THE DOORS

A true psychedelia album, from the first seconds until the ending epic. This is one of my favorite albums, and it has quite a special place in my mind because it was the first Doors album I purhcased and turned me to their other works. OK, now onto the album review itself.

"Break On Through (To The Other Side)" is the classic Doors song. Everybody knows it, and everybody loves it! Starts off with some nice percussion, until Robbie and Ray come in with that classic Doors sound and Jim takes center stage from there, with his commanding vocals. "Soul Kitchen" is another one of those songs where it just gets stuck in your head and you have to listen over and over again. Nice catchy opening on the keys, and Jim comes in with more of a softer sound, until the chorus comes in when the music stays mellow, but Jim turns it up with the mic. "The Crystal Ship" is a nice slow, methodical song with excellent vocal work (again!). It can get a little repetetive, but in the middle of the song John does nice, soft percussion work which keeps everybody listening. "Twentieth Century Fox" is one of the weaker songs on this album, but it is still kept alive by Ray's work on keys, and Robbie does have a nice little solo here and there. "Alabama Song (Whiskey Bar)" and "Back Door Man" are pretty much extensions of each other, as they are performed in the same vein where as other songs on this album usually differ greatly in styles. They are both rather bluesy, gritty rockers that are a nice touch to psychedelic aspect of this album. However, these two songs are split down the middle by the ultimate Doors radio wave hit, "Light My Fire". Probably the most played song by any band, let alone The Doors, this is a very catchy, keyboard driven song that demands a listen from any die-hard or just casual fan. "I Looked At You", "End Of The Night" and "Take It As It Comes" are three short tracks that are most likely thrown in there to set you up for the ending. While "I Looked At You" and "End Of The Night" don't have much to offer for sober fans, "Take It As It Comes" is a nice short blues piece that feature some of Jim's finest vocals. And finally, we are here! The End, the Doors' most masterful piece ever, not to mention one of the best-received epics of all-time. It starts off slow, with the usual percussion and keys, and Jim's vocals build the song up to a peak at around 3:45 when everything comes together for about 30 seconds and everybody turns it up until Jim's soothing vocals bring the tempo back down with some more verses.

All in all, you really can't experience this album with words, it is just such a complicated and mysterious work that you need to hear it for yourself. I highly recommend this album, and I declare it to be a masterpiece, therefore it gets 5 stars from me!