WAITING FOR THE SUN

Very, VERY, surprised to see The Doors here at the archives (always considered their music as a 'progressive' form) - seems like it's a matter of time before Grateful Dead records appear on P.A. (well, they had their 'proggy' moments too).

After many years of being into The Doors, almost 20 - and it was all 'West Coast Rock' for me, before I got into 'Prog' - I am confident that this album, 'Waiting For The Sun', is their most diverse, if not (given the release year), their most 'progressive' album within their career - this is, of course, my perception. The quality of musicianship is undeniable, especially the talents of keyboardist Ray Manzarek, with cutting edge guitar techniques from Robbie Krieger and jazzy drumming from John Densmore. Together, with the unique 'lyrical' textures of Jim Morrison (somewhat emotionally similar to Peter Hammill, both in inspiration, and execution,) create an amazing spread of tunes, ranging from psychedelic pop (Hello, I Love You, Love Street, We Could Be So Good Together, Wintertime Love - all of which incorporate irregular key changes and progressions, and varying rhythms), aggressive and wild moods (The Unknown Soldier, Five To One) mysterious and reflective (Yes, The River Knows and Not To Touch The Earth) a bluesy tune (Summer's Almost Gone) an 'acidic' flamenco concoction (Spanish Caravan) and even an 'a-capella' (human voices only) arrangement with 'My Wild Love' - and armed with a selection of various Organs, Piano's and maybe even the odd synthesiser, as well as treated guitar sounds, the band have presented the World with a revolutionary listening experience, albeit slightly 'dark' sounding, with a suggestion of the twists and turns that simplistic musical styles can take. A definite high-point of formative, progressive music - 5/5 for this LP.