In my previous post (that no one will read) I made reference to bands whose members were not so much amongst the living. One band in particular stood out in my mind when I wrote that line. That band is The Doors. I am trying to not make these posts too personal. But let's be honest. Music is intensely personal. It is a sonic manifestation of your day, or month, or year. Like a Summer CD. Everyone has one. One Summer Sublime sounds great. ALL SUMMER LONG. Other Summers Hayes Carll and his dusty cowboy voice fits the bill. It changes your attitude. Helps you get through cleaning your two story house by yourself. Or helps you forget that you just got dumped by the person you thought was your forever person. Whatever the case. Music is there. So who am I kidding when I say I'll try not to make this blog too personal. So in an effort to not get really, really personal. Let us start with band number two. Which happens to be my band number one. The Doors.
Out here in the perimeter there are no stars...
No pun intended. But I'm not actually sure how I first ran into The Doors. But I do remember lust at first listen. The CD was the self titled "The Doors". I feel like that album is where most of us Doors fans got our start. It has all of the songs people usually think of when they think of The Doors. "Light My Fire", "Break on Through", "The End". All genius, all amazing and all first loves.
However...
This post is not about that album. This post is about The Doors last album. L.A. Woman. L.A. Woman was made during a rough patch to say the least. Front man Jim Morrison was in need of a change. He was depressed and drinking. Longing to be known for his poetry as much as he was for his chaotic stage performances. He needed solace. He needed to find his voice. Paris seemed like the perfect far away place to find just that. Away from Los Angeles. Away from the people that expected him to be a certain way. A break from the music industry. Jim Morrison just needed to record one last album before becoming The changeling he sings about on the Album's first song. "I'm the Changeling. See me change" Jim Morrison sings in a growl equally gritty as the piano and drums behind it. "I had money. I had none. But I've never been so broke that I couldn't leave town". Prophetic lyrics from a man with a mission. "See me change. See me change." Later the same year (three months later) Jim would be found dead in a Paris hotel bathtub. Forever leaving a creative void on the planet Earth.
L.A. Woman was recorded in the rehearsal space of the band and produced by first time Doors producer Bruce Botnick. The rehearsal space allowed The Doors to be more relaxed. Free to experiment and tinker with sound and just let loose. The album has passion. It sounds sexy and alive. Almost primal and explosive. L.A. Woman is the sound of a band (and it's front man) growing up. That is why it's so special. Early Doors albums have lyrics that are Shamanistic in nature. Intended to take you on a trip. Jim's trip. In LSD culture people talk about "riding the snake". A term for the Acid trip itself. Ride it out. Feel it and let it flow. "Ride the Snake". Well, Jim Morrison led "the snake". And when he did we followed. L.A. Woman is different. L.A. Woman is a man leaving the city he loves. Leaving the people he loves. Every song reflects this and his writing actually emotes and finds meaning. What you hear is a writer finding his voice.
"Love Her Madly", "Been Down So Long", track for track showcase The Doors' ability to dig down inside themselves and make you feel what they are feeling. Lyrically. Musically. Sonically. The vibe is urgent and restless until Morrison and company leave us stoned on a California beach with "Cars Hiss By My Window".
L.A. Woman's title track is the centerpiece and rightfully so. Morrison writes about L.A. as if the city were a woman. "L.A. Woman Sunday afternoon. Drive through your suburbs. Into your blues." As sexual as it is geographical with a driving beat underneath it all. Things slow down mid song for the infamous "Mr. Mojo Rising" refrain. I always wondered about that line. I figured it was sexual. Which it is. But recently I learned that "Mr. Mojo Rising" is an anagram for Jim Morrison. Sneaky, Mr. Mojo. Sneaky.
The album leaves us wanting more with "Riders On The Storm". A mysterious track . "There's a killer on the road. His brain is squirming like a toad... If you give this man a ride. Sweet family will die." Only the doors can turn a song about a murderous hitchhiker into a timeless classic.
As I write this I am supposed to be in L.A. with my wife. Having a cocktail and enjoying the city Morrison related to a woman. As I write this I am representing two coasts. Listening to L.A. Woman while drinking a Manhattan. You should do the same.
- Cheers!
Out here in the perimeter there are no stars...
No pun intended. But I'm not actually sure how I first ran into The Doors. But I do remember lust at first listen. The CD was the self titled "The Doors". I feel like that album is where most of us Doors fans got our start. It has all of the songs people usually think of when they think of The Doors. "Light My Fire", "Break on Through", "The End". All genius, all amazing and all first loves.
However...
This post is not about that album. This post is about The Doors last album. L.A. Woman. L.A. Woman was made during a rough patch to say the least. Front man Jim Morrison was in need of a change. He was depressed and drinking. Longing to be known for his poetry as much as he was for his chaotic stage performances. He needed solace. He needed to find his voice. Paris seemed like the perfect far away place to find just that. Away from Los Angeles. Away from the people that expected him to be a certain way. A break from the music industry. Jim Morrison just needed to record one last album before becoming The changeling he sings about on the Album's first song. "I'm the Changeling. See me change" Jim Morrison sings in a growl equally gritty as the piano and drums behind it. "I had money. I had none. But I've never been so broke that I couldn't leave town". Prophetic lyrics from a man with a mission. "See me change. See me change." Later the same year (three months later) Jim would be found dead in a Paris hotel bathtub. Forever leaving a creative void on the planet Earth.
L.A. Woman was recorded in the rehearsal space of the band and produced by first time Doors producer Bruce Botnick. The rehearsal space allowed The Doors to be more relaxed. Free to experiment and tinker with sound and just let loose. The album has passion. It sounds sexy and alive. Almost primal and explosive. L.A. Woman is the sound of a band (and it's front man) growing up. That is why it's so special. Early Doors albums have lyrics that are Shamanistic in nature. Intended to take you on a trip. Jim's trip. In LSD culture people talk about "riding the snake". A term for the Acid trip itself. Ride it out. Feel it and let it flow. "Ride the Snake". Well, Jim Morrison led "the snake". And when he did we followed. L.A. Woman is different. L.A. Woman is a man leaving the city he loves. Leaving the people he loves. Every song reflects this and his writing actually emotes and finds meaning. What you hear is a writer finding his voice.
"Love Her Madly", "Been Down So Long", track for track showcase The Doors' ability to dig down inside themselves and make you feel what they are feeling. Lyrically. Musically. Sonically. The vibe is urgent and restless until Morrison and company leave us stoned on a California beach with "Cars Hiss By My Window".
L.A. Woman's title track is the centerpiece and rightfully so. Morrison writes about L.A. as if the city were a woman. "L.A. Woman Sunday afternoon. Drive through your suburbs. Into your blues." As sexual as it is geographical with a driving beat underneath it all. Things slow down mid song for the infamous "Mr. Mojo Rising" refrain. I always wondered about that line. I figured it was sexual. Which it is. But recently I learned that "Mr. Mojo Rising" is an anagram for Jim Morrison. Sneaky, Mr. Mojo. Sneaky.
The album leaves us wanting more with "Riders On The Storm". A mysterious track . "There's a killer on the road. His brain is squirming like a toad... If you give this man a ride. Sweet family will die." Only the doors can turn a song about a murderous hitchhiker into a timeless classic.
As I write this I am supposed to be in L.A. with my wife. Having a cocktail and enjoying the city Morrison related to a woman. As I write this I am representing two coasts. Listening to L.A. Woman while drinking a Manhattan. You should do the same.
- Cheers!
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