The Doors' live albums: recommendations?

I think this is a great point. The Doors best performances were not officially recorded. My absolute favorite show is Danbury 1967 (they sound the way they did on Ed Sullivan). However, many people might find the sound quality unacceptable. I also agree that Matrix (as well as Stockholm 1968) are the best compromises in regards to both sound quality and level of performance.

 

I agree about both Danbury '67 and The Matrix. While it has not been properly released yet, the Matrix tapes are probably the best live recordings officially available (even the 2008 version) that present the band at a high level. Additionally, I very much enjoy Boot Yer Butt!, even though the sound quality is generally substandard. That release shows how great The Doors could be as a live act.

 

It was a neat little collection presenting a glimpse of what the band was planning to offer circa 2000. That said, the mix and mastering was a bit flat; the Pittsburgh performances and the Felt Forum performances were dry and somewhat lifeless on that collection.

 

Detroit starts off very strong. However, the second half of the concert is derailed by the excessively long blues jam containing way too many Ray Manzarek lead vocals, a plodding Been Down So Long, and second-rate The End. As far as the 1970 concerts are concerned, I think the first two Felt Forum concerts from January 17 and the Pittsburgh show are the best, with the Philadelphia concert a bit underrated and a close second.

 

Agreed about Boot Yer Butt! There are some absolutely fantastic versions on that box (The End from Singer Bowl 1968, When the Music's Over from Houston 1968, etc, etc ,etc). Of course, in order to enjoy it one has to have developed 'bootleg ear'. The poor sound quality on the majority of songs might send some people running out the room!

 

No doubt about it. It takes a patient, experienced ear from a Doors enthusiast to fully get into it.

 

Yeah, agree that Detroit lost steam after Light My Fire during the encores. The End in particular is a disappointment. However, during the main set they are in peak form (at least as far as 1970 goes).

The Felt Forum box was a great release, and would be my second recommendation behind Detroit. Pittsburgh & Philadelphia, as far as I remember, are kinda ho-hum by the numbers type shows. Not terrible, but no high peaks like Detroit and Felt Forum had.

 

I picked up Pittsburgh after reading this thread and checking what was still easily attainable. Happy I did!

 

Absolutely Live was compiled mostly from Felt Forum tracks, the Celebration of the Lizard being from the second Aquarius Show. You recommned both Felt Forum and the second Aquarius show.

Again, Absolutely Live has mostly Felt Forum tracks with Dead Cats+Break On Through from the first half of the Detroit show. (And a spoken intro to Close to You from Pittsburgh.)

There is only Soul Kitchen + Universal Mind from the second Aquarius show and Love Hides from Philadelphia. Both Universal Mind and Love Hides are a bit of rarities and Soul Kitchen does not sound exactly weak. That is why I do not understand why do you consider Absolutely Live inappropriate as a starting point for listening live Doors saying that the album does not contain the best from 1969/70 concerts when at the same time you do recommend the concerts Absolutely Live was compiled from. Do you think they chose completely wrong tracks from some of your favourite concerts?

Yes, we all know that earlier live stuff (esp. Matrix) sounds more compelling, but when it comes to profesional recordings from 1969/70, Absolutely Live seems to me like exactly the right choice as a starting point for enthusiastic beginner or as a simple and final solution for a casual fan. Plus it is cheap a easily available.

(Not trying to start a flame. You seem to be a big fan with extensive listening experience when it comes to your favourite band. I just cannot get my head around those statements combined together.)

 

Those statements were in response to two separate posts, so they were not intended to be combined. Any seasoned Doors enthusiast is going to know where the majority of the Absolutely Live album is sourced from. That said, even though a majority of the album is culled from the Felt Forum tapes, that does not mean the Absolutely Live edit is anywhere near as good as any of the individual Felt Forum shows in their box set configuration. The Absolutely Live edit is uneven and a bit plodding. That isn't to say that there are not moments of great inspiration, but as a whole, it is a bit underwhelming (and for the record, I have always enjoyed the album for what it is, and have a soft spot for it for sentimental reasons). I stand by my first statement that you quoted in that the best officially released live sets are the Felt Forum box set and the second Aquarius show -- those sets in their entirety contain a wide variety of material and numerous well-performed tracks, and because of that, are superior to Absolutely Live. As far as my second statement is concerned, it relates to the best of the 1970 multi-track live tapes, so the Aquarius tapes are not under consideration.

 

OK, I promised, so I will not try to argue any further. Just to explain or report back: Now it seems to me that your main objection against Absolutely Live is just that it is a compilation, not a full show. (Or if this is not the problem, it would be great to see your tracklist of a live compilation of the available 1969/70 material - about 80 mins. - with a smallest possible overlap with Absolutely Live. I do not want to make a point - you are obviously a big fan, hence your proposal of such a live compilation would be appreciated by us all I guess.)

 

Anyone knows if the Doors' Toronto gig in 1969 (same venue as the Plastic Ono Band's first live performance) was taped?
I read there only are audience recordings of this, but since most of the festival's line-up performances was released, recorded via soundboard/multitracks (and the Doors were the main act there!) why wasn't this brought out yet?

 

Live in Pittsburgh...a classic to me

 

Played tonight....

 

1. Stockholm Tapes '68
2. Matrix Club Tapes
3. Felt Forum
4. Live at the Bowl '68
5. Boot Yer Butt
6. Boston 1970
7. Detroit 1970
8. Pittsburgh 1970
9. Philadelphia 1970
10. Hollywood - 2nd show 1969
11. Hollywood - 1st show 1969
12. London Fog 1966
13. Vancouver 1970
14. Matrix 1967

I saw some interview on Doors official fb page recently, with Jim on Bakersfield. I'm hoping they realese Bakersfield full show multichannel on Bright Midnight. I think it's an important show in the band history. Since Palace of Exile/LA Forum 1968 and Matrix are doomed.

 

The Stockholm shows would be a great release. Love Street Live.

 

2nd! a fabulous CD set...I played the original AL album back when it first came out constantly It is tremendous!

 

I want the Felt Forum re-issued on cd.

 

It is available on iTunes.

 

listening to one show per night in excellent sound quality via youtube...............

 

I was looking at the Felt Forum on discogs. Not many on sale, and they are all around 160 used.

Not sure I can do that. I have them in digital from a torrent, so I was looking to own one good piece of Doors live stuff. The Felt box is basically just a small cardboard box. MSRP of 90 bucks. Really hard for me to shell out like 160 for it. Especially since I have the digital files and photos of it.

I really wish they reissue it. Does that happen with Rhino from time to time at all? I mean, you would think they would want to make some money on these live recordings. Why leave them all dead like this? I bet plenty of people still want a couple of the shows.

It amazes me these super simple boxsets like this are not reprinted. I mean, it's basically nothing. Not even something like Beatles Mono or anything like that. Just a simple box and a couple holders for the discs pretty much. You can't tell me these are not super profitable. It probably takes 8 dollars to manufacture the whole thing lol.

Man, to think I might pay 160 for this blows my ****ing mind.

 

I know a record guy (Discovery Records) from Toronto that was at that show and said the Doors were very good, and this is coming from a guy that isn't a fan.

sean

 

I hear you, although the box has a nice 39 page hardcover booklet with some great photos of the concerts and interesting write ups from James Henke, Bruce Botnick and Jac Holzman.

I was lucky enough to find a lightly used one for the equivalent of 30 USD - keep your eyes open - all things come to he who waits...

 

I love Absolutely Live, the album and the album packaging. Elektra's album/cover photography from this era had a unique and different look from any other record company. They were able to create a certain amount of mystique with their acts by providing them with great photos on the album jackets.

 

#metoo