STRANGE DAYS

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)