Jim Morisson The Doors

Unlike many a box-set retrospective, this 1997 four-CD collection is clearly tailored for Doors aficionados rather than those curious but not overly familiar with the legendary '60s band's career and oeuvre. The first three discs are filled with previously unreleased live tracks and other rarities, such as the band's early demos, which found them slowly building a foundation stemming from each member's clear strengths and influences: Manzarek's classical background, Densmore's jazz, Krieger's rock, and Morrison's blues. Disc 4 features "band favorites" rather than hits, per se, and thus continues the insider tone taken by the compilation. Once you're inside, though, the rewards are many. —Billy Altman, Amazon.com

In 1968, as the Vietnam war raged and the world responded with political turbulence, the Doors made a live appearance at the Roundhouse in London. Captured here are dramatic performances of songs that convey the band's strong messages about the war, such as a powerfully effecting rendition of "Unknown Soldier." While the music plays, the presentation cuts from the live onstage action to display rows of soldiers' graves in a cemetery that looks like Arlington National. Back in the club, Jim Morrison writhes in his tight leather pants and white poet's shirt, flinging his curls and dancing to extended versions of "When the Music's Over," "Five to One," and "Spanish Caravan." The cinematography, in black and white grainy stock, takes care to spotlight each of the band members, not the audience, making this live show seem especially intimate…

Typically, rock bio programs for radio are little more than aural versions of Teen Beat, rarely delving beyond the surface appeal of a given artist. Los Angeles-based DJ Jim Ladd's aptly titled Inner View was the first nationally syndicated music and interview program to raise the intelligence bar several notches. Ladd's No One Here Gets Out Alive – originally broadcast on North American radio stations during the late summer of 1979 – is an audio biography of the Doors as told by those who lived it…

Japanese original release. Special box set release from The Doors contains 28 tracks total, including 17 ones available as CD format for the first time. EP covers faithfully replicate the ones released from Victor from 1967 to 1972.