WAITING FOR THE SUN

THE DOORS had only formed in 1965 and barely been together as a band for two years before scoring with the chart topping single "Light My Fire" and in the process becoming one of the psychedelic 60s' most successful bands. America's fab four which consisted of the ever controversial lead singer and poet extraordinaire Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, guitarist Robby Krieger and drummer John Densmore had an amazingly successful two year run with the first two albums "The Doors" and "Strange Days" utilizing material that Morrison had brought to the table and then transmogrifying it into a wild psychedelic infusion. Much of the unique sound of THE DOORS was due to the fact that the members had backgrounds playing with the disparate genres of jazz, rock, blues and folk. Pretty much relying on Morrison's contributions in the beginning, the band had pretty much used most of its best material up by the time it was time to record a third album so it was time to return to the process of songwriting instead of incessant live performances.

Due to Morrison's wild antics, on stage and off, his alcoholism and bad boy behavior had become quite a headache for the rest of the band as it was escalating exponentially as the band rose to international superstardom. While the first two albums sort of just spontaneously gelled cohesively almost by magic, WAITING FOR THE SUN was a much more demanding endeavor. Not only were the band members worn out from the maelstrom of live gigs and the pressures of instant fame but Morrison's erratic behavior made recording and the creative process almost impossible. Given that Morrison was becoming less reliable, most of the cosmic mind expanding poetic lyricism that graced the first two albums was becoming less and less prevalent and as the band became more famous, Elektra Records was taking more and more control and steering the band into more commercial arenas and thus WAITING FOR THE SUN took on a much more mainstream sound compared to its predecessors.

While more commercial in nature, THE DOORS still managed to craft a very good album for their third release with strong melodic hooks backed up by the unique instrumental sounds that accompanied Morrison's unique idiosyncrancies. The band scored yet another #1 hit with "Hello, I Love You," perhaps one of the most commercial hits the band ever recorded as well as a second top 40 hit with "The Unknown Soldier." Similar sounding tracks that easily could have been hits with "Love Street," "Summer's Almost Gone," "Wintertime Love," "We Could Be So Good Together" and "Yes, The River Knows" work in tandem to give the album a rather uniform feel and the overall more accessible vibe but the album still has a few psychedelic gems that were leftovers from the previous album sessions. "Five To One" which pointed to the earlier "The End" prognosticated that the band hadn't totally abandoned its psychedelic roots that offered poetic license into cosmic quandaries.

The most unique recording "Spanish Caravan" stands out for its bold flamenco guitar intro which demonstrated Krieger's more virtuosic moments. The track was based on Isaac Albéniz' famous classical piece "Asturias (Leyenda)" and in the process provided a glimpse into the flamenco influences of the band in general. While "Unknown Soldier" was a minor hit and the first single released, it actually is one of the least commercial sounding tracks on the album. While displaying a more cinematic approach to songwriting, the song takes on a traditional DOORS keyboard dominated vibe before breaking into a military drum march in the middle and then some rifle shots. It was a very dramatic tune to play live during the war torn years of the Vietnam War era and a favorite amongst fans. The song finds resolution with the classic DOORS sound but the guitar riffs are more prominent than the keyboards which makes this rather unique track within THE DOORS' entire canon.

Perhaps WAITING FOR THE SUN is equally as famous for what didn't appear on it as what did. The second side was originally intended to contain a side long psychedelic composition titled "Celebration Of The Lizard" which found the band eschewing the pop band characteristics and joining the ranks of Pink Floyd and other truly seekers of cosmic weirdness. The track was featured on the 1970 live album "Absolutely Live" and was popular in concert as well as having been attached as a bonus track on newer remastered versions of the album. The 17:09 studio version features lyrics by Morrison where he recites poetry, sings and screams accompanied by accompanying instrumental sounds that give life to the lyrics much like some of Frank Zappa's longest rock opera moments offered. The track consisted of different sections: "Lions in the Street," "Wake Up," "A Little Game," "The Hill Dwellers," "Not to Touch the Earth," "Names of the Kingdom" and "The Palace of Exile." While the entirety of the project was scrapped due to various problems, the section "Not To Touch The Earth" was reworked and included as a single track and one of the best on the album.

On WAITING FOR THE SUN it's quite clear that the band was beginning to lose a bit of the magic that made the first two albums so utterly transcendental. The quality of the compositions is slightly less compelling, the lyrical content is subpar and the emphasis on the material overall reeks of record company interference but given the fact that Morrison was spiraling out of control at a breakneck speed, it's no wonder that someone had to step in and babysit. In the end it's utterly amazing how good WAITING FOR THE SUN actually is despite a notch below the band's first two album and even more amazing that they cranked out three more before Morrison's untimely demise. In the end, this third album is quite essential even if it shows a more obsequious version of THE DOORS under the command of the commercial forces that had placed them in high places. Sold out they may have done but the other choice was to disband at their prime and after all is said and done i can totally live with the remaining DOORS albums that followed the perfected beauty of the first two. By all means, if you purchase this find a remastered version with "Celebration Of The Lizard" which totally adds an air of mystique to the era from which this album was recorded.