The Doors

Ideally, one would avoid compilations of the Doors' work, except perhaps for the hit singles and moments when one wanted very light listening. This was a band that took itself very seriously, almost to the point of self-parody at times, and their music ought to be discovered in the setting and context in which it was intended, but assuming that one needs a Doors anthology, this 18-track collection (19 on CD) is the place to start…

More than 30 years after the death of Jim Morrison, interest in The Doors is as strong as ever. They have been the posthumous subject of both a best-selling biography and a cinema film. 'Maximum Doors' presents the complete and unauthorised audio-biography of this ground-breaking quartet from their earliest days, through their rise to fame and enormous success, to the death of Morrison in Paris and the demise of the band. A perfect addition to every Doors fan's collection.

The Doors fifth studio album, Morrison Hotel, will be reissued in October for its 50th anniversary. The album was recorded in late 1969/early 1970 and released in February 1970. It’s newly remastered for this release by Bruce Botnick. The goodies are all on the bonus CD with more than an hour of unreleased recordings taken from the sessions for Morrison Hotel. Botnick says: “There are many takes, different arrangements, false starts, and insightful studio conversations between the band – who were in the studio – and producer Paul Rothchild – who was in the control room. It’s like being a fly on the wall.” The outtakes include rough versions of Morrison Hotel tracks ‘Peace Frog’ and ‘Blue Sunday’ as well as The Doors rarity ‘I Will Never Be Untrue.’ The bonus CD also features the band jamming on cover versions of the Motown classic ‘Money (That’s What I Want)’ and B.B. King’s’ ‘Rock Me’.

The Doors found their mojo (and Mr. Mojo Risin’) in November 1970 as they recorded L.A. Woman over six days at the Workshop, the band’s rehearsal space on Santa Monica Boulevard. A success both critically and commercially, the album was certified double-platinum and contains some of the band’s most enduring music, including the Top 20 hit “Love Her Madly,” “Riders On The Storm,” and the title track.

This essential four disc collection contains nearly four and a half hours of music, with three hours of previously unreleased material, including demos, live track and one brand new song with vocals recorded by Jim Morrison in 1970…

The Doors, one of the most influential and controversial rock bands of the 1960s, were formed in Los Angeles in 1965 by UCLA film students Ray Manzarek, keyboards, and Jim Morrison, vocals; with drummer John Densmore and guitarist Robby Krieger. The group never added a bass player, and their sound was dominated by Manzarek's electric organ work and Morrison's deep, sonorous voice, with which he sang and intoned his highly poetic lyrics…

The Doors were a few months away from stardom in March 1967 when they played five sparsely attended shows at a small club in San Francisco called The Matrix. These uninhibited performances would have been fleeting if not for Peter Abram, who co-owned the pizza parlor-turned-nightclub with Jefferson Airplane founder Marty Balin. An avid recordist, Abram taped concerts at The Matrix regularly and his recordings of The Doors, made between March 7-11, 1967, spawned one of the band’s most storied bootlegs. At long last, all known Matrix recordings, sourced entirely from Abram’s original master recordings, will be released on September 8.