This is my full review of The Doors' stunning first album, The Doors.
Okay, maybe not stunning, but along the lines. This is really an amazing debut album, carrying the seven minute megahit Light My Fire. What a start for a career. The album begins with Break on Through (To the other Side), one of the louder songs by the Doors, followed by the bluesy Soul Kitchen. Every aspect of this album is great, and each song is catchy to a point where your brain may implode/explode if you know the tune but not the words and can't stop humming the chorus. Two of the songs on it weren't written by the Doors, Alabama Song (Whiskey Bar) and Back Door Man. Back Door Man was written by Willie Dixon, and Alabama Song was a 20's German composition by Bertolt Brecht, both of which the Doors did a great job on. And that's how good the Doors are; they can cover a song and make it good/better. Already that far exceeds the talent of some rapper trying to get a name for himself by covering Stevie Wonder or butchering The Police. The album is finished off with the 11 minute The End, one of the most deep and meaningful songs by Morrison. To quote John Densmore (the drummer) on Days of the New's cover on Stoned Immaculate, "I stormed into the studio, purposefully late, because I felt that nobody should do a cover of possibly most important song, 'The End.'" And to quote Travis Meeks of Days of the New, "I had to record 'The End' with them. Because it is the one song which shows that when you are in the middle of a battle in your life, and that battle seems like it will never end, this song will lead to a victory, or in the very least it will take you to a safe place where you will live to fight another day." Aww, how touching. Anyways, this is just as good an album as any other, and better than most any other album ever made. I rate this album 4 3/4 of a handclap out of 5. Now I will just go over each song.
Break On Through (To The Other Side)
As I've said, this is one of the louder songs by The Doors, especially the live versions. And Stone Temple Pilots cover on Stoned Immaculate takes it to another level with a raunchy rock sound that I'm sure the Doors would have used on it, had they known the style.
Soul Kitchen
A somewhat mellow blues song (it picks up in the chorus) with a great use of keyboard and guitar on it, it gets pretty catchy, so watch out.
The Crystal Ship
Very slow and mellow, but one of the coolest and smoothest songs on the album, it sounds like a mix between being on a ghost ship and being surrounded by ice. The last part where he sings "The crystal ship is being filled, a thousand girls a thousand thrills..." is a kind of eerie jolt that runs up your spine and through your neck.
Twentieth Century Fox
Clever. You may assume this concerns movies or The Simpsons or something, but the twentieth century fox is a girl who is "The queen of cool". Just as every other song on the album, this song is deadly if you need to concentrate on something. It runs through your head over and over, and if you don't know how it ends, you might pop something in your head, like in Lewis Black's comedy routine. "If it weren't for my horse, I would never have gone through those two years of college."
Alabama Song (Whiskey Bar)
A different style than any other Doors song I know of, maybe that's what makes it cool. I'm still wondering what the lyrics mean... "Show me the way to the next little girl. Oh, don't ask why. Oh, don't ask why. For if we don't find the next little girl, I tell you we must die. I tell you we must die." For the first verse substitute (and simplifly) whiskey bar for little girl. I don't know what this mean, and I don't plan on finding a logical explanation.
Light My Fire
Ah, the biggest hit on any album. All 7 minutes of the song are played on the radio each time, so back then I imagine it wouldn't be strange to have more than one station playing it at one time. This is really what skyrocketed the Doors into their legendary career. Because of this song, Jim Morrison was a legend while he was still alive.
Back Door Man
This isn't a Doors orginal, but it very well could have been. Jim's voice makes every song he touches his own. The shout he does at the beginning was used as a rhythm track for William S. Burroughs' cover of Lions in the Street, a portion of Celebration of the Lizard(but for some reason was renamed Is Everybody In?).
I Looked At You
This song has a strange vibe, and would have fit perfectly with the other songs in Strange Days. But the chorus is more upbeat, unlike the songs of Strange Days. And I'll say it again, very catchy.
End of the Night
The repition of the words End of the Night sound just like "When the Music's Over" where he says turn out the lights. This is like I looked at you, but this really showed fans what Strange Days would be like, since this is the creepiest and slowest song on the album.
Take It As It Comes
A more upbeat song leading in The End, this sounds like it should be in the beginning of the album. It has a similar style to Break on Through, yet isn't a flailing-last-minute-we-need-another-song copy of it.
The End
"This is the end, beautiful friend." Of the cd, that is. This song in no way marked the end of their career, only death could do that. This is the longest studio song the Doors ever recorded, yet it doesn't get boring at all in any part. Everything just smoothly leads into other parts of the song. Days of the New's cover of this song is excellent, Travis Meeks has the voice of a younger Morrison and the talent of him. This is a great way to end the debut album, or the greatest hits, or the band favorites, or the...
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