The Doors Album: “An American Prayer”

Jim Morrison to many was just seen as a crazy frontman for one of the most popular bands of the Classic Rock era. To many, however, he was even more than that - he was the container of a vast amount of literary knowledge, who had the ability to completely meld peoples' minds with his words. His poetry contained depressing, frightening, haunting, and perfectly-crafted descriptions, containing some of the most professional work I've ever read, from poets and other songwriters alike.

It is sometimes incoherent, sure, but the words are just so beautiful in how they work together to create an image that doesn't necessarily come to life through the meanings of words, but by the emotions that those words portray. It takes a real gift to make lyrics like this, but Jim Morrison is able to do it without having much more than a blues vocal and a well-constructed face.

One of my favorite selections from this LP is the inclusion of Morrison's experience as a child, when he witnessed a bloody car crash containing the deaths of many Native Americans in Connecticut. This is a true story (which I am sure cannot be said about all of the poems he recites on this LP) which really gripped me to continue through the rest of the LP.

Listening to it now, I can easily say this is one of my favorite Doors albums, even if you really can't call it a real Doors record. Since this contains mostly poem reciting and with mostly background music (but some of his old songs are redone, including a live performance or two - most memorably, a fantastic version of Roadhouse Blues) I guess you can't call it much of a "musical record" but the concept of this album itself is VERY strong. It really is a unique listen.

Another thing I'd like to point out is the audio quality of the disc (this is speaking about the Vinyl, but I'm sure the CDs are okay too if that's your thing). I found that, especially for a Doors record, the sound quality of this LP is FANTASTIC. It's really audiophile quality. Jim Morrison's voice is beautifully reproduced and is staged very well, and the instrumental mastering is at a crispness and refine level that few other recordings touch upon. And it's even better to know that this LP is mass-produced, so that many non-audiophiles are also experiencing this fantastic sound quality. It is rare to see high-quality recordings in high stock like this LP. Even if you dispise Jim Morrison or The Doors (people do, but I don't see how one could justify it!) at least make this record a part of your collection due to the rareness of the quality of the recording.

Again, this album isn't for everybody. But if you've ever realized and thought to yourself how unique and beautiful Jim Morrison's work really is, it would be doing yourself a huge favor to pick this album up. If you get it on vinyl, it's an even bigger gain!

Enjoy the music.

-Andrew

If you listen closely to the Doors double album "Absolutely Live" right before they launch into "Whiskey Bar", you hear Morrison say "All right...what do you guys want to hear next?" All the teenyboppers scream out "Light My Fire!". I swear you can hear Morrison sigh into the microphone, regretting the day that Robby Krieger penned their first radio hit. The man wanted to be a poet, not necessarily a leather-panted frontman. What I'm getting at is this is what Morrison wanted the people to hear. His poetry is wonderful, thought provoking, conversational, a little sophomoric at times, and the backing of the Doors on such passages as "Newborn Awakening" and "Ghost Song" makes this a must-have album for Doors fans. This album really lets the remaining Doors shine. All of their playing is so different on the six Doors album, compared to "American Prayer" and their creative freedom really comes through here. The album also contains a smokin' live version of Roadhouse Blues, as well as snippets from other Doors albums (very cool double reading of "Texas Radio and the Big Beat" on "Stoned Immaculate" and "Riders on the Storm" on "The Hitchhiker"!) If you want more post-Jim music, the Doors "Full Circle" is interesting (though likely way out of print). Regardless, do yourself a favor: buy this and Morrison's book of poetry "Lords and the New Creatures" and you'll really experience what Morrison was trying to accomplish before he broke on through to the other side!

James Douglas Morrison is known as a shaman, the lizard king, and lead singer of the Doors, but was also a poet who recorded some of his poems and stories. The result is a journey through the dark alleyways of Morrison's mind. Unfortunately, Morrison died prematurely at the age of 27 in a Parisian bathtub on July 3, 1971. However, the remaining three Doors members (Ray Manzarek, keyboards; Robby Krieger, guitar; John Densmore, drums) took the raw material and provided music to accompany Morrison's voice in a manner that is both deft and supportive of Morrison's poetry. Occasionally the music is overdone to the point of sounding like soft jazz or worse - a stereotypical porn soundtrack. The album, "An American Prayer," was released in 1978; the remastered 1995 version has three bonus tracks. The most notable bonus track is the compelling and haunting "Bird of Prey" with Morrison singing a cappella, as if straight from the grave.

Do not expect a standard story with a narrative arc. "An American Prayer" is better heard as a cohesive mood that begs to be played in one sitting on a moonless night with a solitary candle. To explore the nightmare terrain, Morrison pens words the F.C.C. would not allow for public broadcast; nonetheless the word choice, for the most part, is effective and essential despite the vulgarity. At times the poetry can be trite as the following line from the title poem, "An American Prayer." "Do you know we are ruled by T.V." But more often the words are compelling for its imagery like the following gem from the title poem. "Death makes angels of us all & gives us wings where we had shoulders smooth as raven's claws." The fallen world Morrison ushers the listener into is one full of confusion, madness, random acts of violence, sex and sudden death.

"An American Prayer" does contain a murderer on the loose ("The Hitchhiker") and it is Morrison himself. Dead Indian souls are ready to possess Morrison's childhood mind in "Newborn Awakening." Barely above a whisper, Morrison says, "Indians scattered on dawn's highway bleeding/Ghosts crowd the young child's fragile eggshell mind." Morrison's melancholic thoughts speak of a poet not well-adjusted. Morrison's voice is clear, but also has a worn edge to it. This is no surprise when you consider Morrison had become overweight, suffered a fallout and conviction from a 1969 Miami concert (Morrison is found guilty of profanity and exposing himself), and had countless paternity suits plaguing the end of his life.

In "Stoned Immaculate," Morrison pleads, "Let me tell you about heartache and the loss of god,/Wandering, wandering in hopeless night." And then later asks in "Lament," "Could any hell be more horrible than now and real?" It is hard to argue with him after this beautiful tour of discord ends.

Bohdan Kot

Rob O'Connor, whoever you are, you're a jerk! So, according to YOU, the music of the Doors is "at least as good as Tommy James and the Shondells?" Flashes in the pan like Tommy James are NOT EVEN in the same league as The Doors, and music history attests to this. The Doors' influence on every generation since far outweighs almost forgettable acts like Tommy James--the only notable thing he ever did was "Crimson and Clover", and that's not even as innovative as the Doors at their worst. Why do you post your reviews at the beginning of the artist's catalogue, as if they are fact, as if they speak for the majority------Screw you man!! Remove this man's posts from this catalogue!

First of all, I haven't listened to this album in a long time, but in a weird way, I kind of have. Confused? See, I found a great bootleg online that has the whole poetry session used for this assemblage, and it also includes Jim's last ever recording session (Paris, 1971 with a bunch of not-too-great French hippie session guys) and "Orange County Suite" before the remaining Doors put all their overdubs on it, about 30 years after the fact. For the curious, its called "The Paris Tapes." As for the Doors version of this album, its alright. The Doors described it pretty well when they called it "A movie for your ears." The music is carried off well, but I'm not into the whole thing anymore because of the way Jim's words are chopped up. That great Doors live performance on here of "Roadhouse Blues" is now also avaliable on the excellent "Doors Live In Concert" collection.