Love It Madly
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The Doors Perception - 6CD/6DVD Boxed set 4 out of 5 stars Reviewed for Coffeerooms by Mike Jefferson |
Jim Morrison had serious charisma -- good looks, a deep, bell tone for a voice and the active, rebellious nature of an avant-garde poet. It was a combination that served him well in the studio and on magazine covers, but conflicted with Morrison’s demonic hell-bent-for-leather nature. His contrary and frequently downright obnoxious behavior and his fondness for getting blind drunk turned his onstage performances into high wire acts and pitted the Doors talented but persnickety drummer, John Densmore, against him. Morrison hated being a 60s icon – a commodity – and eventually succeeded in ditching the Doors for his short-lived career as a Parisian junkie poet. He may have disliked being a celebrity, but it allowed him to reap the benefits of being the Dionysius of Rock, and while his zest for life fueled his creative genius, it also drove him to cater to his dark side so often he wound up dead in a bathtub at the tender age of 26. Luckily, Morrison managed to control his self-destructive urges long enough to record half a dozen classic albums as the Doors’ front man. In celebration of the Doors 40th anniversary, Rhino Records has put together “Perception,” a lavish collection that gathers together all six albums recorded with Morrison in two forms – remastered CDs and in 5.1 surround sound, with notes by engineer Bruce Botnick, unreleased tracks, bonus videos and lyrics. A 21, yes, 21-track sampler covering the Doors’ career was sent out in advance of the box set.
If you bought the last round of Doors reissues, sadly, they are now obsolete. The remixed, revamped and revitalized songs are expertly produced. Morrison’s baritone is captured in all its variations as dictated by whatever stimulant he was taking at the time – rock solid, angry, preachy, hoarse, or slovenly. Ray Manzarek’s keyboard playing sounds even more reliable, acting as the portal from which the Doors opened up the gates of their creativity. John Densmore and guitarist Robbie Krieger, who are now more upfront in the mix, benefit the most from the high tech engineering. Densmore shows he’s the master of any rhythmic style, and Krieger demonstrates his ability to incorporate rock, jazz, blues, flamenco, Indian and classical music influences into the Doors’ material.
“Break on Through,” the opening cut on their self-titled album (and the sampler) is a captivating first step. From downbeat of Densmore’s Bossa Nova rhythm, it’s apparent he was a much better drummer than he was given credit for. Morrison’s commanding voice, purposely recorded as if to make him sound distant, immediately grabs your attention. There’s no sign here of the malaise that occasionally surfaced in Morrison’s later work. The phrase “She gets high! She gets hiiiigh!” originally edited from the finished version at the record company’s request, has been restored.
Densmore sets a relentless pace in “I Looked at You.” Morrison is savage, unchained, fully into the moment. The new mix makes “End of the Night” sound effectively creepy, as if Morrison is muttering the lyrics while hanging out on a grimy corner in a trench coat. The distorted piano, acid-laced guitar and stop and go percussion employed in “My Eyes Have Seen You” feeds Morrison’s disturbing, voyeuristic imagery. “I Can’t See Your Face” is an equally off-kilter melodrama with percussion that resembles a murderer’s footsteps shuffling across wet pavement. It finishes with a lonely organ riff that sounds like a submarine’s sonar searching the night for a glimpse of Morrison’s muse.
Other gems from the Doors’ warehouse abound. “Love Me Two Times” (Take 3) has Krieger and Densmore pushing the tempo. Manzarek is a bit off key at first, but soon falls in line. “We Would Be So Good Together” cops the turnaround from Thelonious Monk’s “Straight No Chaser” to good effect, with Krieger’s crowing guitar shadowing Morrison’s impassioned vocal.
“Yes, the River Knows” is a personal favorite (although Morrison apparently disliked the song because it was blatantly romantic). The timbre in Morrison’s voice is strong, yet soothing. (He could have had a great career doing voiceovers.) “River” drifts peacefully, thanks to Densmore’s shuffling beat, Krieger’s lilting solo and Douglas Lubahan’s thick turns on bass.
“Shaman’s Blues,” one of the band’s underrated performances, is another showcase for Krieger’s guitar, which buzzes in and out of the lyrics like a fully satisfied honey bee.
In “Touch Me” (Take 3), Densmore attacks the drums like “Animal” of the Muppets, hitting them frequently and freely, while actually enhancing the impact of the song. The late Curtis Amy, who provides the lung-busting tenor sax solo, gets more time in the forefront in this previously unreleased version.
The take of “Roadhouse Blues” offered up in the sampler opens with a slurred observation from Morrison: “Ladies and gentlemen I want to tell you something… Money beats soul every time…” Morrison tests different vocal deliveries – at one point he opts for a syncopated effect and sounds as if he’s going to break into the Tarantella. Sitting in on harp, John Sebastian blows a few notes on the high end before settling for the more muscular sound he carried off in the final version. Morrison’s voice is as baked as he is, but there’s still a creative spark somewhere in his husk, as evidenced by his uncomfortable foray into scat.
Bassist Jerry Scheff, a veteran of Elvis Presley’s band, and rhythm guitarist Marc Benno, a side kick of Leon Russell’s, joined the Doors in the studio for “L.A. Woman,” their final platter with Morrison. The addition of the two vets effectively made the Doors a complete band. (Onstage Manzarek played the bass lines with his left hand and the keyboards with his right. Both Traffic’s Steve Winwood and The Rascals’ Felix Cavaliere performed this feat on Hammond organ without a hitch, but Manzarek’s use of the Fender Rhodes and Farfisa organ gave the Door’s concert music a cheesy sound with plenty holes.) By recruiting Benno and Scheff, and essentially playing live in the studio, the Doors tightened up their sound and were able to jam with newfound freedom. A primary example is “Crawling King Snake,” in which Densmore pounds the skins as if he’s leading a brigade into battle, while Krieger darts in with sharp, spasmodic bursts and Manzarek counters with a bluesy electric piano solo.
Morrison, who had by now gained considerable weight and was hiding his rock star profile behind a scruffy beard, deepens his voice in “Love Her Madly” to the point where he almost sounds like a parody of himself, but Manzarek aces the performance with his Tin Pan Alley solos. The remixed version of “Riders on the Storm” thrusts Scheff’s omnipresent bass and Densmore’s windshield wiper beat into the foreground. Morrison’s ghostly, whispered vocal makes the last song he recorded with the group seem all the more prophetic.
Only a few cuts manage to punch a hole in the Doors’ mystique as underground heroes. Not surprisingly, they’re early takes of tunes that were vastly improved in later takes. The early arrangement for “Moonlight Drive” is similar to the hopped up polka beat in “Alabama Song.” It’s a little to perky – it’s not a moonlight drive – it’s a midday jaunt. Krieger’s slide playing is too busy and Densmore sounds as if he had a bit too much caffeine that morning. “Not to the Touch the Earth” captures the bile issuing from the pit of Morrison’s very troubled soul, and is the only salvageable part of his interminable opus, “The Celebration of the Lizard.” The remixed version begins with the engineer signing on with “Doug, at your pleasure” (directed at guest bassist Doug Lubahan). Lubahan’s gurgling bass and Manzarek’s trippy keyboards create an unsettling atmosphere throughout, while Morrison vigorously assaults the mike. He’s hoarse, anxious to prove the song’s validity. Krieger takes a blow until the midway mark, unsure or unwilling to participate. “Orange County Suite” is the only full-fledged mistake offered in the sampler, a poetic stream of consciousness (or unconsciousness) that should have remained buried in whatever bottle of whiskey Morrison found it in. Morrison seldom wrote of his masochistic relationship with soul mate Pamela Courson, and it’s not hard to see why. “I used to know someone fair; she had orange ribbons in her hair. She was such a trip she hardly there, but I loved her just the same.” Please pass the orange Tums.
“Perception” wisely omits “Absolutely Live,” one of the most absolutely awful albums of all time, as well as the two albums the Doors recorded as a trio following Morrison’s demise, the surprisingly solid “Other Voices” and “Full Circle,” a jazzy fall from grace that marked the end of the group.
The box set’s release will probably vaunt the Doors back into the spotlight and that’s a very good thing, because they’re one of the few American bands from the 60s worth listening to. “Perception” also gives the surviving members their due – they weren’t just Morrison’s back up band, but a trio of severely talented musicians, who ended up writing as many well-known classics as their swacked lead singer (Krieger for example, penned “Touch Me” and “Love Her Madly”.) And despite his many faults as a human being, when Jim Morrison was cognizant, he was a captivating performer.
Extra Doors
Their self-titled first album features two versions of “Moonlight Drive” and a previously unavailable version of “Indian Summer,” plus a music video for “Break on Through,” and a live performance of “The End” recorded for Canadian television. “Strange Days” offers alternate takes of “People Are Strange” and “Love Me Two Times,” plus live performances on DVD of “Love Me Two Times’ and “When the Music’s Over” recorded in Europe. “Waiting for the Sun” is fattened up with five bonus tracks; “Albinoni’s Adagio in G Minor,” a 17-minute epic performance of “Celebration of the Lizard,” and three takes of “Not to Touch the Earth.” The DVD section offers live footage of “Spanish Caravan” from a show at the Hollywood Bowl, and “The Unknown Soldier” performed in Demark. “The Soft Parade” sports six bonus tracks, including three that have never seen the light of day: “Push Push,” and two versions of “Whiskey, Mystics and Men,” plus “Who Scared You” and two alternate takes of “Touch Me,” while the DVD captures the Doors on WNET-TV in New York performing “The Soft Parade” and “Tell All the People.” “Morrison Hotel” is bolstered by ten bonus tracks, including run-throughs of Chuck Berry’s “Carol,” “Peace Frog” and “The Spy,” while the DVD has music videos for “Roadhouse Blues” and “Wild Child.” “L.A. Woman,” contains the bonus tracks “Orange County Suite” and “(You Need Meat) Don’t Go No Further,” plus a music video for “The Changeling” and behind the scenes rehearsal footage of “Crawling King Snake.”
No matter what your perception is of the Doors is, this box set is a must have. It’s a definitive look at a poet who laid bare his soul and the band of brothers who provided the soundtrack to his very public decent onto Dante’s inferno. Love it madly, folks.
Posted December 4, 2006 Permalink
