What Do You Think Of the MUSIC of The Doors?

loved it since the debut of Light My Fire!

 

They're way up high on my list of "Given everything else I like, I really should like them, but I just don't."

Second only to The Who.

 

Pretentious, bombastic and stupid.

Rock and Roll, in other words.

 

Of course it is. I never realised this was up for debate. In fact Strange Days as a whole is the superior album to the debut.

 

that particular engagement (and many other live performances as well) was a real snooze-fest. The Doors for me were a great studio band that could, at times, come off significantly less powerful on stage for a variety of reasons.

 

Jim Morrison, take him or leave him, became the template for every angsty frontman from 1967 until the present. In many ways his persona, his presence, his ability to tap into the times and hit the perfect nerve is second to none.

Sure, there have been volumes written about Morrison, a lot of which pushes credulity. People have made more out of Morrison than he was, most of which Jim didn't push; it happened post-mortem. But one only has to listen to his vocal delivery and his words to know that at the very least he stood for something. And if you don't stand for something, you'll fall for anything.

The Doors as a group, then, were nearly a perfect synthesis of light and dark. I enjoy the entire catalog. Not because of who Jim Morrison was, but because all of them together made it work. They sounded like nobody else before or sense.

 

50+ years (and counting) of debate about this band and how they fit into the great scheme of rock music history. Count me in as a life long fan. It helps if you were around in 1967, when the debut album was released. I distinctly remember the day I first heard it - not on the radio, but by chance on a friend's stereo. I was immediately hooked. It was so different, so damn good! Is Soft Parade not quite as good as the others? Probably yes. But, every other release - just superb. I treasure owning these records. If I ever had to sell my complete collection, these would likely be the last to go.

 

Am
You Know That It Would Be
F#m
Untrue....

 

A guy sitting next to me in class made me my first cassette (and a few more later on).. The second I got home, I got into my mom's car in the driveway, and "Break On Through" was the first song. I've never had that feeling. I was hooked and mesmerized, and then I read more about Jim as a middle-schooler and from there, I got into other great music (Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, etc) and years later, here I am.... Would have been nice to have heard their album (or even better, a live concert) while they were alive, but I wasn't born until the 1980s.

 

Six studio albums in five years, containing original material performed by the band. Seven albums in that time span, if you count Other Voices.

 

You're saying this like you have never heard L.A. Woman, or what ?
L.A. Woman is one of the coolest, bad-ass albums anyone made, anytime. Absolutely essential by all means. One of my (and probably many other folks) desert island discs.

Other than this, I can agree with this statement up to a degree. Their debut is absolutely essential, and given the fact it was recorded in late 1966, there really wasn't anything around that sounded like this! Hugely, hugely influential record.
Bunch of great music in between, but I would not characterize all of their other albums as essential. Strange Days and Morrison Hotel probably are, but one could do by and large with a more detailed compilation.

All in all, enormously influential band. They are also very prominent over here on Europe, there are a bunch of Doors fans over here from all generations. I guess Jim Morrison's aura has a lot to do with it, it is inevitable.

 

Musicians = competent
Singer = bombastic
Lyrics = embarrassingly pretentious

 

If your debut record has ten minute songs based on tragic heroes from Greek mythology I think it’s fair if some audiences find him a bit much. That’s not me projecting, it’s simply the sum takeaway of his artistic work.

 

Yes, me too. Dull melodies, crap lyrics.

 

Great to see some John Densmore fans here. As a whole, The Doors were/ are talented musicians. I'd say Densmore is the most talented of the lot. As he once said, "I got my hands from Elvin Jones." Doesn't get much better than that!

 

Some here seem to think that as a lyricist, Jim Morrison sucked. Maybe you feel the same way about Rimbaud. Maybe give this a read and then see what you think:

 

Oh it's more than fair for audiences to find him whatever they wish. Yet Jim was what he was. Disliking him or the music doesn't change that. Anyone is free to simply not like The Doors. I, for one, don't like Bowie. Yet I realize that's on me. He clearly was a great artist and I understand that I simply don't get what makes him sincerely loved by the many who do. It's no big deal. We all have personal preferences.

I see zero wrong with a ten minute song on a debut album. I actually like that debut album. Let's just say we will have to agree to disagree.

 

It seems apparent to me that they spent 1965-1967 building a strong live repertoire which they proceeded to quickly burn through on the first two albums... And even then, I consider Strange Days a step down from The Doors. After that, I'm mostly interested in their hits and scattered deep cuts. I don't mean to sound totally dismissive, mind you, there is at least some good material to be found on all of their albums, I just don't feel they're quite as cohesive or strong as the first two.

I also really enjoyed the London Fog tape that turned up a few years ago, which leads me to believe that some of their best material was probably never recorded.

 

I agree, the vocals are okay though - it’s the lyrics that didn’t hold up for 50 years.

IMO they have only one weak album, ‘Waiting For The Sun’. Even ‘Soft Parade‘ is a better listen overall.

 

I find all of the original albums thoroughly enjoyable. Although I never saw them live, I sometimes wish Morrison would have dialed back the performance art aspect of their live shows. I understand he had a purpose: to challenge the audience out of complacency and consumerism, but there are too few live recordings of the Doors just playing their songs as written, which they were perfectly capable of doing, as the PBS live-in-the-studio performance shows. The Matrix show is another fine example, from the early days.
To appreciate the Doors music, you probably should read No One Here Gets Out Alive. It's the memoir Morrison never wrote.

 

Not sure that I can recount a single tune I liked...Morrison gets a lot of credit for dramatically presenting their music despite the fact he can’t carry a tune.

 

I love Jim Morrison's lyrics, swagger, all that. Pretentious? Drunk? An a-hole? Yup. Loved everything about it. Robby's great playing, along with Ray's relentless keys and the great John Densmore, whom I really think was the MVP of this band, were fire and darkness at the same time. Their influence is far-reaching and is still felt today. Just picked up Strange Days 50th Stereo/Mono disc. Terrific band!


Dan

 

One of those bands where I don't get an over abundance of enjoyment from their music, personally, but I can just about get my head around why other people do.

They were certainly original.

 

Absolutely! I’m simply saying artists aren’t universally Rorschach tests that are nothing more than the projection of the audience. There’s a reason many people find Morrison a bit self important and pretentious, yet don’t find, say, The Sonics to be the same.

 

I agree with all of this and yet it's evident that the band in general and Jim, more pointedly, had something about them. It's lost on me but I tip my hat to the folk who pick up on it.