1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die - #93. The Doors - The Doors (1967)

The Doors - The Doors (1967)

Label – Elektra
Producer – Paul A. Rothchild
Art Direction – William S. Harvey
Nationality – USA
Running Time – 43:25

Track Listing (standout tracks listed in bold)

1. Break On Through
2. Soul Kitchen
3. Crystal Ship
4. Twentieth Century Fox
5. Alabama Song (Whiskey Bar)
6. Light My Fire
7. Back Door Man
8. I Looked At You
9. End Of The Night
10. Take It As It Comes
11. The End

This is the birth of Rock Theater. No one was better at this than Jim Morrison and the Doors, and this is a not only a incredible debut album, (and perhaps one of the best debuts in rock history period) this is nothing short of a music masterpiece. And anyone who know me, knows that I do not throw that tag around loosely.
The Doors music is hard to classify. Yes they are a rock band, but they sprinkle their work with blues, with classical, with jazz, and Jim Morrison’s lyrics are more poetry then typical lyrics. There is the sparseness to their music that actually expands the tracks leaving open spaces for Jim Morrison to fill with his aura. Very lean, “spider” type guitar sounds and those organ riffs interweave between the pounding snare hits – all create a menacing atmosphere for Morrison's yelping vocals and poetry readings. It was "Light My Fire" the topped the charts in 1967 - and it did established the group as stars – but that is also one of the weakest tracks on the record. To me the rest of the album is what is impressive, including some of the best songs they would record. "The Crystal Ship," is an overlooked track with a incredible Morrison vocal, a vibe driven "End of the Night," the stomp rocker "Soul Kitchen" and of course the album closer “The End”. This 11 minute track is the group at its best. From start to finish, there is really very little here that can be criticized negatively. When the album was released, the tracks "Break on Through (To the Other Side)" and "The End" were both released censored. During "Break on Through" the part where Jim Morrison sings "She gets, she gets" was originally recorded as "She gets high." The interlude singing part near the end of "The End" was censored and taken out. It included Jim using the word ‘fuck’ over and over. Subsequent releases of the album have both of the original parts intact and is the preferred version.
This record is generally thought of as the band's best work. In 1998 Q magazine readers voted “The Doors” the 93rd greatest album of all time. In 2003 VH1 placed it at number 60. Also in 2003, the album was ranked number 42 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. It is HIGHLY recommended.

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You can purchase the CD here.