OTHER VOICES

Their history says that after recording the "L.A. Woman" album and during the final mixing sessions for that album, Jim Morrison went to Paris with his girlfriend to live there for some months. Morrison was tired of several problems of being a "Rock Star" and of his legal problems too, so he needed a rest. "L.A. Woman" was the last album that The Doors had in contract for Elektra, so Morrison felt free to live in Paris for some months. Interviews with Manzarek, Krieger and Densmore said that after Morrison left the U.S. they occasionally rehearsed together as a trio. They kept doing it waiting for Morrison to come back.They also had offers by other lables to sign with them. But then in July 1971, after Morrison`s death was confirmed, Elektra approached the Trio to sign a new recording contract, and they signed again with the label.

They started writing new songs, also using some songs which they composed during their rehearsals, and they also used some songs which were not used for the "L.A. Woman" album because Morrison didn`t like them. So, this album was finally released in late October 1971.

Song by song:

"In the Eye of the Sun": a slow song, not very good for my taste, with Manzarek on lead vocals. He shows he is a good singer, the best in the band after Morrison.

"Variety is the Spice of Life": a better song sung by Krieger, with funny lyrics and good piano by Manzarek.

"Ships w/ Sails": a good long piece of music mainly sung by Manzarek, with a lot of influences from Jazz-Rock and Santana`s Latin Music. It has an acoustic bass solo played by Willie Ruff and Latin percussion played by Francisco Aguabella. The final instrumental part of the song is very good. Densmore shows his Jazz music skills on the drums.It was released as a single in the UK in 1972.

"Tightrope Ride": one of the best songs of this album and it was released as a single in the U.S. It has two drums tracks recorded by Densmore (one playing the basic rhythm and the other playing "lead drums"). It is one of the most "rockers" in this album. Lead vocals by Manzarek. This was the only song selected from this era to be included in their 1997 Anthology CD.

"Down on the Farm": it seems that this was one of the songs they originally planned to include in the "L.A. Woman" but it was rejected by Morrison, because he didn`t like it. It is also one of the best songs in this album, with lead vocals by Manzarek and Krieger. It includes some percussion instruments and also a marimba, played by Emil Richards .

"I`m Horny, I`m Stoned": another funny song with funny lyrics, sung by Krieger.

"Wandering Musician": the best song of this album, in music and lyrics, which it seems that it was composed as a tribute to Morrison. Manzarek shines in his keyboard arrangements, and Krieger also plays some acoustic guitar solos, while Densmore plays good drums.

"Hang on to Your Life": lead vocals by Manzarek. it starts with an electric piano. Very influenced by Jazz-Rock arrangements. The final part of this song is also very good.

I think that it is unfair to say that a good band without one of their main members is not a good band anymore. Every member of The Doors was a very good musician and as a team they worked very well. Without Morrison, the band was still very good, but they lost Morrison`s good lyrics and voice. Manzarek is a good singer, but Krieger is not as good. But the album as a whole is very good, in not the same style as it was in their previous albums, but still it i good. They even had doubts to call themselves "The Doors", but at least they tried to survive without Morrison.

Like "Full Circle", this album has been out of print in the U.S. since the mid seventies. It is also not included in their official discography in their official website. Only Krieger`s website mentions it. There were some plans to release it (with "Full Circle" too) on CD, but it has not been officially released yet. The CDs of these albums which are in circulation in Europe (one from Russia,and another from Germany) are not official releases.

"Full Circle" and this album were available as German imports in the early eighties. That was the reason I bought them in 1982, for the second time. The first time was when they were released in 1971 and in 1972 (one made in Mexico and the other was the first U.S. release of "Full Circle"). The German copies are very good in sound and cover quality.

In www.youtube.com there are some videos of The Doors playing live for the "Beat Club" T.V. programme in Germany, in 3- May-1972. They played "In the Eye of the Sun", "Ships w/ Sails", "Tightrope Ride" and "I`m Horny , I`m Stoned" from this album, plus "Verdilac" (titled "Vertilac" in that website) from the "Full Circle" album, and "Love Me Two Times", with Jack Conrad (bass) and Bobby Ray (guitar, percussion, vocals). These videos show that the band was very good playing the music, but the vocals are not very good, IMO. Manzarek sings well most of the time, but Krieger`s vocals are not very well. Maybe the problems with the vocals were the main problems after Morrison died, so they decided to split the band.