The Soft Parade

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Performer: The Doors
Distributor: WEA (Distributor)

Notes: The Doors: Jim Morrison (vocals); Robby Krieger (guitar, background vocals); Ray Manzarek (keyboards); John Densmore (drums). Additional personnel: Jesse McReynolds (mandolin); Jimmy Buchanan (fiddle); Champ Webb (English horn); Curtis Amy (saxophone); George Bohannan (trombone); Harvey Brooks, Doug Lubahn (bass); Reinol Andino (conga). Recorded at Elektra Sound Recorders, Los Angeles, California. Dismissed by the benighted as the Doors' "pop album," SOFT PARADE is one of the band's most adventurous recordings, utilizing strings and horns without resorting to schlocky over-production and moving far beyond their blues roots. Morrison was fully into his shaman phase by 1969, and his obsession with that image is reflected in the proselytizing air of "Tell All the People," and of course "Shaman's Blues." The album's biggest hit "Touch Me," while easily the group's most radio-friendly offering, is a pop classic that ranks among the great '60s AM radio tunes. "Wild Child" is a brief return to the blues-rock of yore, but the title track is a sophisticated, extended piece that moves through several different moods and textures, full of the elliptical, poetic lyrics that were Morrison's trademark.

Q (11/00, p.124) - 3 stars out of 5 - "...A mixture of hefty pop singles, bullfrog rockers and nonsense poetry..." Down Beat (p.69) - 4.5 stars out of 5 -- "THE SOFT PARADE showcases the band at the apex of its creative life."

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.

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