Dreamer
Classified Forum Moderator
Artist: Doors
Title: LEGACY: The Absolute Best (2 CDs)
Released: 2005
Record Label: Rhino
Genre: Rock / Pop
I’ll admit, this is not going to be an impartial review. I am a HUGE doors fan. It is my opinion that Jim Morrison is perhaps the most overlooked Poet and Mystic of the late 20th century. But my personal philosophies aside, there is not disputing that the Doors, like a meteor blazing through the firmament, lit the eyes of an entire generation, and with equally astronomical enigma, winked out and returned to the dark cold depths of creation from whence they came.
The Doors (or more precisely, Morrison) broke new ground in Rock, and essentially defined the parameters of what it meant to be a pop-culture 20th century Shaman. Twisting the minds of millions with words and sounds, enacting roles on stag that were so far outside the cultural norms of the time that they were simply inscrutable, and all the time, doing this clown/fiend/healer act to the soundtrack of driving, sweaty, blues-inspired psychedelic rock, Morrison and the Doors shone bright in a galaxy of Rock Supernovas like Hendrix, Joplin, the Beatles, Rocky Erikson, and others. A spark in the sky, the Doors somehow managed to create a cultural memory that was individuated, potentiated, and epic...
So on to this recording. Rhino is known for their fantastic re-releases of older material, and this disc is no exception. Created in cooperation with the remaining Doors (Manzarek, Krieger, Densmore) and produced by Danny Sugerman, this double CD package has copious liner notes (mostly commentary on the Doors), fantastic production quality, and somehow, nearly 3 decades after the fact, manages to capture the essence of the Doors in their end-of-the century deconstructionist glory and translate it into a tasty bit of 21st century technology. This CD set is like a time capsule, complete with all the sweat, smells, and sights of it’s own era somehow magically encoded into it’s shiny silver surface.
When track 8 of disc 1 begins (The End), you can practically feel the blotter kicking in. The ambience on Track 11 (When the Music’s Over) is hauntingly open and club-like. With my eyes closed, I half expect to hear Morrison’s feet stumbling around the front of my room, and I can almost smell the sweet mixture of hippy sweat, patchouli, and burning grass (and I don’t mean of the lawnmower variety). Throughout this recording Densmore’s driving drums, Manzarek’s ethereal keyboard and Krieger’s howling but precise guitar all attempt to keep up with Morrison’s frenetic lyrics, and the resulting interplay creates a luscious tension that is rare in ANY era of rock-and-roll, and some would argue, is almost entirely extinct in today’s culture of overly-produced, pre-programmed, production-rock where the Labels Dictate All, and bands are manufactured to meet some perceived market trend du jour.
This is REAL rock, with all the blood, sweat, scars, drugs, genuine angst, and cultural discord that made the ‘60 what they were.
If you like the Doors, this CD is a MUST-HAVE. If you were born long after they broke and your hard-rock reference points start with “heavy metal” or “goth” or “emo”, I’d recommend buying this album--it will take you on a musical archeological journey into the foundations of “all that came after” the 1960’s. If you prefer Patricia Barber and that genre, I would recommend that you stay FAR away from this recording, or if you get it, you might want to make some advance appointments with a therapist, because it WILL do things to your head...
--Richard
Title: LEGACY: The Absolute Best (2 CDs)
Released: 2005
Record Label: Rhino
Genre: Rock / Pop
Is Everybody in?
The ceremony is about to begin...
The ceremony is about to begin...
I’ll admit, this is not going to be an impartial review. I am a HUGE doors fan. It is my opinion that Jim Morrison is perhaps the most overlooked Poet and Mystic of the late 20th century. But my personal philosophies aside, there is not disputing that the Doors, like a meteor blazing through the firmament, lit the eyes of an entire generation, and with equally astronomical enigma, winked out and returned to the dark cold depths of creation from whence they came.
The Doors (or more precisely, Morrison) broke new ground in Rock, and essentially defined the parameters of what it meant to be a pop-culture 20th century Shaman. Twisting the minds of millions with words and sounds, enacting roles on stag that were so far outside the cultural norms of the time that they were simply inscrutable, and all the time, doing this clown/fiend/healer act to the soundtrack of driving, sweaty, blues-inspired psychedelic rock, Morrison and the Doors shone bright in a galaxy of Rock Supernovas like Hendrix, Joplin, the Beatles, Rocky Erikson, and others. A spark in the sky, the Doors somehow managed to create a cultural memory that was individuated, potentiated, and epic...
So on to this recording. Rhino is known for their fantastic re-releases of older material, and this disc is no exception. Created in cooperation with the remaining Doors (Manzarek, Krieger, Densmore) and produced by Danny Sugerman, this double CD package has copious liner notes (mostly commentary on the Doors), fantastic production quality, and somehow, nearly 3 decades after the fact, manages to capture the essence of the Doors in their end-of-the century deconstructionist glory and translate it into a tasty bit of 21st century technology. This CD set is like a time capsule, complete with all the sweat, smells, and sights of it’s own era somehow magically encoded into it’s shiny silver surface.
When track 8 of disc 1 begins (The End), you can practically feel the blotter kicking in. The ambience on Track 11 (When the Music’s Over) is hauntingly open and club-like. With my eyes closed, I half expect to hear Morrison’s feet stumbling around the front of my room, and I can almost smell the sweet mixture of hippy sweat, patchouli, and burning grass (and I don’t mean of the lawnmower variety). Throughout this recording Densmore’s driving drums, Manzarek’s ethereal keyboard and Krieger’s howling but precise guitar all attempt to keep up with Morrison’s frenetic lyrics, and the resulting interplay creates a luscious tension that is rare in ANY era of rock-and-roll, and some would argue, is almost entirely extinct in today’s culture of overly-produced, pre-programmed, production-rock where the Labels Dictate All, and bands are manufactured to meet some perceived market trend du jour.
This is REAL rock, with all the blood, sweat, scars, drugs, genuine angst, and cultural discord that made the ‘60 what they were.
If you like the Doors, this CD is a MUST-HAVE. If you were born long after they broke and your hard-rock reference points start with “heavy metal” or “goth” or “emo”, I’d recommend buying this album--it will take you on a musical archeological journey into the foundations of “all that came after” the 1960’s. If you prefer Patricia Barber and that genre, I would recommend that you stay FAR away from this recording, or if you get it, you might want to make some advance appointments with a therapist, because it WILL do things to your head...
--Richard
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