L.A. Woman [Remaster]

Performer: The Doors
Engineer: Bruce Botnick
Producer: Bruce Botnick; The Doors
Distributor: WEA (Distributor)

Notes: The Doors: Jim Morrison (vocals); Robbie Krieger (guitar); Ray Manzarek (piano, organ); John Densmore (drums). Additional personnel: Marc Benno (guitar); Jerry Scheff (bass). Recorded at The Doors Workshop, Los Angeles, California. Each CD cover has been crafted by hand to recreate the original see-through cover art. The Doors: Jim Morrison (vocals); Robbie Krieger (guitar); Ray Manzarek (bass instrument); John Densmore (drums). Additional personnel: Marc Benno (guitar); Jerry Scheff (bass instrument). The final Doors album to feature vocalist Jim Morrison reaffirmed the quartet's grasp of blues-rock. Beset by personal and professional problems, they retreated to a rehearsal room, cast pressures aside, and recorded a handful of their most memorable compositions. The overall sound of the record is relatively stripped down, but the musicianship is uniformly excellent, with empathetic interplay between guitarist Robbie Krieger and keyboard player Ray Manzarek. Jim Morrison's voice, though somewhat ragged and weather-worn, adds its fiercely unmistakable resonance. The spooky, low-key "Cars Hiss By My Window" and an edgy cover of John Lee Hooker's "Crawling King Snake" are straight, no-nonsense blues, but the album's highlights, including the jangling radio hit "Love Her Madly" and the breezy, chugging title track, which rides on a thrumming bass line and Krieger's fluid licks, mix bluesy bluster with the Doors' swirling, poetic magic. Morrison's death within weeks of the album's completion cast a pall over its content, especially the eerie rain and the funereal electric piano of "Riders On The Storm," the album's indisputable standout, and one of the most compelling, evocative songs in the band's catalogue. Though not the Doors' finest record, L.A. WOMAN was a fitting swan song for one of the most unique and important bands of the '60s.

Rolling Stone (5/27/71, p.49) - "...In terms of what they're after here the Doors as a band never falter and there isn't one bummer cut on the entire album--obviously a first for them..." Q (11/00, p.124) - 3 stars out of 5 - "...The Doors going back to their biker bar band roots....with a title track that inadvertently invented Billy Idol..." Down Beat (p.69) - 3.5 stars out of 5 -- "Morrison stars with his raw-angered vocals. Covers of John Lee Hooker and Willie Dixon complement the hits..." NME (Magazine) (9/18/93, p.19) - Ranked #41 in NME's list of The Greatest Albums Of The '70s.

Like a trippier, more mystical, West Coast equivalent of the Velvet Underground, the Doors went against the 1960s flower-power grain, taking an uncompromising look at the underbelly of the American psyche. Jim Morrison's dark, surreal poetry gave the band's blues-based rock a cerebral edge, and his wild, shamanistic on-stage presence electrified audiences. From their debut single, "Light My Fire," to their later recordings such as "Riders on the Storm," the Doors remained consistently intriguing even when their songs didn't, a feat largely credited to Morrison and his volatile personality. Eventually, Morrison's hard living caught up to him--he died in Paris at only 27 years of age, leaving behind a legacy that would inspire countless younger musicians.

Click Here for Shipping Options and Policies

Shipping or Dimension weight in pounds: 0.25