MORRISON HOTEL

Anyone who has ever read any of the various biographies about this band and/or their lead singer knows that by the time the group recorded "Morrison Hotel" the once- charismatic and supremely talented frontman of The Doors was a physical, emotional and mental wreck. It's not a stretch to say that the former sultry, sexy poster boy had been reduced to being the equivalent of a pathetic street rummy lying in the filthy gutter outside the studio. Hard to fathom but, by all credible accounts, it's absolutely true. I do believe the band members were doing their level best to compensate for Jim's unbearable habits but, by all accounts, were now just babysitters for him. Hardly a day passed when Morrison was not drunk or stoned out of his gourd and it shows through on every cut of this recording. "The future's uncertain and the end is always near" he slurs as if to justify his eat, drink and make merry because tomorrow we die attitude. By now his destructive habits had become more important to him than his art and he now and forever stands as a prime example of the stark reality and ultimate tragedy of addiction. The musical performances are decent enough throughout the album but without Jim's arrestingly poetic lyrics and rich baritone the fantastic meld of words and music they had stunned the world with from the beginning this collection of songs is a disaster. There is only one moment when the truth of their dire situation rings out and that's on "Waiting for the Sun" when Morrison tells us that he's waiting for us to come along with him and "waiting for you to tell me what went wrong" (as if he'd even listen to the truth at that point). To me this is the absolute rock bottom for the group and every time I hear "Roadhouse Blues" start up on the oldies station I feel a pang of sadness run through my heart.