THE DOORS

The Doors

Proto-Prog

4.33 | 804 ratings

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Rune2000
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator

I've always considered this debut album to rely much too heavily on its hits which in this case is quite acceptable since those compositions take up more than half of the album!

It's amusing how well the band managed to fuse together some of their best and worst sides on one and single release. It's even more amusing considering that it's the debut album which usually is the recording that is either one or the other. There are quite a few instances where I just want to say that this is what the '60s were all about, but then the next track makes me rethink that statement completely. So the summery here is that the Doors made a realistic statement of how the U.S. West Coast-music scene looked like at the time, hence a great product of its time.

The album begins with a given opener in the shape of Break On Through (To the Other Side) which needs no introduction since it's probably one of the top three most recognized the Doors songs. Soul Kitchen and Crystal Ship manage to hold me over for the next highlight since neither of these performances can't match the classic status the other great compositions featured here. Alabama Song (Whisky Bar) is one of the few covers on this album and I just can't see how the source material could have received an even better treatment. David Bowie definitely gave it his best almost a decade later but this version is far more superior in every category.

Surprisingly enough I don't consider Light My Fire to be all that spectacular. Not that it's a inferior performance but I just don't like how it dives into a prolonged psychedelic territory which reminds me strongly of Iron Butterfly's In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida. The middle section of the tune is completely forgettable and I think that you can do yourself a great favor by skipping through to the last two minutes. This track is the case and point of the long introduction argument that I stated.

The End is a complete opposite of Light My Fire because it puts the emphasis on the atmospheric side of psychedelic music and wins over my sympathy at the first seconds of the performance. This is the sheer brilliance that could have made this album into a complete masterpiece and an essential album. Instead we have a mixed bag with enough memorable moments to keep me entertained which ultimately results in the excellent addition rating.

***** star songs: Break On Through (To the Other Side) (2:26) Alabama Song (Whisky Bar) (3:15) The End (11:40)

**** star songs: Soul Kitchen (3:31) Crystal Ship (2:33) Twentieth Century Fox (2:32) Light My Fire (6:58) I Looked At You (2:21) Take It As It Comes (2:15)

*** star songs: Back Door Man (3:32) End Of The Night (2:50)

Rune2000 | 4/5 | 2010-3-21

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