The Doors The Doors
In 1967, the year of the summer of love, The Doors burst onto the scene with their self-titled debut album. Starting with the dynamic "Break on Through (To the Other Side)" and finishing with the twelve minute epic "The End", The Doors was one of the first albums designed as a complete work as opposed to a collection of songs. Jim Morrison, the self proclaimed "Lizard King", switches almost schizophrenically from whisky-fueled bluesman to sensitive poet/shaman. His charismatic presence coupled with an eclectic blend of blues, rock and jazz makes for one of the sixties most iconic albums. Considering Jimi Hendrix and Pink Floyd also debuted this year, this is quite an achievement.
Exploring themes such as death, sex and alienation, The Doors redefined a genre and paved the way for the hard rock revolution. It spoke for a generation and provided the much-needed counterstrike to manufactured pop and mushy love songs by The Monkees and Englebert Humperdinck. Loaded with references to drug use, sex and almost Freudian symbolism this album dared to challenge an era, but included enough catchy grooves to guarantee radio play and a place in the billboard charts.
From drunken blues chants such as "Backdoor Man" to the acid inspired poetry on "Crystal Ship" and "The End", this album provides a variety of musical styles. Ray Manzarek's hypnotic organ melodies compliment Robbie Kreiger's simple yet innovative guitar. Morrison's obscure lyricism is given structure and form by John Dennesmore's mixture of rhythmic pounding on the blues and subtle emphasis on the more psychedelic tracks. Whether you love blues, rock, experimental or poetry, The Doors never disappoints and remains relevant and influential today.
