealing songs just solid material all around!

The opening title track may not be as hard hitting as Break On Through (To The Other Side) but it sets my expectations at just the right level to make the rest of this journey worth a while. Love Me Two Times is one of the few Blues-Rock compositions that I'm always excited to hear. The section right after the vocal chorus line gets me every time with its ingenious execution. The short but sweet People Are Strange is probably most recognized song out of the bunch and I'm glad that it wasn't turned into a 7-minute jam session like Light My Fire. The reason for this remark comes from the idea that the first two the Doors albums are structured quite similarly with around 10 tracks each with a lengthy 10+ minute piece right at the end.

As for the excessive piece of music known as When The Music's Over I feel that it's not on par with the wonderful The End. It's not like the band is actually trying to recreate the same atmosphere here but one can't help but compare due to the unavoidable similarities of the two pieces. The composition is great for what it is but just like the album-titled opener implied one needs to keep the expectations on a certain level to truly enjoy these performances.

Strange Days is a second in a row excellent release from the Doors which unfortunately is a last one in a while since most of their later output tends to be quite inconsistent.

***** star songs: Strange Days (3:09) Love Me Two Times (3:15) People Are Strange (2:11)

**** star songs: You're Lost Little Girl (3:05) Unhappy Girl (1:57) Horse Latitudes (1:35) Moonlight Drive (3:03) My Eyes Have Seen You (2:32) I Can't See Your Face In My Mind (3:24) When The Music's Over (11:06)

Review by Finnforest
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Honorary Collaborator
3 stars "penetrate the evening that the city sleeps to hide..."

Now we're getting somewhere. While the beloved Doors debut gets so much buzz, it is here where the band begins to interest me more. The songs of "Strange Days" blend psychedelia with their own west-coast rock to create a unique, pleasant semi-darkness. The tracks and the playing are less obvious and more adventurous making the album more enticing to proggers, even though many of the songs were written in the same early period. I think they chose the more obvious hits for the first album, leaving the weirder cousins available for this one. That combined with their developing skills and likely increased hallucinogenic intake made a big difference. The first album bores me while this one still grabs me. "Strange Day" supposedly features some of the first Moog in rock and roll, not sure if it was the very first example though.

Side one is very strong, "Unhappy Girl" might be the only soft spot. "You're Lost Little Girl" is one of those laid back, dreamy, hazy vocals that Morrison would make the alter-ego trademark to his wild side. "Love Me Two Times" was a decent single as was "Moonlight Drive" which was the lyric that awed Manzarek into Jim's potential when they were just friends hanging out on the beach. The intro to "Moonlight" was "Horse Latitudes," a cryptic and slightly frightening collage of brash sound and poetry. A glimpse into the rough waters Jim wanted to go. "People are Strange" was another great track and an unlikely hit, when you listen closely it shows how good their instincts were in assembling a track. The album ended with another monster track as they did with "The End" on the debut. "When the Music's Over" is pure Doors with Ray and Robby's big organ/guitar squall opening. The track is bookended by loud and dramatic rock sections while the middle opens into a rather minimalist valley where Morrison lays down his thing quite dramatically, a poetry reading set to music.

"Strange Days" shows growth by the band and is another 1967 title to recommend although probably not quite essential stuff.

Review by Warthur
PROG REVIEWER
5 stars No such thing as sophomore slump for the Doors - if anything, this is even more confident and assured than their debut. Many of the songs here were considered for inclusion on the first album but held back, and the extra work in that time has clearly served them well. "Strange" is the name of the game here - from Morrison's plaintive cry of "People are strange, when you're a stranger" in People Are Strange to the swirling organ of the title track, weirdness, isolation, and alienation are the themes of the album, and the Doors' dark, brooding sound is the perfect vehicle for that. Morrison's spoken word piece Horse Latitudes as a short piece which shouldn't really work that does, the backing sound effects and Morrison's impassioned delivery building tension brilliantly before the band breaks into the wonderful Moonlight Drive. And Rob Krieger's furious guitar combines wonderfully with Manzarek's driving piano in the furious My Eyes Have Seen You, easily matching Morrison for raw fury.

The album closes with another epic, When the Music's Over, isn't as well-known as The End (probably because it never appeared in Apocalypse Now), but it's no less powerful. Even though it - like the rest of the album - is going over the same territory to some extent, it's enough of an improvement over the band's first attempts to be well worth the second try. The whole album, in fact, accomplishes all the promise of the first album and more besides. Five stars.

Review by Sinusoid
PROG REVIEWER
4 stars Add me to the list of progsters that believe that STRANGE DAYS is an improvement over the self- titled debut. And it took me quite too long to follow up my first encounter with The Doors; about six and a half years is the gap between me getting the debut and me getting this. STRANGE DAYS made me feel like I had been missing out on something in all of those years.

I would argue that this is a proggier version of the Doors even though psychedelic music is a more proper term for the album. The span of keyboard sounds expands a bit to allow harpsichords in like on ''Moonlight Drive'' (likely influenced by SGT. PEPPER). I also get the feeling that while the tunes are still pop, The Doors stretch their sonic palette out a bit to avoid sounding ''normal''. That is, excluding the good ''Unhappy Girl'', a song that sounds like a debut leftover.

Compared to the more sunshine California happy material on the debut, STRANGE DAYS, for the most part, takes dark, twisted turns that bleed into the music. It's as if ''The End'' had sequel vignettes. The title track, ''You're Lost Little Girl'', ''People Are Strange'' and ''My Eyes Have Seen You'' are quite disturbing and creepy in presence. They all give me that cold chill down my back that you get whenever you see/hear/read something sinister yet you like it at the same time. And yet there's the snappy hit single ''Love Me Two Times'' to bring some balance.

The track that many want to know about here would be ''When the Music's Over''. It's at the end of the album and eleven minutes long, so comparison's to ''The End'' would be inevitable. ''The End'' wins for me because that track was spine-tingling and ground-breaking simultaneously; ''When the Music's Over'' is more or less a swirling jazzy jam that does climax, but not in the way ''The End'' does. A more proper comparison of this album's ender music-wise is Caravan's ''Where But For Caravan Would I?''.

STRANGE DAYS is not without its share of clunker tracks. Thankfully it's brief, but ''Horse Latitudes'' is simply awful. ''I Can't See Your Face in My Mind'' sounds too much like padding.

This album is creepy, but it's the kind of creepy that puts that evil smirk on your face and goosebumps on your arms. If you aren't sure of what I'm talking about, give this album a try and see if you get the same reaction.

Review by rogerthat
PROG REVIEWER
5 stars Has there been a more knockout opening to an album than the title track of Strange Days? There may well be, but I might be able to count them all, at least the ones I know of, on my fingers. I may be biased here on account of how much I love this track. But I find it utterly hypnotic in ways I find hard to put into words. It changed my views about Doors for good and 'converted' me.

My previous experiences of Doors were restricted to Morrison Hotel and some other tracks from across their discography. I did not find these particularly exciting and could not relate to (what I thought of as) all the hype around the band. But Strange Days revealed to me a band that could hold its own and then some with the very best of the 60s.

Sinister and tender, hard hitting and beguiling, twisted and infectious, these are some contrasting adjectives that I could use to describe this album without much exaggeration. As a demonstration of the band's range and width, the first two tracks of the album would suffice by themselves.

The eponymous opener, astonishingly, sounds like Krautrock a bit before Krautrock. And it achieves this without losing accessibility. The main hook is too exotic to sound generic even after all these years and yet, it is so catchy that it's almost danceable. It is when Morrison's ominous voice comes in that parallels to Krautrock are really evident. The riffs that follow the last line of each verse (or a chorus, if you would rather call it one) must have also been very influential for Krautrock and, once again, they possess hypnotic power.

Preceded by this menacing slab of psychedelia as it is, You're Lost Little Girl feels even more beguiling for it. This talented bunch of musicians almost seem to transform for this song and Krieger in particular plays a beautiful solo. A band that can write and perform either of these tracks would already have to be a talented one, but how do you beat a band that can come up with both, back to back and make the transition seamlessly? Once again, the immediate parallel is with the Syd Barrett-led Pink Floyd. But...I would argue Doors are even more effective at this stage. Their madness is much more channeled and focused. For all their success with Barrett, Pink Floyd were a bit all over the place at that stage while Doors on Strange Days is a band at the top of their game. And it shows.

Because there's still more, lots more to this album. My other absolute favourite from this album is the aptly titled closer, When The Music's Over. I would have more time for psychedelic jams if they were all as effective as this fabulous track. Doors create a powerful context that makes the jam engaging in the first place. It is improv, but not improv that simply sets a mood but improv that will compel you to listen to with full attention, every note of it. Improv that will transport you to a place that you will find thrilling and frightening at the same time. This music is simply not meant to be analysed but to be experienced to the hilt. I am not a huge fan of Morrison's singing but I do love his performance on this track and would have to consider it crucial to the power of the music.

There are some goodies amongst the rest of the tracks too. They are relatively simple and basic in terms of structure, but structure is not where it's at as far as this album goes. This is a bunch of compositions that cannot be easily emulated for sheer staying power. I particularly like Unhappy Girl, My Eyes Have Seen You and I Can't See Your Face in My Mind. I don't often listen to the rest but it's not like there's anything, other than Horse Latitudes, to avoid here.

To conclude, certainly an album that can rival the likes of Revolver, Piper at the Gates of Dawn, Let It Bleed, Bringing it all Back Home as one of the shining lights of the 60s. Morrison may not quite be a match for the Zimmerman as a wordsmith and the musicians may not boast the eclecticism of the Beatles but none of these albums I mentioned are so purely mesmerising and, well, scary as Strange Days. Where this album shines is not so much in terms of its influence or its profundity but simply its ability to tap the power of aural sensation to make an indelible impression on the mind. This, I would argue, is much closer to the heart of music. In that sense, it rocks like few rock albums ever made.

Review by siLLy puPPy
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR PSIKE, JRF/Canterbury, P Metal, Eclectic
5 stars After the outstanding success of THE DOORS' debut album, the record company wasted no time capitalizing on America's answer to the hugely successful British invasion that The Beatles exported. Luckily there was plenty of material to create a hugely awesome followup as the tracks on both albums were all written in the 1965-66 years and were merely sorted out to be released as two albums. I have to admit that in this case Elektra Records did a very good job in segregating these tracks as to provide some sort of momentum from the first album to the second. STRANGE DAYS continues the unique psychedelic rock started on the debut and as with that album continues the excellent poetic talent of Jim Morrison with the fan-damn-tastic arrangements of Ray Manzarek and his unique keyboard runs, Robby Krieger's creative guitar motifs and John Desmore's accompanying percussion. As with the debut Manzarek continues his piano bass but they do include Douglas Lubahn on bass on several tracks making him an unofficial fifth member here replacing Larry Knechtel from the debut.

Like the debut album STRANGE DAYS is just one addictive track after another with zero weak tracks on board. For me there is no difference between the excellent singles "People Are Strange" and "Love Me Two Times" and the other less commercial tracks as "Horse Latitudes" and the proto-prog behemoth "When The Music's Over." All these tracks have the musical mojo to fully captivate me and cast their spell over my listening experience. Although this album failed to perform commercially to the levels of the debut, time has been kind to STRANGE DAYS by allowing it to slowly sink in over the decades. In my book it is the musical equivalent to the debut and could possibly just slink in ever so slightly a notch above it. Since all the material is pretty much of the same caliber and it was all written simultaneously it is really difficult to differentiate it all but on a personal level i just find the material on STRANGE DAYS a pubic hair more satisfying than the debut. There really isn't a lot i can say about THE DOORS as they remain one of the most popular bands in all of rock history. I can only offer my continued praise and admiration for this spectacular band as a music lover who wasn't around at their time. Timeless music this is and i for one cannot foresee a day when THE DOORS and STRANGE DAYS are not every bit as popular and revered as they are now and were at the time of Jim Morrison's living years.

Review by VianaProghead
PROG REVIEWER
5 stars Review Nš 245

"Strange Days" is the second studio album of The Doors and was released in 1967. It was released in the same year of their previous debut studio album "The Doors". "Strange Days" consists basically of songs that were written in 1965-1966, but didn't make it onto their debut studio album. For that reason, the band's second effort isn't as consistently stunning as their debut, though overall it's a very successful continuation of the themes of their debut classic album.

"Strange Days" has ten tracks. All songs were written by Jim Morrison, Robby Krieger, Ray Manzarek and John Densmore. The first track is the title track "Strange Days". It seems to be inspired on a visit to New York City by The Doors which made Jim Morrison write this song and other songs on this album. This is a dark song with a great musical atmosphere which includes the use of a synthesizer, one of the earliest examples of the use of a Moog synthesizer in rock. The second track "You're Lost Little Girl" is another very good song and it has also a very impressive musical atmosphere, which is especially provided by the guitar work of Robby Krieger. It's a very simple and nice rock ballad with beautiful lyrics that sounds fresh, even in our days. Jim Morrison sings so sad and so lost that his vocal work is fantastic. The third track "Love Me To Times" was released as the second single after "People Are Strange", the first single of the album. The song is about a sailor and his last day with his girlfriend before shipping out to the Vietnam War. It's the most normal and typical rock song on the album, with a slight touch of blues. This is, in my opinion, a less good song but, it still is a great song. The fourth track "Unhappy Girl" is a song very similar to "You're Lost Little Girl". Its lyrics are about a woman and have a bit of humour. Musically, it's a mellow psychedelic song and represents a naïve, innocent and beautiful musical moment. The fifth track "Horse Latitudes" is a song where the words are taken from one of the first poems that Jim Morrison wrote. It was inspired by a book cover he saw at a local bookstore when he was a child. The song is a spoken word by Jim Morrison with the band providing noises in the back. This is, without any doubt, a very strange track, the weirdest thing the band ever made. It's more an experimental track that a real song, but it blends perfectly well with the start of the next song. The sixth track "Moonlight Drive" was the B side of their second single "Love Me Two Times". The song is known by fans as being one of the first songs written by Jim Morrison and it's also the song that started it all. It's the song that Jim Morrison sung to Ray Manzarek in Venice Beach and thus, in many ways, this is the song that helped to form The Doors. This is another good song with a nice rhythm but, it isn't for sure one of my favourites. The seventh track "People Are Strange" was the first song chosen to be released as the first single of the album. The song is about the alienation and be an outsider and a very loner person. This is another good and enjoyable song, but it's also a sad song with a dark musical atmosphere. It's a song with simple lyrics, ironic and sarcastic. The eighth track "My Eyes Have Seen You" represents one of the most light and beautiful moments on the album. It's a short, simple and nice rock song with the same dark, evil and impetus vein of most of the songs of their early days. This is an incredible song which is, at the same time, a love song and a perverse song. I think only The Doors were able to do such thing. The ninth track "I Can't See Your Face In My Mind" is another psychedelic song with a blues touch, weird and with an exotic sound. This is an interesting and bizarre song with a creepy and atmospheric musical ambience. Despite it has some good musical moments, especially the use of marimba and backward cymbal effects, it doesn't represent one of the best musical moments on the album. The tenth track "When The Music's Over" is the third lengthist song recorded by the group with "The End" and "Celebration Of The Lizard", and represents the epic and the highlight musical moment on the album. This is a song in the same vein of "The End" and it's a song that grows in intensity, like "The End", finishing it with a great musical climax and probably it represents the only true progressive moment on the album. "When The Music's Over" appears at the end of the work print of the 1979 movie "Apocalypse Now", by Francis Ford Coppola, when Willard kills Kurtz. However, it was replaced by "The End" in the final version.

Conclusion: Although not as good as "The Doors", "Strange Days" still can be considered an excellent album. So, it still can be rated with 5 stars and be considered a masterpiece. In my humble opinion, the main reason to be not as good as their debut consists basically on the fact that many of these songs were skipped of their debut studio album. I don't want to say that we are in presence of a handful of less good songs. But, in a certain way, they didn't stop being a second choice. Concluding, "Strange Days" is a great album, very well balanced and with a great set of songs, especially "When The Music's Over", which perfectly followed the same musical formula of "The Doors". This is a fantastic album, if you enjoyed the first one, and it's also very special for people, like me, who love their earlier works.

Prog is my Ferrari. Jem Godfrey (Frost*)

Review by patrickq
PROG REVIEWER
3 stars It comes as little surprise that Strange Days is largely drawn from the same stockpile that provided the songs on The Doors, the band's debut album. It's also not surprising that many fans feel that most of the best material from this trove wound up on The Doors. An exception is "People are Strange," which was written after the release of The Doors, and which was the most successful single from Strange Days.

I will say, though, that of the two longer-form pieces the group had written before their first album, "When the Music's Over," the last song here, is better than "The End," which serves the same role on The Doors.

Like its predecessor (The Doors) and its successor (Waiting for the Sun), Strange Days opens with a solid rocker - - although "Strange Days" isn't of the quality of "Break on Through" or "Hello I Love You." And while the song quality on those other albums is maintained over the next several tracks, the opening song on Strange Days is followed with the relatively weak "You're Lost Little Girl." Other than "People Are Strange," the only standout track is "Love Me Two Times."

On the whole, though, Strange Days is a solid album, just not as strong as the other two early Doors albums.

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3 stars Dead Poets Society I'm really not so sure the daring has to be admired. We are led to believe that the dearth of info on the sleeve to identify the artist was considered a cardinal sin in the still damp unorthodoxy of 'groovy' marketing circa 1967. However, the closer one gets to the revisionis ... (read more)

Report this review (#817028) | Posted by ExittheLemming | Saturday, September 8, 2012 | Review Permanlink

4 stars Strange days is one of my favourite albums by the Doors. Really great stuff, vocally, instrumentally, productionwise too, it sounds very fresh even today. This album really takes off where the first album left off. If anything it is a more cohesive work with the band experimenting with Moogs a ... (read more)

Report this review (#488838) | Posted by Frankie Flowers | Saturday, July 23, 2011 | Review Permanlink

3 stars This is the least interesting of the Doors albums with Jim Morrison. No really strong songs are featured, though there is a lot of pretty good songs. The original Doors album may not have been perfect (imo) but at least it didn't feel like a CD full of strongish filler songs. The dreamy atm ... (read more)

Report this review (#456698) | Posted by Buh | Friday, June 3, 2011 | Review Permanlink

5 stars I really wanted to mention this album, as it is, for me, the most important Doors album of the relatively-few they managed to produce in the life of the unit. The main reason for its importance is the inclusion of When the Music's Over, surely a seminal moment in Rock. Pure drama rather than a ... (read more)

Report this review (#428430) | Posted by giselle | Wednesday, April 6, 2011 | Review Permanlink

4 stars The Doors certainly separate one room of opinion from another. For some, it's banal, pretentious, clumsy. For others, it's true art, darkness, poetry. I'm with the second room on that, though not unqualified adoration. The problem for even fans of the music like myself is that the band are not th ... (read more)

Report this review (#339543) | Posted by JeanFrame | Wednesday, December 1, 2010 | Review Permanlink

5 stars People are strange when you're a stranger...Jim Morrison needed some friends, if you axe me. Overall Rating: 13/15 Best Song: Tough, babe. Maybe a triple threat between When The Music's Over, You're Lost Little Girl, and People Are Strange.... ...or hell, maybe Love Me Two Times. What do I ... (read more)

Report this review (#293968) | Posted by Alitare | Tuesday, August 10, 2010 | Review Permanlink

4 stars Sometime in 1969 after the song "Touch Me" came out, I bought "Strange Days" and "The Soft Parade" at the same time. They became the 3rd and 4th Doors records in my collection. By then the Doors were my favorite band. I decided to play both releases back to back. I remember liking "Strange ... (read more)

Report this review (#265758) | Posted by Keetian | Friday, February 12, 2010 | Review Permanlink

4 stars After being introduced to the Doors about a month ago through their stellar debut, I was a little nervous when this album landed on my doormat (via a Brazillian Rainforest related website) that it wouldn't be any good. Most reviews (on this site and others) did not place it in anywhere near as h ... (read more)

Report this review (#173829) | Posted by burtonrulez | Friday, June 13, 2008 | Review Permanlink

4 stars The opening organ line on the title track starts you off on a trip and then the lyrics take you further into the weird land inside Jim Morrison's head. I am a great fan of the Doors, and I like this album alot. But I would have to rate the debut and LA Woman as better. There is a fair amount of ... (read more)

Report this review (#170170) | Posted by digdug | Wednesday, May 7, 2008 | Review Permanlink

5 stars The Doors masterpiece and example of what they could do best. Jim Morrison's voice is smoky and wonderful...used to great effect in a low soothing voice in Your Lost The epic sweep of When The Musics Over is dramatic and poetic. The overall sound of this record is very well produced, the Chee ... (read more)

Report this review (#166003) | Posted by endlessepic | Monday, April 7, 2008 | Review Permanlink

4 stars This album has a strange atmosphere, bergmanian, 'carl-offian', surrealistic. As its cover art, this strange circus parade (the strong man, the small man with this bizarre smile, the acrobats), this dark ambiance, this dark sleeve. Almost all of the songs are great (I Can't See Your Face In My M ... (read more)

Report this review (#164600) | Posted by Zardoz | Saturday, March 22, 2008 | Review Permanlink

5 stars One of my favourite albums and a high ranking member of my personal all time top ten. Therefore it's a hard task for me to point the finger at any particular track and indicate it as a highlight of the album, but from the side one of the record I pronounce 'You're Lost Little Girl ' to be the ... (read more)

Report this review (#105460) | Posted by bsurmano | Wednesday, January 3, 2007 | Review Permanlink

4 stars This I feel is The Door's best album. Is it a strong influence for prog I am not so sure as much, but it is a psychadelic album and contains prog elements so I will review the album as it is. I think that sound changes here a bit compared to their debut. It feels like they've come more togeth ... (read more)

Report this review (#105269) | Posted by Erock | Tuesday, January 2, 2007 | Review Permanlink

5 stars The same year 1967, but the second album. Not as melodical as the first one, but more strange, nervouse and psychedelic. Great songs here like Strange Days, Love Me Two Times, Unhappy Girl and Moonlight Drive. This was the acid era, and this album could have been a soundtrack to it. The are stran ... (read more)

Report this review (#105266) | Posted by Deepslumber | Tuesday, January 2, 2007 | Review Permanlink

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