The Doors Album: “L.A. Woman [Remaster]”

It's getting annoying, isn't it -- the endless parade of rereleases, remasters, and repackagings designed to bleed music fans with the promise of something new from a long-gone band?

Reluctantly, I checked this album out on a streaming service. I wasn't about to part with another dollar to re-re-re-buy this middle-aged album without a good reason. I had the thing on vinyl, for cripes' sake. Then two CD versions, including the "Perception" box set... and now this.

If you don't own a version of this album, and if you like the Doors at all, you must jump on this. And even if you do own a previous version, this edition is well worth it.

Why? Well, if you don't own this album, you're missing a major shift in the Doors' direction, from sinuous adolescent psychedelia to boozy desert blues. It's not an easy shift for the listener to make; it took me easily 20 years of Doors fandom to really come around to this album after cutting my teeth on the poppy "Waiting for the Sun" and the hallucinatory "The Soft Parade" and all. I get it now. I'm glad I waited it out.

And if you do own the album, I recommend you grit your teeth and spring for this edition (perhaps vowing, like me, that this will be the VERY LAST time you pay for this music).

Why? First, it sounds great. Bright enough to hear all the instruments clearly, but not so bright that it sounds "modern." Let's face it, the warm sound of the music of this era is a major part of its attraction. No weird, forced stereo separation; no strange emphasis on any instrument or vocal; it's just pleasant to listen to.

And now -- you need alternate versions? Don't go no further. The second half of this reissue is chock full of truly wonderful alternate takes that I personally had never heard. These are complete takes that stand on their own -- any one of them would have been worthy to be the final take (barring the rather lackluster "Love Her Madly (Take 1))." Some of the chatter before the songs is quite amusing as well, especially the cutting up before "Riders on the Storm." Given the serious tone of most of the album, it's great to hear a bit of Jim's funny side.

As for the two "new" entries, "Rock Me" and "She Smells So Nice"... Well, "Rock Me" is a cover of the old blues standard, "Rock Me Baby," which they often performed live. And the "new song" that's been so hyped, "She Smells So Nice," isn't really a song, more of a loose, drunken jam on a blues theme. On both cuts, the band is ramshackle and Jim's voice is muffled and poorly recorded, and there are audible microphone crackles. I suspect these were warm-up jams that just happen to have been recorded. If you're a huge fan, you may want to get "She Smells So Nice" anyway, just for fun, but a "lost song" it ain't.

The only thing keeping this from being the definitive, ultimate "L.A. Woman" issue is the lack of the bonus tracks from the 2007 issue: "Orange County Suite" and "(You Need Meat) Don't Go No Further." Neither was included on the original "L.A. Woman" issue, but both are real songs (unlike "She Smells So Nice") and both are worthwhile. I'd go so far as to say they're essential for the Doors fan, especially "(You Need Meat)," a Willie Dixon cover. It's one of their best latter-day rockers and it really fits in with the rest of the album. Your best solution, if buying this album for the first time, is to buy this edition and go buy those two tracks individually. Then you'll have everything worth having... until they "discover" another "new" track, that is.

"L.A. Woman" is the final album put together by the Doors before the death of Jim Morrison and what is so striking about it for me is how the two best tracks, the title one and "Riders of the Storm," are so different from the rest of what is on the album. Contrasting the start of those tracks with the opening song on the album, "The Changeling," and they are like night and day. Most of the rest of this 1971 album is really blues oriented, with "Love Her Madly" clearly being the best of the bunch, and some of the rest being instantly forgettable. I think it is obvious that the band was trying to get back their credibility after veering too far in the direction of pop for a couple of albums, with "Morrison Hotel" and this one righting those wrongs. But since a few of these songs are pretty forgettable, "L.A. Woman" is an album that is caught between a 4 and a 5 but you have to round up given how good its two best songs end up being.

My two favorite parts of Oliver Stone's movie "The Doors" is when we hear Ray Manzarek in the background fooling around on the organ until he gets the bit for "Light My Fire" right and the end credits with the tracking shot showing the record of "L.A. Woman," with Val Kilmer's Morrison taking advantage of the great acoustics in the bathroom. For years when I was driving back from the Twin Cities and coming up the final hills before being able to see the lights of home, to wit the "city of lights," "L.A. Woman" was the song I would play in the car because it perfectly suited the moment.

Since the track opens with the sound of an accelerating car engine it is easy to see why the songs is associated with driving. Robbie Krieger simulates that sound on his guitar, but with a hint of eeriness that leads into first Manzarek's keyboards and then John Densmore's cymbal tapping and session player Jerry Scheff's throbbing bass. From that intriguing beginning the song generates its compelling rhythm and allows Morrison to wax lyrical. The bridge represents one of the most creative changes in rock history, using a tango tempo while Morrison sings about burning hair before getting to the final section where the anagrammatic "Mr. Mojo Risin'" makes his appearance. On a lot of these tracks Morrison's voice sounds about shot, but there are no complaints about "L.A. Woman," which qualifies as his last great vocal performance.

"Riders of the Storm" is one of the moodiest Doors' songs and the lyrics create a sense of foreboding (e.g., "Into this house were born/Into this world we're thrown") representing the questionable side of human existence. Musically Manzarek captures the sound of the storm, with actual thunderstorm sound effects dubbed on to the track, while Densmore again works the cymbals and Scheff provides a simple bass line, reflecting a minimalist approach that is quite effective. The song made it to #14 on the Billboard charts after Morrison's death in Paris ("Love Her Madly" had made it to #11 while the title track was just too long for AM radio). The "L.A. Woman" album only made it to #9, which, believe it or not, makes it the worst performance by a Doors album. Of course, a decade later Morrison and the Doors were bigger than ever and "L.A. Woman" was a frequent mention as the group's best track.

Not as splashy as ELP's Brain Salad Surgery DVD Audio but still a quantum leap over any CD version I've ever heard (including the new remasters). There is no audible hiss; the guitars and drums are crystal clear. The Lizard King sounds like he''s in your room. My only gripe is the underutilization of the subwoofer channel. However, this is a must buy.

Being a doors fan is one thing but after hearing them all over the room in diffrent places, I love d.v.d audio, This is the best d.v.d audio I have herd so far it has better sound then any c.d. you will ever here!!

This is the best doors album and my absolute favorite by them and any other band for that matter. The reason jim sounds (wrongly) tired and bored is that this a blues album, plus with jail time hanging over his head I don't know about you but the fact he put all the emotion he had with little voice he had left to me out distances anything the doors or any other band has done since. The lyrics are awesome, if sad for such a radiant singer who had now burned out from rock stardom. The true fan sees this as a return to their roots of blues and jazz improv and poetry that was the best of Morrison's career. W/ that said I can only hope you see beyond Jim's beard and into the soul of this music. This is the Doors masterpiece.