THE DOORS

Review Nº 826

The Doors began with a meeting between Jim Morrison and Ray Manzarek on Venice Beach, in Los Angeles. At the time, Manzarek was in a band called Rick And The Ravens with his brothers Rick and Jim, while Robby Krieger and John Densmore were playing with The Psychedelic Rangers. During the year of 1965, Densmore joined together with members of the Ravens and bass player Patty Sullivan and recorded a six-song demo, in September 1965. The demo was very pirated and since then circulated widely as a bootleg recording and finally appeared in full later, in 1997, in a collection of The Doors. That month the group recruited Robby Krieger and the final line up of The Doors was formed.

The Doors had a relatively short life due to the dead of Jim Morrison. During those years the band released six studio albums, their eponymous debut and "Strange Days", both in 1967, "Waiting For the Sun" in 1968, "The Soft Parade" in 1969, "Morrison Hotel" in 1970 and "L.A. Woman" in 1971, and only a live album "Absolutely Live" in 1970. However, the band did many live sets all over those years. Later, many of those live acts would be released in several formats. So, from those days we have an amount of live releases of those live sets. This is the case of this live album, "In Concert".

"In Concert" is a live album that was released in 1991. But, "In Concert" isn't a live album released from a single live set from the band. In reality, "In Concert" is comprised of live recordings that can previously be found on three other live albums from the band, "Absolutely Live", "Alive, She Cried" and "Live At The Bowl '68", with the exception of the last track of "In Concert", "The End", that wasn't unavailable until now on CD in The Doors live releases and that was taken from the live concert that was made at the Hollywood Bowl. So, "In Concert" is a live album that was recorded between 1968 and 1970 in Los Angeles, New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Detroit and Copenhagen. Thus, the picture of the band's live work is still a bit disjointed because the uneven levels of inspiration achieved at various moments.

"In Concert" is a very extensive live album with 2 CD's with about 2 hours and 20 minutes long. It covers a significant part of their career. It has many of their most known tracks, such as, "Alabama Song (Whiskey Bar)", "Backdoor Man", "When The Music's Over", "Break On Through (To The Other Side)", "Soul Kitchen", "Roadhouse Blues", "Light My Fire", "The WASP (Texas Radio And The Big Beat)", "Love Me Two Times", "Moonlight Drive" and "The End". Besides that, it has many other live parts with some very improvising parts, mainly a rare track, "The Celebration Of The Lizard". The CD 1 is exclusively filled with "Absolutely Live". It's the most consistent part on the set, and it almost specifically bypasses the band's most popular songs. It opens with a non-music track "House Announcer" that is nothing more than the presentation of the band. Than we have "Who Do You Love" that can keeps the flavor of the original song with some psychedelic declinations and highly electric turns. The medley of four songs with "Alabama Song (Whiskey Bar)", "Back Door Man", "Love Hides" and "Five To One" is excellent. "Build Me A Woman" is a fairly standard blues. "When The Music's Over" follows the album's version pretty faithfully, but this an extended version. "Universal Mind" sounds much like most of "Morrison Hotel" material. "Petition The Lord With Prayer" and "Dead Cats, Dead Rats", are two short tracks with some vocal improvisations by Morrison. "Break On Through (To The Other Side)" is a great live version of the song. "The Celebration Of The Lizard" is a great piece originally planned for "Waiting For The Sun" that was never finished. "Soul Kitchen" is brilliantly chosen to end "Absolutely Live" and this CD. The CD 2 is less consistent. It opens with "Roadhouse Blues" one of their classic songs followed by "Gloria", a version of a Van Morrison's song. After that we have "Light My Fire", "You Make Me Real", "The WASP (Texas Radio And The Big Beat)" and "Love Me Two Times". "Light My Fire" is a landmark of the band, one of their most beloved. "You Make Me Real" is a nice song. "The WASP (Texas Radio And The Big Beat)" is a great song with recited lyrics. "Love Me Two Times" is a nice rock song with a blues' touch. All these tracks are good versions. "Little Red Rooster" is a version of a Willie Dixon's song. "Moonlight Drive", "Close To You" and "Unknown Soldier" represent also three nice live moments. The album and CD close with "The End". It's probably the most iconic piece of The Doors and the most progressive track ever made by the band too.

Conclusion: "In Concert" contains almost all of the material from the band's live releases, and can paints an accurate picture of the magic that these trailblazing iconoclasts were capable of making onstage. Free from the strictures of the recording studio, The Doors were able to stretch out both musically and conceptually, with some extended jams and Morrison's spontaneous poetics making once familiar songs into exciting new explorations. Once "In Concert" is a kind of a best off of three of their previous live albums, "Absolutely Live", "Alive, She Cried" and "Live At The Bowl '68", we can say this is a nice and cheap way to have that live stuff. It also can be a good introduction to the world of the band.

Prog is my Ferrari. Jem Godfrey (Frost*)

THE PERFECT WAY TO DISCOVER THE PROG POTENTIAL OF THE DOORS!

The music of The Doors is a captivating encounter between skilled, creative and adventurous musicians, with totally different musical backgrounds: drummer John Densmore was inspired by jazz (from Miles Davis to John Coltrane), guitar player Robby Krieger grew up with classical music, was taught flamenco and then influenced by Wes Montgomery, Albert King, and Larry Carlton, and Ray Manzarek was classically trained piano and played in a jazz band. Jim was the only member who did not play an instrument, but his unique voice and poetical lyrics gave The Doors an often expressive and emotional dimension. This resulted in a varied, dynamic and 'groovy' blend of many different styles, from raw Mississippi blues, straight-forward rock and catchy pop tunes to psychedelia, folk and jazz. This very comprehensive compilation is the best way to discover the 'prog potential' of The Doors.

An important role in the music of The Doors plays the voice of Jim Morrison, I am delighted about the varied way he colours the music: tender and warm in the wonderful romantic ballad The Crystal Ship, bluesy in the swampy Roadhouse Blues and Five To One, cheerful in Hello I Love You and Touch Me, and expressive in the compelling When The Music's Over (catchy organ riff and distorted guitarwork) and the splendid build-up The End (a psychedelic atmosphere with sensitive guitar and dynamic drums). Jim Morrison wanted to be a famous poet but he became a legendary singer, fueled by his complicated emotional world.

Ray Manzarek delivers awesome work on his range of keyboards, often the Vox Continental organ (like in the exciting Light My Fire) but also a harpsichord solo in Love Me Two Times, Honky Tonk piano in the funny Alabama Song, the distinctive Fender Rhodes electric piano play in Riders On The Storm and even a church organ sound in The End.

The underrated Robby Krieger is such a good and versatile guitarist, he succeeds to embellish every song with wonderful musical ideas on the guitar, from powerful rock and intense blues to slide guitar in Waiting For The Sun, flamenco guitar intro in the sultry Spanish Caravan, and a swinging guitar riff in Love Her Madly.

And finally John Densmore, with his often intense drumming, from soft touches on the hi-hats to heavy beats on his drum kits, very well timed and dynamic.

A BIG HAND FOR THE BACKDOOR MEN OF THE PROG!

Review Nº 734

"The Doors 30 Years Commemorative Edition" is a DVD of The Doors released in 1999. This DVD compiles three films which were also released as three individual videos before. The three films are "Live At The Hollywood Bowl" originally released in 1987, "Dance On Fire" originally released in 1985 and "The Soft Parade A Retrospective" originally released in 1991. The first was filmed live at the Hollywood Bowl in 1968 and is a short version of that live show. In 2012 the full version of this concert was released in CD, LP and DVD formats with the length of about seventy-one minutes long. The second is a collection of fourteen videos, including some rare footage from television performances. The third includes The Doors' last television appearance on PBS in 1969. It includes an interview with Jim, Ray, Robbie and John.

As I've already reviewed these three DVD's previously and individually on Progarchives, in a more extensive way, I'm not going to do it again. So, if you are interested to know, in more detail, what I wrote about them before, I invite you to read those my reviews. However, in here I'm going to write something about them in a more short way. So, of course, I'm not going to analyze them as extensively as I made before, but I'm only going to make a global appreciation of them.

"Live At The Hollywood Bowl": "Live At The Hollywood Bowl" is a great DVD. It was recorded on 5 July 1968 but it was only released for the first time in 1987. As I think, five versions of this live show were released. It was released two CD versions and two DVD versions. In 1987 it was released a CD version with only seven tracks and it became The Door's shortest official release, with only about twenty-two minutes long. The 1987/2000 DVD version has thirteen tracks and has about sixty-five minutes long. In 2012 the full version of this concert was released in CD, LP and DVD formats and it has the length of about seventy-one minutes long. This is a legendary live concert with some incredible great musical moments and where the entire band was absolutely great and where Ray Manzarek shows why he always was the secret key beyond the success of The Doors' sound. Despite some low quality of its images, it deserves to be checked.

"Dance On Fire": "Dance On Fire" is an excellent DVD of The Doors that covers all the group's musical discography when Jim Morrison was a band's member. It represents a very good and interesting musical document of one of the most important and charismatic rock bands that ever existed. This is undeniably one of the best collections from the group that contains some unique concert shots, immortal images of Morrison and his legendary band. There are some very interesting music videos. There's a lot of filler in this collection of song clips, which are interspersed with voice-overs of Morrison reading his poetry, and images of related subjects. So, "Dance On Fire" is a good collection of great The Doors musical material and images. The Doors ventured beyond the conventional realms of the musical expression with their surreal, psychedelic and unique style. This is a must have for anyone who is interested in this style of music.

"The Soft Parade A Retrospective": "The Soft Parade A Retrospective" is another excellent DVD of The Doors. It brings to us one of The Doors' calmer and more laid back performances where we can clearly see sadness and devastation in Jim Morrison. We sense that he is suffering intensely in the inside, and it's pretty obvious that on some level of his awareness he had realized that a good deal of his immense potential had gone down the drain as a result of alcoholism, drugs and fame, which somehow provoked a certain decadence. I'm sure that he knows that the 60's dream of liberation and freedom had completely failed, leaving him to live in a certain emptiness. Despite this is a short DVD, it represents a very important document of the end of the musical career of The Doors with Morrison. This is an essential document for all fans of this band, representing a nice look of thirty years after the legendary front man Jim Morrison's death.

Conclusion: It's hard to believe that have passed thirty years since the world lost a rock genius that left us hours of great music and the release of this DVD. Of course this isn't a perfect DVD. There's a lot of repetition on this DVD. The bonus tracks from the Isle of Wight offers only a few seconds from that legendary performance and instead, a lot of Hollywood Bowl footage is shown. The same holds for the Soft Parade documentary. However, I think that doesn't matter it duplicates some of the watched videos. By the other hand, despite the Hollywood Bowl live concert represents only an excerpt of all concert, I think it can captures the real essence of the band and I was even surprised that the 2.0 digital soundtrack held up to some seriously loud volume. So, this is an essential package for all fans of The Doors. If you don't know anything about them, get and enjoy it. This DVD proves why The Doors was one of the best live bands.

Prog is my Ferrari. Jem Godfrey (Frost*)

This review is the first one of the new year! Holy smokes, what a time to be alive! The last two years have been exceptional for music, and it certainly will continue that streak this year as there seem to be some really stellar records on the horizon. This acquisition of the future does certainly give me some nostalgia, specifically that of the past, looking back on some old records that I have possibly never heard before. This has its ups and downs, you may find some really great ups like 1984 by Anthony Philips, or some really dim-dumb downs like You Know FaUSt by Faust. Sometimes you may even find something in the middle, like L.A. Woman by The Doors.

The Doors need no introduction, as they are still possibly the most popular American psych rock band to ever come out of the mid-60s trippy?hippie renaissance. Their songs are instantly recognizable and classic, with even every song off their debut record having some cultural significance to the day to day lives of anyone. They, Jefferson Airplane, Jimi Hendrix, and The Mothers of Invention set a course to the trajectory of psych rock for years to come, even to just rock in general. However, personally, I am not quite a Doors fanatic, and certainly not one now as I write this. I have certainly liked a good bit of their songs, and their first two albums as a matter of fact, but after those two I never quite bothered to check more what they had to offer. I would be lying, though, if I said I wasn't quite interested in this record as I got it during an album swap.

This is certainly quite an intriguing album to be sure. Not fully away from their more savant psychedelia acts, but certainly enough that it's quite noticeable. It has quite a lot of strengths that make it still very enjoyable, with some very great keyboard works that give me some vibes of Deep Purple's own Jon Lord, or even Keith Emerson, which I think gives them quite an edge in the recordings. The production is very excellent too, quite atmospheric in certain places, which in a psych rock album I think gives it some benefits. Tracks like L'America and the highly popular Riders Of The Storm are excellent in that regards, with both containing some very great production cycles that feel very echoey and smooth.

However, all that praise is merely only for the second half, as I found the first half to be quite lackluster in these regards. The first half is a lot more bluesy, which I probably wouldn't mind as much if the blues they perform here didn't feel like they were just trying to copy groups like The Rolling Stones and just slap some keys on their music. In fact the more I listen to the first half of the record, the more I think of this as less Doors music, and more Doors parodying off of some tropes in popular rock music of the time. Tracks like The Changeling, Love Her Madly, and L.A. Woman are not so bad, they aren't the best, but they get the job done. Been Down So Long and Cars Hiss By My Window on the other hand just feel like spoofs on Muddy Waters and B.B. King numbers to me. Hell, you can even hear Jim Morrison forcing out a bluesy singing voice, and I can tell it's forced because after the first side he'll be singing without the whole blues affliction. This record is by definition bottom heavy, to the point where calling it a pear would be quite fitting.

On that note, the second half is actually super fantastic. The more weird, savant energy The Doors bring is where they shine I think. I mean, my favorite song of theirs is The End after all, and we all know that song is brilliant. Each track is different from the last, some going for a more American country type feel with Hyacinth House and Riders On The Storm, or more triply psychedelia with L'America and The WASP. This side also contains a blues number that is actually good and not some weird parody of what the blues is with The Crawling King Snake. Really, I don't know if it's due to some bad record deals or band dramas, but it's so strange how good the second side is with all these very fun songs that play into the band's strengths, with a first side that is arguably poor man versions of Muddy Waters singles. Either way, though, the album is certainly worth it for the second half alone.

This record certainly got me interested in what more this group may have to offer, but I would be remiss to say that the interest merely stems from the material on the second side. I want more trippy Doors songs that are different from each other, not bluesy songs that don't excite me, much less wow me. Give me more stormy riders, less women from Los Angeles.

Best tracks: L'America, Crawling King Snake, Riders On The Storm

Weak tracks: Been Down So Long, Cars Hiss By My Window

Review Nº 694

"The Soft Parade A Retrospective" is a DVD of The Doors released in 1991. It was also released and is still available now in the DVD format on "The Doors ? 30 Years Commemorative Edition" and on the Blue-ray disc format, which was released in 1999. That commemorative edition was released with two other live DVD's from the group, "Dance On Fire" that was originally released in 1985 and a short version of "Live At The Hollywood Bowl" originally released in 1987.

Directed by The Doors keyboardist Ray Manzarek, "The Soft Parade A Retrospective" features a mix of performance, rehearsal and beyond the scenes footage, as well as some historic interviews with The Doors band's members, Jim Morrison, Robby Krieger, John Densmore and Ray Manzarek himself. Despite being also an excellent DVD, this is probably the least interesting DVD of the all three, because probably there wasn't much more good footage left to be presented. The greatest weaknesses of "The Soft Parade A Retrospective" is probably because that Ray was forced to rely on footage of The Doors late parts of their musical career, when the bearded bloated Jim Morrison looked very little with the elegant rock'n'roll star in his leather pants who seduced all the audiences, especially the female auditions.

"The Soft Parade A Retrospective" has only seven tracks. The first track "The Changeling" was originally released on "L.A. Woman" in 1971. This version is a short film by The Doors in 1991, (The Doors Archives 67-68). The second track "Wishful Sinful" was originally released on "The Soft Parade" in 1969. This version is from the PBS TV Show Critique on 28 April 1969, (PBS and Private Archives). The third track "Wild Child" was originally released on "The Soft Parade". This version is from a recording studio session in 1968, (newly discovered Cinema Verité of the recording session). The fourth track "Build Me A Woman" was never released on any of the studio album of The Doors. It was originally released on "Absolutely Live" in 1970. This version is from the PBS TV Show Critique on 28 April 1969, (PBS and Private Archives). The fifth track "The Unknown Soldier" was originally released on "Waiting For The Sun" in 1968. This version is an Elektra promo clip released in March 1968, 5 July 1968 and 6 and 8 September 1968, (A dazzling new edit all existing performances). The sixth track "The Soft Parade" was originally released on "The Soft Parade". This version is from the PBS TV Show Critique on 28 April 1969, (PBS and Private Archives). The seventh track "Hello I Love You" was originally released on "Waiting For The Sun". This version is taken from a Frankfurt TV Show released in 13 September 1968, (The Doors Archives, Europe). This is the track that plays over the DVD closing credits.

This historic music video features The Doors as a mature band showing both their passionate rock'n'roll and their dark, and often less known work. It shows their true talent in the studio for coming up with the songs on the spot as well as lives. Additional material is drawn from The Doors' private archives. This video is a well assembled finale. It's an entertaining and rich ensemble of The Doors footage showing the wild side of Jim Morrison and how epic and crazy a The Doors concert footage can seems. As for the television appearance that is the highlight. This is very informative and interesting. It's interesting to see Jim Morrison giving his thoughts on music and poetry. Morrison is especially captivating while singing. "The Soft Parade A Retrospective" is a great tape for The Doors fans and rock enthusiasts.

"The Soft Parade A Retrospective" has also two bonus tracks. The first "Break On Through (To The Other Side)" was originally released on "The Doors". This version is from the live performance of The Doors at the Isle of Wight Festival in 1970. The second bonus track "The Ghost Song" was originally released on "An American Prayer". This version is made with images taken from a studio performance of this song after the dead of Jim Morrison as homage to him.

Conclusion: "The Soft Parade A Retrospective" is another excellent DVD of The Doors. It brings to us one of The Doors calmer and more laid back performances where we can clearly see sadness and devastation in Jim Morrison. We sense that he is suffering intensely in inside, and it's pretty obvious that on some level of his awareness he had realized that a good deal of his immense potential had gone down the drain as a result of alcoholism, drugs and fame, which somehow provoked a certain decadence. Probably he clearly knows that the 60's dream of liberation and freedom had completely failed, leaving him to live in a certain emptiness. Concluding, despite "The Soft Parade A Retrospective" be a very short DVD it represents a very important document of the last career of The Doors with Jim Morrison. This is an essential document for all fans of them, a nice look of thirty years after the legendary front man Jim Morrison's death.

Prog is my Ferrari. Jem Godfrey (Frost*)

Review Nº 690

"Live At The Hollywood Bowl" is a DVD of The Doors and that was released in 1987. It was recorded on 5 July 1968 but was only released for the first time in 1987. From what I know, five versions of this live show were released. There are two CD versions and two DVD versions. In 1987 it was released a CD version with only seven tracks and it became The Doors shortest official release, with only about twenty-two minutes long. The 1987/2000 DVD version has thirteen tracks and has about sixty-five minutes long. This version of the video of the concert is still available, now in the DVD format on "The Doors ? 30 Years Commemorative Edition" and on the Blue-ray disc format, which was released in 1999. That commemorative edition was released with two new live DVD's from the group, "Dance On Fire" that was originally released in 1985 and "The Soft Parade A Retrospective" that was originally released in 1991. In 2012 the full version of this live concert was released in CD, LP and DVD formats and it has the length of about seventy-one minutes long.

The version I'm going to review is the DVD version released in 1987. So and as I wrote before, this DVD version of "Live At The Hollywood Bowl" has thirteen tracks. The first track "When The Music's Over" was released on "Strange Days". The second track "Alabama Song (Whisky Bar)" was released on "The Doors". Originally this wasn't a song composed by The Doors but a Bertolt Brech and Kurt Weill song. The third track "Back Door Man" was released on "The Doors". Originally this wasn't also a song composed by The Doors but a Willie Dixon's song. The fourth track "Five To One" was released on "Waiting For The Sun". The fifth track "Moonlight Drive" was released on "Strange Days". The sixth track "Horse Latitudes" was released on "Strange Days". The seventh track "A Little Game" and the eighth track "The Hill Dwellers" are two small extracts taken from their piece "The Celebration Of The Lizard". "The Celebration Of The Lizard" is an epic piece written by Jim Morrison and composed as a series of poems, which includes several sections, spoken verses and passages of allegorical storytelling. The entire piece was intended to be released as one full side of one of the band's studio albums. Despite the group attempt to record the full piece for several times, they abandoned the idea because they were always dissatisfied with the final result. A complete performance of "The Celebration Of The Lizard" can be heard on their live album "Absolutely Alive". The first entirely recorded studio version was released on their compilation "Legacy: The Absolute Best". The ninth track "Spanish Caravan" was released on "Waiting For The Sun". The tenth track "Wake Up" is a small extract taken from "The Celebration Of The Lizard". The eleventh track "Light My Fire" was released on "The Doors". This is an edited extended version. The twelfth track "The Unknown Soldier" was released on "Waiting For The Sun". The thirteenth track "The End" was released on "The Doors".

The band is in a great musical shape despite Jim remains very staid, rarely moving and dancing around in his famous Indians' dance. Even today the music still remains powerful and intense. If you fancy a look at when bands were real bands then this DVD is certainly for you. This DVD delivers a pleasant concert experience. The audio is well handled and clean. Basically this is a fine live recording with no nasty clicks or hisses. The sound is really perfect. The music sounds as full of life as, presumably, it did back then. The entire concert was recorded using several cameras and is one of only two professionally recorded live performances of the band in colour. The picture on this DVD is a bit dark, due to the conditions it was filmed and it's a bit blurry and grainy. This is due that this is a 32 year old live recording and obviously you have all the technical problems of actually filming in such a dark place and the restrictions on what you can film. However, it's fairly free from dust and scratches but it shows its age especially in the grain department.

Conclusion: "Live At The Hollywood Bowl" is a great DVD. Despite this live version being an incomplete version of the entire concert, it documents a great live performance from The Doors. I expect very soon put my hands on the full concert brought to us on the DVD "Live At The Bowl' 68". Returning to this DVD, it has some incredible great musical moments. To me, the highlights of this DVD are "When The Music's Over", "Light My Fire" and of course "The End". It's strange to hear "When The Music's Over" as the opener and not the grand finale of the show. However, when they have "The End" to perform live, it seems to be normal and logical to finish the live show with "The End". Finally, the live performance of "Light My Fire" became absolutely unforgettable. The entire band is great and Ray Manzarek shows why he always was the successes' key of The Doors' sound. Despite some low quality image, it deserves to be bought.

Prog is my Ferrari. Jem Godfrey (Frost*)

Review Nº 660

"Dance On Fire" is a DVD of The Doors that was released in 1985. It was also released in the DVD format on "The Doors ? 30 Years Commemorative Edition" and on the Blue-ray disc format, which was released in 1999. That commemorative edition was also released with two other live DVD's from the group, a short version of "Live At The Hollywood Bowl" that was originally released in 1987 and "The Soft Parade A Retrospective" that was originally released in 1991.

"Dance On Fire" has sixteen tracks. The first track "Break On Through (To The Other Side)" was originally released on their eponymous debut studio album "The Doors", from 1967. The version on this DVD was taken from the original Elektra Promo Clip in November 1966. The second track "People Are Strange" was originally released on their second studio album "Strange Days", also from 1967. The version on this DVD was also taken from the original Elektra Promo Clip in September 1967. The third track "Light My Fire" was originally released on "The Doors". The version on this DVD was taken from the ED Sullivan Show on 17 September 1967. The fourth track "Wild Child" was originally released on their fourth studio album "The Soft Parade", from 1969. The version on this DVD was taken from a recording studio session at Elektra in October 1968. The fifth track "L.A. Woman" was originally released on their sixth studio album "L.A. Woman", from 1971. The version on this DVD is a new short film made by Ray Manzareck, in 1985. The sixth track "The Unknown Soldier" was originally released on their third studio album "Waiting For The Sun", from 1968. The version on this DVD was also taken from another original Elektra Promo Clip in March 1968. It was banned since 1968. The seventh track "Roadhouse Blues" was originally released on their fifth studio album "Morrison Hotel", from 1970. The version on this DVD has excerpts from "Feast Of Friends", the unreleased concert documentary originally filmed during the American tour made in 1968. The eighth track "The Wasp (Texas Radio And The Big Beat)" was originally released on "L.A. Woman". The version on this DVD was taken from a film made for the Danish Television on 18 September 1968. The ninth track "Love Me Two Times" was originally released on "Strange Days". The version on this DVD was taken from the same performance as the previous one. The tenth track "Touch Me" was originally released on "The Soft Parade". The version on this DVD was taken from a film made on "The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour" on 6 December 1968. The eleventh track "Horse Latitudes" and the twelfth track "Moonlight Drive" were originally released on "Strange Days". The versions on this DVD were taken from a film of a live show made on "Jonathan Winters Show" on 4 December 1967. The thirteenth track "The End" was originally released on "The Doors". The version on this DVD is an excerpt of the performance made on the live concert filmed at The Hollywood Bowl on 5 July 1968. The fourteenth track "Crystal Ship" was also originally released on "The Doors". The version on this DVD was taken from a show made on the American Bandstand on 7 July 1967. The fifteenth track "Adagio" was originally a piece composed by Tommasso Albinoni. The Doors arranged the original piece and made their own version. This new version was recorded during "Waiting For The Sun" and played while home movies by The Doors are shown. The sixteenth track "Riders On The Storm" was originally released on "L.A. Woman". This is the track that plays over on the DVD closing credits.

On this DVD, The Doors are captured during their glorious heyday. "Dance On Fire" is a collection of live performances, promotional clips and rare behind-the-scenes film footage. No one could say The Doors were boring. Morrison himself was a complete mystery that became one of the most charismatic artists ever, especially due to his brief life. "Dance On Fire" contains fourteen songs drawn from television and concert appearances including "Light My Fire", "Touch Me", "Crystal Ship", "People Are Strange", "Break On Through" and "Riders On The Storm". It also has a riotous version of "Roadhouse Blues" from The Doors' 1968 summer concert tour of America and an original non-performance segment of "LA Woman" directed by Ray Manzarek. "Dance On Fire" has received widespread critical acclaim of fans and critics.

Conclusion: "Dance On Fire" is an excellent DVD of The Doors that covers all the group's musical discography when Jim Morrison was a band's member. It represents a very good and interesting musical document of one of the most important and charismatic rock bands that ever existed. This is undeniably one of the best collections from the group that contains some unique concert shots, immortal images of Morrison and his legendary band. There are also some very interesting music videos. Concluding, "Dance On Fire" is a good collection of great The Doors musical material and images. This is a must have for anyone who is interested in this style of music, especially for their hardest fans.

Prog is my Ferrari. Jem Godfrey (Frost*)

This is definitely the least revered Morrison-era Doors album. I would say I could see the reason for that, but I don't, so I don't see the reason for that. Throughout the entire thing, they're trying a generally more poppy sound. It's the first Doors album to have bass on all tracks, there's a lot of horns and such, and... well, the thing of it is, it that, uhh... there's the lemon stuff. And then you got Mac who's a rat, and Dee's body brace, and uh... and that's the thing of it, and... it's good.

Tell All The People triumphantly starts off the album with a tune not unlike what closed their previous album, Five To One. This one is again, a rallying cry. What separates this one from Five To One though is that it's directed at everyone for a better future, "You tell them they don't have to run, we're gonna pick up everyone." Five To One was directed at the youth for taking back the world the past generation destroyed "The old get old and the young get stronger. May take a week and it may take longer. They got the guns but we got the numbers. Gonna win, yeah we're takin' over." The distinction between these two songs that gives Tell All The People its power and triumphantly is the horns featured here. It sounds like they're introducing the (lizard) king, someone we can trust to put everything in its place, someone who can bury all our troubles in the sand, someone who can lead us "across the sea where milky babies seem to be." This song highlights the idea of who Jim Morrison was, someone who will expose and break the bonds of society. That might be stretching it, but you get my point, this song shows a perfect example of who he represented.

Touch Me uses the freer and poppier atmosphere of the album to zoom in and exaggerate the romantic aspect of the lyrics. The strings also do an amazing job of adding to the overall mood here. I wouldn't call it their best love song, I feel like the lyrics aren't as tight as Hello, I Love You or Wintertime Love, but it's an incredible song with all the other parts working amazingly together. And to be fair I like cute silly love songs more than this classic idea of romanticism. But that's just me, if I were the other way around this would probably be up there for one of my favorite love songs.

Shaman's Blues is a mellow, sort of damp tune. I think is about a dude down on his luck, sorta insane, man talking to someone who's either rich or in a high place politically. He's telling them that they could be doing a lot more about helping people like him. Lines like "There will never be another one who can do the things you do" tell us he's pressuring them to get something done. A lot of lines like "Did you stop it to consider how it will feel? Cold, grinding grizzly bear jaws hot on your heels." tell us either he's telling them that they haven't thought about what it's like actually living in these conditions, or that they should think about what hell is like before they go there for not helping more. There are a whole bunch more lines I could quote and how they relate to what I think the song is about, but I ain't an expert in poetry, so it's kind of redundant. Tell me if you think it's something else, I would want to hear other interpretations of the song, 'cause it's a very interesting piece. Or maybe you just want to tell me what a [%*!#]ing idiot you think I am for interpreting it this way, that's valid as well.

Do It marks where the album goes into the more poppy regions. It's another piece about the generation divide, telling older people to listen to younger people "the child" 'cause it's their world your rising them in. It's a bop, not too complicated, at least I think not. Maybe it's another case of me being a bumbling idiot, tell me about it.

Easy Ride is another one I don't get, it's very comforting, I like the sound of it a lot. The lyrics go over my head. Maybe Jim's just a confident driver and wants to tell us about it, which is cool I guess, good on him, being a good driver is a good skill to have.

Wild Child is (I think) a song about Jim's ideal vision for the future. That everybody is as upfront and forward-looking as this wild child. One thing that gets me about this one is that I DON'T remember when we were in Africa, and that's sorta taking me out of this. He doesn't at least talk about what the trip was like to jog my memory, kinda inconsiderate, but he's also like sorta dead, so there's no point in complaining now.

Runnin' Blue is an extremely fun song. Robby's Dylan impression is awesome, and it's super refreshing hearing him sing. This whole song is hard on the fun pop sound and it turns out great. The fiddle at the end is also pretty cool 'cause it (in one way or another) gets you in the mood for the next track, which has this sort of deeper sound the fiddle portrays. I wish they explored this whole sound more, as good as this song is I feel as if there's a lot of untapped potentials here.

Wishful Sinful is a perfect midway in-between the poppy sound of the last couple of tracks with the rougher and psychedelic sound of the title track. It follows in the lyrical footstep of Touch Me, with these loving, sexual lyrics. This again isn't my thing, but the strings and overall musicianship of the track make it a nice experience regardless. What it does best of all is buffer the first three-quarters of the album with the final track, "The Soft Parade", which is another one of The Doors' long closing tracks, and it very much needed a buffer considering the sound of this album.

The Soft Parade is the closing track and center of the album, it's what a lot of people listen to this album for. And for good reason, it's great. Following suit with their other epics the lyrics are really difficult at first. But if you try hard and never give up you'll get there, I believe in you champ. I think the track is about all of what you do to distance yourself from death. Doesn't matter if you do it via religion, candy, or being nice to your neighbor(?). This is helped by the sonic back-and-forth that this track does. The beginning is the most honest, calling out any bull[&*!#] that tries to convince you there's warmth in life separate from the cold and harshness of death. It's saying that you can't make whatever higher power there is to give you enteral life or a sufficient afterlife. The Next part has a bit of a less honest sound, but is still very honest in content, asking for warmth to hide from the ever marching presents of death. The next part is that warmth, candy, being nice to your neighbor, community, and such. The next part is joining the "Soft Parade". I think being part of the Soft Parade represents a manic acceptance of death, you're expecting it and waiting, but you have to force yourself to think that it's going to be okay. The sound of this section is not very honest at all, it's lying to yourself but the very essence of what life is, and the sound captures that perfectly. As for the horse and the whipping of its eyes, I couldn't tell you. The dude who annotated this line on Genius recommends a book to fully help understand this line. But I can only (for the most part) understand poetry when it's sung to me, I can't imagine reading an entire book of it. I bet the line is important, if someone wants to tell me their thoughts on it please do. Or if you want to call me an idiot for not understanding it you can do that too, I'll take all sorts of criticism.

Great album. I wish this one wasn't as poorly received as it was, because they sorta gave up on the pop and orchestral sound after this. It would've been super cool to see a version of Morrison Hotel with horns and strings. And why was Who Scared You not on this record? That's an incredible song. But I guess it is what it is. And again, if you want to call me a [&*!#]bag for not interpreting a song the way you would've wanted me to, you know where to get in contact with me, at [email protected]

The last Jim album and very bluesy. I've always seen their debut as their best and several others (including this one) as joint second. Oddly, I never warmed to Strange Days as an album though "When the Music's Over" is my fave Doors song.

This one starts with "The Changeling", a decent opener and moves on to "Love Her Madly" a natural single if ever they made one. The most buoyant song on this collection.

The next 2 songs are maybe the bluesiest on the album and are not outstanding before side 1 ends with the eipc "LA Woman", an enjoyable closer.

Side 2 opens with "L'America", one of the band's oddest efforts (along with "My Wild Love" from their 3rd album?). It grows on you.

Now comes my second favourite track. "Hyacinth House" features a deep vocal by the great Jim and superb organ by Manzarek. A gem.

"Crawling King Snake" and "The Wasp" lead us to the brilliant "Riders on the Storm" to finish off the album in style. My only comment on this song is Morrison's odd imagery like "Squirming Like a Toad". Do toads squirm Jim? The lyrics otherwise flow nicely.

A pretty good album - most tracks are worthwhile though only 2-3 stand out to my ears. Nevertheless, a good sign-off for the finest male singer in rock and a deserved 4 stars.

No-frills, compact presentation of the six Doors studio albums that had Jim Morrison on lead vocals - which for many will be the only Doors albums they particularly need. Indeed, for some it will be too many - not everyone gets on with The Soft Parade - but I'm much happier to have it as part of this sleek package, since at least it isn't taking up too much room. As an instant, cost-effective way to get the true Doors classics (the debut, Strange Days, and L.A. Woman) and their second-tier albums all in one fell swoop, this package is really hard to beat, even if three of the albums here stand head and shoulders above the rest.