The Doors:
Jim Morriosn: Vocals
Robby Krieger: Guitar
Ray Manzarek: Keyboards
John Densmore: Drums
Many debut albums are weak in points and can tend to be inconsistent, or the instrumentation isn’t as solid, or the lyrics might be a little undeveloped. The Doors’ debut does not fall into this category. It is very consistent, has little weaknesses, the instrumentation is very tight, and the lyrics are extremely well written and poetic.
The vocals on here are pretty nice. Jim was a pretty talented vocalist. I really enjoy his quiet vocals on the more poetic songs like Crystal Ship. It’s very deep and has a great tone to it and at some points has a hint of longing and love. It’s very beautiful. The End also has a nicely sung poetic feeling to it. It’s pretty long but doesn’t get boring. Jim’s voice is a little higher than Crystal Ship but it kind of adds to the song. It’s very hypnotic. His voice on the more rock oriented songs are also done nicely. Like in Break On Through during the chorus he shouts the words: Break On Through To The Other Side, and it fits with the instruments very nicely and it’s not the irritating kind of shouting so that’s a nice plus. I also enjoy his vocals on Twentieth Century Fox, it sounds echoey and very full, which really helps the song. His voice also sounds like this (only a little softer) on Light My Fire, although the vocals aren’t as important in this song as others.
Also Jim’s and Robbie’s lyrics are really well written. I find it’s very easy to tell when Jim wrote song because his sound more like poetry and Robbie’s are a little more about love and things of that nature. The lyrics on Light My Fire, written by Robbie, are very nice and have a great structure. Although the lyrics aren’t as important in the song because of the instrumental break they are still very nicely written and very catchy. Crystal Ship, by Jim, has the more poetic lyrics. They’re very though provoking and extremely well written. Jim had a great talent for writing lyrics; he was very influenced by philosopher’s who’s books he read as a teenager. The End has really captivating lyrics. I wish I could tell you what they were about but I honestly have no clue, all I can say is they’re extremely well written and are delivered in an amazing and effective way. They can be humorous too like on Twentieth Century Fox. It, to me, is a very novelty rock song. Contrary to what I thought it was going to be about (the movie industry or something like that), it’s about a girl that Jim thinks is a twentieth century fox, really. I thought it was pretty funny when I first heard it. The lyrics on Alabama Song (although it was a cover) are very nicely written and humorous. Like when the lyrics change from saying: Show me the way to the next whiskey bar, to: Show me the way to the next little girl.
Now, the instruments are amazing. Ray Manzarek plays a mean
piano/keyboard. He has an excellent solo on Crystal Ship. It sounds like a very “Barber Shop” piano. It’s a wonderfully crafted and mysterious solo that is basically perfect for the feeling of the song. He also does an amazing job on Light My Fire, very bouncy and uplifting. He solos for most the instrumental break and does a hell of a job, although some of his higher notes can be a little annoying. But it’s an excellent solo that keeps you interested and it delivers every listen. He has a really mysterious intro riff on End Of The Night. It’s a very soft song and he does a great job providing much of its atmosphere. His riff on Soul Kitchen is also a very nice riff that is much like the one on Light My Fire (not in sounding the same but in the way that it’s bouncy and upbeat). It really helps give the song a nice rhythm. The riff during the chorus can be very annoying if you listen closely but the chorus riff really isn’t meant to be listened to closely. I find the keyboard takes more of a backseat to the guitar than I expected, but that’s fine because when Ray’s heard he does an amazing job.
The guitar on here is simply amazing. It’s very creative and catchy. When I hear many of there guitar riffs I think: I should learn that. One of his best songs is probably The End. It’s very entrancing and draws you in and gives the song it’s mysterious feeling, well that and the vocals. He does a great job in providing a perfect guitar in the song. His main riff on Twentieth Century Fox is very uplifting, catchy, and really creative. I also love how he does the nice individual notes during the verse and then does a nice, more powerful, harder chord progression during the chorus. He also has an excellent solo during this song full of bent notes and a great part where he works his way down the neck to create a nice spiral effect. His fills on Alabama Song work very nicely and provide a great rhythmy feeling. His parts on the more rock songs I find are much simpler than the more psychedelic ones. Like on Back Door Man. He plays more simplistic chord progressions and some nifty little fills. His solos on the rock songs are pure eargasms. They’re actually very typical rock solos but Robbie just does them in such a great way.
The drums on here are very jazz influenced, which isn’t that odd for sixties music. John does an excellent job going from very creative and somewhat complex to very simple in a second. The best example of this is definitely Break On Through. His fills are simply superb and do a lot for the song. The rim shots during the verses are extremely creative and do all the right things at all the right times. He also does a very nice simple part on Crystal Ship, it’s very soft and sometimes a little hard to hear but it provides a great backbone to a great song. He also has very nice drum rolls that bring you into a wonderful chorus. He does a nice thing on the ride cymbal during the verse of Twentieth Century Fox that really heard separately from the song doesn’t sound like it would fit. That’s what’s great about John’s drumming he takes beats that you wouldn’t think would work in a song but they do. His fills on Light My Fire during the keyboard solo are really nicely done and fit very nicely, they’re kind of spread out randomly throughout the song, so it gives it that feeling of surprise.
Overall this is an amazing album. The instrumentation, while sometimes the high notes of the guitar and keyboards can be cringe inducing, they really deliver and show a great level of skill. The lyrics are thought provoking and well written. And the vocals are nicely done and really never annoy me at all, which is weird for a whole cd for me. I really recommend this if you’re into 60’s psychedelia and rock because they do both very nicely.
