The Doors "Other Voices"

I reviewed this in February. As you can see I liked it. If this was released by a band of a lesser resume I believe it would have received better reviews.


A very controversial album that I happen to like.
1. "In the Eye of the Sun" -7
2. "Variety Is the Spice of Life" -7
3. "Ships w/ Sails" -10
4. "Tightrope Ride" -10
Side two
No. Title Writer(s) Lead vocal Length
5. "Down on the Farm" -9
6. "I'm Horny, I'm Stoned" -7
7. "Wandering Musician" -8
8. "Hang On to Your Life" -8

 

I love Manzarek and Krieger, but I can't stand the vocals to even give it a chance.

 

What amazes me most about the two post-Morrison albums is Kreiger wrote four still very well known songs but you'd never know this was the same guy on these albums.

 

There’s more on it that I like than I don’t, and there’s a few songs that would have bee top shelf clsssic Doors had Jim been involved. There’s little doubt they would have been better-served finding a new vocalist.

 

Yes, let’s all face it, the vocals are very sub-par....there was a while there when I revisiting Other Voices to see if I would finally warm up to the singing but every time I came back it was just as bad as before - or worse.
Wish they had’ve gotten a worthy singer too....I’m almost surprised that the producer or other industry people around them didn’t insist on it. But things were a little looser back then that way, I guess.

 

Werent they working on "Other Voices" material when Jim was in Paris? I seem to recall reading that he was going to start recording his vocals when he came back.I thought the "Other Voices" lp was pretty good considering and Manzarek could come close to Morrison type vocals. "Full Circle" unfortunately did nothing for me.

 

They were working on material for "Other Voices" while Morrison was in Paris, but he had no plans to return to record vocals on the OV material.

 

neither 'other voices' nor 'full circle' are essential doors, but for nostalgic reasons, one should have them both, along with 'an american prayer".

 

IIRC the liner notes on the 2-fer Rhino CD say they didn't know if Morrison was coming back, but he did speak with them on the phone regularly during that time, so who knows.

Maybe they should have gotten another vocalist, but once Jim died, maybe they chose not to replace him right away out of respect for the deceased? Who knows?

 

I think that it was the right decision not to get a new singer, if they wanted to carry on. It may or may not have been the right decision to carry on without him but I think that, having decided to continue (or, perhaps, having Jim decide that he was out, leaving them with the choice to be unemployed or to carry on), The Doors without Jim was far more legitimate than The Doors with a different Jim, for better or for worse musically...which, I guess, is almost what the Robby/Ray group in recent times was

 

According to former Doors' manager Bill Siddons, they were rehearsing with Michael Stull during the spring of 1971 and planning on moving forward with him as Morrison's replacement prior to Morrison's death. It is unclear why they chose to proceed as a trio after Morrison died in July.

 

I'm a huge fan of side 2 of Full Circle. In a lot of ways I prefer it to the Jim stuff. Jim was larger than life but could also overwhelm and overtake the music. As a music fan, I find the post Jim stuff friendlier and less weighty. Less dark. More just a good band jamming on some grooves without all the Lizard King stuff.

However, I'll take The Golden Scarib over The Doors.

 

It is certainly light.

 

I started listening to some things again from "Other Voices" because of this post. I'm glad they decided to release this as a trio and basically wrap up what they had been working on when it came to an end. I would have loved to have heard Morrison sing "In the Eye of the Sun" and "Ships with Sails". There is some good stuff on this lp and if he would have come back his input would have weeded out some of the weaker elements and turn this into a solid lp.

 

Maybe due to the fact that he was the fave of the Doors. Although they all contributed, he’s generally thought of as the leader by the public. Irreplaceable.

 

Horrible. This is all you need to see why they didn’t continue.

 

Picked up the 2015 2-CD Rhino reissue for £4.99 today. Both are still pleasant albums, and nice to own - overall I actually prefer Full Circle.

 

That's not why they didn't continue.

 

That they are (and were)...

 

I've been a fan of obscure psychedelia since college. So, to me, this album is fantastic. It's highly musical, clever, and challenging. Several numbers are extremely catchy.

But there's a catch. You have to dissociate it with The Doors you knew. It's like a different group -- musically, vocally, lyrically and production-wise.

For me, this album fits in less with The Doors catalog but sits comfortably beside lesser-known psych-era groups. Which ones? Hard to say, but I liken it to the personality you get from groups like Prufrock, Andwella's Dream, Archazel, and Plain Jane. It also reminds me in some places of the Aoxomoxoa-era Grateful Dead.

The lyrics are sometimes silly and impish and there are a lot of musical left-turns (tempo changes, odd instrumentation). It's eccentric, but not in the Jim-Morrison-poetry way. More like in an introverted muso manner.

Suits me fine. But I'd understand the disappointment of fans who go in expecting something even remotely like "Riders On The Storm" or "Roadhouse Blues." Because they won't get it. Credit the band, at least, for not repeating themselves.

 

When/where did Siddons say this?

 

Forum member and Doors author @rokritr interviewed Siddons years ago and presented some of the information about the band's 1971 plans:

A Hint About Morrison's Death?

 

Maybe the Doors rehearsed some songs with Michael Stull while Jim was in Paris, but I still think that's a long way from actually replacing Jim and finalizing a deal to continue the Doors without Jim Morrison. I just don't think certain people would've allowed it, including Ray and maybe even Robby. Maybe they just wanted to write and rehearse new songs with a separate lead singer - filling Jim's ROLE - like they did for every previous album.

For me the bottom line is this. If they were serious about replacing Jim Morrison when he went to Paris, then when Jim died, why didn't they simply follow through with that plan. Would that have not been a no-brainer. They're considering firing Jim, Jim dies, then replace him. Plan realized. It almost fell in their lap. But they didn't do that.

Back to Other Voices...I think Side 1 of Other Voices is easily the best side of the post-Morrison albums. Those are four good to excellent songs. Looking back on it now, I can understand how frustration and disappointment must've set in after Jim's death, and I can understand their desire to do solo projects, especially from Ray's perspective. But also looking back on it, I think had Ray, Robby, and John reunited after a couple of years of solo albums, they could've made a go of it as The Doors and sustained the group for decades as a viable live act. Whether they picked up a lead singer or additional musicians, I think there was enough material, enough sentiment and love for the music, and a large enough fan base to make the Doors a popular touring act. And that includes performing the post-Morrison material. Enough fans purchased Other Voices that they could've opened a set with "In The Eye Of The Sun", played "Ships w/Sails" midway through the show, and closed with "Tightrope Ride" - and their fans would've loved it! Some of that Other Voices/Full Circle material would've worked well live. I sometimes think Ray, Robby, and John might've jumped the gun in closing the Doors, and if they could've weathered the storm, that they could've ultimately prevailed. As the years went by, people seemed to appreciate the talents of Ray Manzarek, Robby Krieger, and John Densmore more and more.

 

I have heard it. it is not as bad as I thought it would be...but they needed a vocalist for sure...the one after this album is pretty bad though

 

If Ships with Sales was sung by Morrison and edited down for radio, it probably would have been a hit.