The Doors (album)

The Doors is the debut studio album by the American rock band the Doors, released on January 4, 1967, by Elektra Records. Recorded in August 1966 at Sunset Sound Recorders in Hollywood, California, the album was produced by Paul A. Rothchild. It contains the full-length version of the group's breakthrough single "Light My Fire" and concludes with "The End", noted for its improvised Oedipal spoken-word section.<ref name=thedoors.com />

The Doors developed much of the material for their debut during live performances in 1966, particularly at the Whisky a Go Go in Los Angeles. After being dismissed from the venue, they signed with Elektra and began recording sessions. Musically, the album incorporates a wide range of styles, including jazz, blues, classical, pop, and R&B, all anchored in a rock foundation.<ref name="Gallucci" /> The Doors has since been recognized as a landmark of psychedelic rock and one of the most influential albums of the 1960s, inspiring numerous subsequent artists and recordings.<ref name="albumfacts">Template:Cite magazine</ref>

The album was a commercial and critical success, establishing the Doors as a leading rock act of their era. Both The Doors and "Light My Fire" have been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. In 2015, the Library of Congress selected The Doors for preservation in the National Recording Registry for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> As of 2015, the album has sold over 13 million copies worldwide, making it the Doors’ best-selling record.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn

Widely considered one of the greatest albums in rock history, The Doors has also been consistently ranked among the greatest albums of all time by various publications, including the BBC and Rolling Stone. The latter placed it at number 42 on its 2003 and 2012 lists of the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time", and at number 86 in the 2020 update.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="albumfacts" />

Background

File:Whisky a Go-Go.jpg

The Whisky a Go Go, where the Doors played frequently in 1966

The Doors' final lineup was formed in mid-1965 after keyboardist Ray Manzarek's two brothers Rick and Jim 'Manczarek' left Rick & the Ravens, whose members included besides Manzarek, jazz-influenced drummer John Densmore and then-novice vocalist Jim Morrison. The group's four man membership was established when guitarist Robby Krieger agreed to join.Template:Sfn Though he had previous experience playing folk and flamenco, Krieger had only been playing the electric guitar for a few months when he was invited to become a member of the band, soon renamed the Doors.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> They were initially signed to Columbia Records under a six-month contract, but they asked for an early release after the record company failed to secure a producer for the album and placed them on a drop list.Template:Sfn

Following their release from the label, the Doors played residencies in mid-1966 at two historic Sunset Strip club venues, the London Fog and Whisky a Go Go.Template:Sfn They were spotted at the Whisky a Go Go by Elektra Records president Jac Holzman, who was present at the suggestion of Love singer Arthur Lee.Template:Sfn After he saw two sets, Holzman called producer Paul A. Rothchild to see the group.<ref name="Jackson">Template:Cite web</ref> On August 18, after attending several appearances of the band, Holzman and Rothchild ultimately signed them to Elektra Records.Template:Sfn

The Doors continued performing at the Whisky until on August 21, when they were fired due to their performance of "The End" on which Morrison improvised a retelling section of Oedipus Rex.Template:Sfn

Recording

The Doors was recorded by producer Paul A. Rothchild and audio engineer Bruce Botnick at Sunset Sound Studios in Hollywood, California, over about a weekTemplate:SfnTemplate:Sfn in late August 1966.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> "Indian Summer"Template:Refn and "Moonlight Drive" were the first rehearsal outtakes of the album,<ref name=albumfacts/> while the first recorded songs that appeared on the album being "I Looked at You" and "Take It as It Comes".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> A four-track tape machine was used at the cost of approximately $10,000.Template:Sfn Three of the tracks were utilized as: bass and drums on one, guitar and organ on another, and Morrison's vocals on the third. The fourth track was used for overdubbing.<ref name="Jackson" />Template:Sfn<ref name="Kubernik" />

The album's instrumentation includes keyboards, electric guitar, occasional bass guitar,Template:Sfn drums,<ref name="Liner" /> and marxophone (on "Alabama Song").Template:Sfn Rothchild had forbidden Krieger from using any of his guitar effects (particularly the wah wah pedal) on the record in order to avoid what Rothchild thought was the overuse of these devices.<ref name="Jackson" /> However, the studio was equipped with an echo chamber which gave that specific effect to the sound.<ref name="Paul"/>

Ray Manzarek, explaining the bass-overdubs, said: Template:Blockquote

According to Botnick, "What you hear on the first album is what they did live. It wasn't just playing the song–it transcended that."Template:Sfn Session musician Larry Knechtel and Krieger overdubbed bass guitar on several tracks in order to give some "punch" to the sound of Manzarek's keyboard bass.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn<ref>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="interview" />Template:Refn Morrison explained in 1969, "We started almost immediately, and some of the songs took only a few takes. We'd do several takes just to make sure we couldn't do a better one."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> For "The End" and "Light My Fire", two takes were edited together to achieve the final recording.Template:Sfn<ref name="Kubernik">Template:Cite web</ref> The album was mixed and completed in October 1966.<ref name=Holzman /> Although "Indian Summer" was recorded during the sessions and thought was given to including it as the final track, it was eventually replaced with "The End".<ref name=albumfacts />Template:Sfn

Composition

The Doors features many of the group's most famous compositions, including "Light My Fire", "Break On Through (To the Other Side)", and "The End". In 1969, Morrison stated: Template:Blockquote

Interviewed by Lizze James, he pointed out the meaning of the verse "My only friend, the end": Template:Blockquote

"Break On Through (To the Other Side)" was released as the group's first single but it was relatively unsuccessful, peaking at No. 104 in Cash Box and No. 126 in Billboard. Elektra Records edited the line "she gets high", knowing a drug reference would discourage airplay (many releases have the original portions of both "Break On Through" and "The End" edited).Template:Sfn The song is in 4/4 time and quite fast-paced, starting with Densmore's bossa nova drum groove in which a clave pattern is played as a rim click underneath a driving ride cymbal pattern. Densmore appreciated the new bossa nova craze coming from Brazil, so he decided to use it in the song.<ref name=story>Template:Cite AV media</ref> Robby Krieger has stated that he took the idea for the guitar riff from Paul Butterfield's version of the song "Shake Your Moneymaker" (originally by blues guitarist Elmore James).<ref name=story /> Later, a disjointed quirky organ solo is played quite similar to the introduction of Ray Charles' "What'd I Say".<ref>Classic Albums The Doors Template:Webarchive</ref>

File:Doors electra publicity photo.JPG

Promotional photo of the Doors in late 1966. From left to right: Densmore, Krieger, Manzarek and Morrison.

The Doors' breakout hit "Light My Fire" was primarily composed by Krieger. Although the album version was just over seven minutes long, it was widely requested for radio play,<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> so a single version was edited to under three minutes with nearly all the instrumental break removed for airplay on AM radio.<ref name="lmfgw">Template:Cite web</ref> Krieger has claimed that it was Morrison who encouraged the others to write songs when they realized they did not have enough original material.<ref name="Paul">Template:Cite web</ref> He recalled that Morrison had suggested to him to write "about something universal."Template:Sfn

Additionally, Morrison wrote "Take It as It Comes", which is thought to be a "tribute to Maharishi Mahesh Yogi".Template:Sfn It came from one of his observations on Maharishi's meditation classes, which Morrison wasn't initially studying contrary to the other group members, but was later convinced by them to attend.Template:Sfn Manzarek's organ solo on the song was inspired by Johann Sebastian Bach.Template:Sfn The lyrics to "Twentieth Century Fox" refer to either Manzarek's wife Dorothy FujikawaTemplate:Sfn or Morrison's girlfriend Pamela Courson.Template:Sfn

The Doors also contains two cover songs: "Alabama Song" and "Back Door Man". "Alabama Song" was written and composed by Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill in 1927, for their opera Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny (Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny).Template:Sfn The melody is changed and the verse beginning "Show me the way to the next little dollar" is omitted. On the album version, Morrison altered the second verse from "Show us the way to the next pretty boy" to "Show me the way to the next little girl", but on the 1967 Live at the Matrix recording, he sings the original "next pretty boy". Notable peculiarity of the band's version is the unusual use of the marxophone.Template:Sfn The Chicago blues "Back Door Man" was written by Willie Dixon and originally recorded by Howlin' Wolf.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn

Releases

The Doors was released on January 4, 1967, by Elektra Records.<ref name=thedoors.com>Template:Cite web</ref> Jac Holzman originally intended to release the record in November 1966, but after a negotiation with the band, he decided to postpone the release to the new year, as he felt it was the appropriate time for better album sales.<ref name=Holzman>Template:Cite web</ref> For the album's cover, Joel Brodsky was hired to provide a photo of the group, which later received a Grammy nomination.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Holzman also suggested an association with Billboard magazine for the album's advertisement by promoting the record with "hoarding", a novel concept which was made popular later on. It was promoted with the slogan "Break On Through With An Electrifying Album".Template:Sfn The Doors were the first rock band to use this advertising medium.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

The Doors made a steady climb up the Billboard 200, ultimately becoming a huge success in the US once the edited single version of "Light My Fire" scaled the charts to become No. 1, with the album peaking at No. 2 on the chart in September 1967 (kept off the top stop by the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band) and going on to achieve multi-platinum status.Template:Sfn In Europe the band would have to wait slightly longer for similar recognition, with "Light My Fire" originally stalling at No. 49 in the UK singles chart and the album failing to chart at all; however, in 1991, buoyed by the high-profile Oliver Stone film The Doors, a reissue of "Light My Fire" reached No. 7 in the singles chart, and the album reached No. 43.<ref name="Guinness18">Template:Cite book</ref>

The mono LP was withdrawn not long after its original release and remained unavailable until 2009, when it was reissued as a limited edition 180 gram audiophile LP by Rhino Records.<ref>Template:Cite AV media notes</ref> The 40th anniversary mix of the debut album presents a stereo version of "Light My Fire" in speed-corrected form for the first time. Previously, only the original 45 RPM singles ("Light My Fire" and "Break On Through") were produced at the correct speed.<ref>Template:Cite AV media notes</ref>

Reissues

The Doors has been reissued several times since the 1980s. In 1981, Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab released a half speed mastered version of the album on vinyl, cut by Stan Ricker with the Ortofon Cutting System.<ref>Template:Cite AV media notes</ref> In 1988, it was digitally remastered by Bruce Botnick and Paul A. Rothchild at Digital Magnetics, using the original master tapes.<ref>Template:Cite AV media notes</ref> In 1992, DCC Compact Classics reissued the album on 24kt gold CD and 180g vinyl; the gold CD was remastered by Steve Hoffman while the vinyl was cut by Kevin Gray and Hoffman at Future Disc.<ref>Template:Cite AV media notes</ref><ref>Template:Cite AV media notes</ref> It was remastered again in 1999 for The Complete Studio Recordings box set by Bernie Grundman and Botnick at Bernie Grundman Mastering using 96khz/24bit technology; it was also released as a standalone CD release.<ref>Template:Cite AV media notes</ref> In 2006, the record was released in multichannel DVD-Audio as part of the Perception box set.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The next year, a 40th anniversary edition was released featuring the 2006 stereo remix and three bonus tracks, which was mastered by Botnick at Uniteye.<ref>Template:Cite AV media notes</ref> In 2009, the original mono mix was released on 180g vinyl, cut by Grundman.<ref>Template:Cite AV media notes</ref>

On September 14, 2011, The Doors was released on hybrid stereo-multichannel Super Audio CD by Warner Japan in their Warner Premium Sound series.<ref>Warner Premium Sound 14 September releases Template:Webarchive (in Japanese). Retrieved November 3, 2011.</ref> Analogue Productions reissued the album on hybrid SACD and double 45 RPM vinyl, both editions were mastered by Doug Sax and Sangwook Nam at The Mastering Lab; the CD layer of the Super Audio CD contains the original stereo mix while the SACD layer contains Botnick's 2006 5.1 surround mix.<ref>Template:Cite AV media notes</ref><ref>Template:Cite AV media notes</ref> In 2017, a deluxe edition was released in commemoration of the album's 50th anniversary, and includes the original stereo and mono mixes, as well as a compilation of songs recorded live at The Matrix in San Francisco on March 7, 1967. This edition was remastered by Botnick from "recently discovered original master tapes".<ref name=2017reissue>Template:Cite AV media notes</ref>

Reception and legacy

Early reception

In a contemporary review for Crawdaddy! magazine, founder and critic Paul Williams hailed The Doors as "an album of magnitude" and described the band as creators of "modern music", with which "contemporary 'jazz' and 'classical' composers must try to measure up". Williams added: "The birth of the group is in this album, and it's as good as anything in rock. The awesome fact about the Doors is that they will improve."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Record Mirror wrote: "[The Doors] for Elektra is wild, rough and although it's subtle in places, the overall sound is torrid. They're blues-based and get quite an effective sound."<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> The Beatles had reportedly bought ten copies of the album,Template:Sfn and Paul McCartney cited the Doors as an influence on the Beatles' 1967 album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.Template:Refn

Robert Christgau was less enthusiastic in his column for Esquire, recommending the album but with reservations; he approved of Manzarek's organ playing and Morrison's "flexible though sometimes faint" singing while highlighting the presence of a "great original hard rock" in "Break on Through" and clever songs such as "Twentieth Century Fox", but was critical of more "esoteric" material such as the "long, obscure dirge" "The End".<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> He also found Morrison's lyrics often self-indulgent, particularly lines like "our love becomes a funeral pyre", which he said spoiled "Light My Fire", and "the nebulousness that passes for depth among so many lovers of rock poetry" on "The End".<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Retrospective reception

The Doors has since been ranked by critics as one of the greatest albums of all time. In 1985, Sounds magazine ranked it the ninth greatest album of all time.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 1993, New Musical Express writers cited The Doors the 25th greatest album of all time,<ref name="NME1">Template:Cite web</ref> while in 1998, it was named the 70th in a "Music of the Millennium" poll conducted in the UK by HMV, Channel 4, The Guardian and Classic FM.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In 2003, Parke Puterbaugh of Rolling Stone called the record "the L.A. foursome's most successful marriage of rock poetics with classically tempered hard rockTemplate:Snda stoned, immaculate classic."<ref name="Puterbaugh">Template:Cite magazine</ref> Sean Egan of BBC Music opines, "The eponymous debut of the Doors took popular music into areas previously thought impossible: the incitement to expand one's consciousness of opener 'Break on Through' was just the beginning of its incendiary agenda."<ref>BBC Music review </ref> AllMusic critic Richie Unterberger lauded The Doors as a "tremendous debut album" and "one of the best first-time outings in rock history", whose "nonstop melodicism and dynamic tension would never be equaled by the group again, let alone bettered."<ref name="Unterberger"/>

The Doors has been often cited as the group's finest record.<ref name="Gallucci/Michael"/><ref name="Unterberger"/><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> In 2000, the album was voted number 46 in Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums.<ref name="Larkin">Template:Cite book</ref> The Doors was ranked No. 42 on Rolling Stone's list of "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time".<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> When the list was revised in 2020, the album was repositioned at No. 86.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Two of the album's songs, "Light My Fire" and "The End", also appeared on Rolling StoneTemplate:'s 2004 list "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time".<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Q magazine readers ranked the album at No. 75 on its list of the "100 Greatest Albums Ever",<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> while NME magazine at No. 226 on their respective list "500 Greatest Albums of All Time".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 2007, Rolling Stone included it on their list of The 40 Essential Albums of 1967.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> More recently, online media magazine Loudwire considers The Doors one of the "25 Legendary Rock Albums With No Weak Songs".<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Ultimate Classic Rock cited it as the fourth-top psychedelic rock album of all time.<ref name="Gallucci">Template:Cite web</ref>

Track listing

Original album

All tracks are written by the Doors (Jim Morrison, Ray Manzarek, Robby Krieger and John Densmore), except where noted. Details are taken from the 1967 U.S. Elektra release; other releases may show different information.<ref name="Liner">Template:Cite AV media notes</ref>

Personnel

Personnel adapted from the 50th Anniversary edition album liner notes:<ref name=2017reissue/>

The Doors

• Jim Morrison – vocals
• Ray Manzarek – organ, piano, keyboard bass; backing vocalsTemplate:Sfn and marxophone on "Alabama Song (Whisky Bar)"Template:Sfn
• Robby Krieger – guitar; bass guitar on "Soul Kitchen"Template:Refn and "Back Door Man";<ref name="interview" />Template:Sfn backing vocals on "Alabama Song (Whisky Bar)"Template:Sfn
• John Densmore – drums, backing vocals on "Alabama Song (Whisky Bar)"Template:Sfn

Additional musicians

• Larry Knechtel – bass guitar on "Soul Kitchen", "Twentieth Century Fox",Template:Sfn<ref name="AFMreport">Template:Cite report</ref> "Light My Fire",Template:Sfn "I Looked at You" and "Take It as It Comes"Template:Sfn

Production

• Paul A. Rothchild – production; backing vocals on "Alabama Song (Whisky Bar)"Template:Refn
• Bruce Botnick – engineering
• Joel Brodsky – back cover photography
• Guy Webster – front cover photography
• William S. Harvey – art direction and design

Charts

Album

Chart (1967–69)	Peak
Template:Album chart
Template:Album chart
Chart (2021)	Peak
Template:Album chart

Singles

Year	Single (A-side / B-side)	Chart	Position
1967	"Break On Through (To the Other Side)" / "End of the Night"	Billboard Hot 100	126Template:Refn
1967	"Light My Fire" / "The Crystal Ship"	Hot 100	1<ref name=hot100>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

See also

• Outline of the Doors

Sources

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External links

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