Hello again everyone!
Today, I'm gonna be comparing albums by the Doors- in this case, I'll only be looking at the first 6 studio albums, as they're the ones I'm most familiar with.
The Doors
When I first copied my dad's collection of Doors stuff onto my computer, I only took one copy of each album. Since this one is self-titled, I didn't realise it was a proper album (I thought it was just an obsolete folder), so I didn't get to hear it until months later. That said, I actually really like this album- it's not too complicated musically, and I mean that in a good way. Most of the songs on it are relatively short, and they're all fairly "dark"- though a few songs are pretty long (namely Light My Fire and The End). I'm not a huge fan of Light My Fire- it's a bit too long of a solo for my taste- but The End is one of my favourite Doors songs, and falls into the fairly exclusive category of "songs that actually get a real emotional response from me" (for reference, other songs on the list include ELO's Telephone Line, Ozzy's Old LA Tonight, and David Bowie's Rock and Roll Suicide (plus a few more that are a bit less reliable)). End of the Night is another of my favourite Doors songs actually- not one I listen to all the time, but it's a good relaxing song before bed. Overall, this is probably my favourite album, measured as a sum of its parts- it has the most individual songs that I like- but I don't think it's my favourite overall.
Strange Days
For whatever reason, I've sorta reserved this album for when I'm upset. Musically, I quite like this album, though for some reason I have a weird issue with the keyboards on it- I wanna say it's something stupid like the waveform being a slightly undesirable shape, but I'm not too sure. It's not an issue I have with other Doors stuff- I'm actually a fan of keyboards, and think they should be more prevalent in modern music (perhaps even replacing guitars in some cases- I find those to be a bit overused in rock and roll, as weird as it probably sounds). People Are Strange is a really good mellow, dark song, and Moonlight Drive is pretty interesting- I tend to think of it as being mellow, but by the end of the song that just isn't the case. There are a few songs on this album that I'm not as fond of, but it's not so much that I don't like them as it is that I don't put them on the same level as the others.
Waiting For The Sun
This album has quite a few good songs- in fact, there are only 2 I don't care for so much, namely Hello I Love You and Five To One. Again, it's not that I dislike either song, it's just that I like the others quite a bit more. Without a doubt, my favourite songs on the album are Summer's Almost Gone and Wintertime Love- in my mind, they sorta fit together in a sense; in the former, he's singing about Summer coming to a close, and the uncertainty of what comes next; and in the latter, he's singing about a girl he meets, or is hoping to meet, in the Winter. I particularly like the waltzy 3/4 time of the second song- I'm not sure why exactly, but that time signature always appeals to me (enough to make up for the song being a little under 2 minutes long). Celebration of the Lizard appears on some versions of this album too, and I've gotta say, it's.... Interesting. At 20 minutes long, it's not something I listen to often, but it's a very unique song, and I feel like there's a story to be told by it, not that I've ever been intoxicated enough to figure it out.
The Soft Parade
For some reason, this album seems to get a lot of negative reviews, which has always baffled me. I can understand that Jim Morrison wasn't doing his best when it was made, and all that- but honestly, I think this is my favourite Doors album overall. There are only two songs on the album that I find sub-par- Do It and Easy Ride. On the other hand, there are some songs on here that more than make up for them- Touch Me, The Soft Parade, Runnin' Blue, and especially Shaman's Blues. I could probably do an entire post on Shaman's Blues- it's really bass heavy, but juxtaposed with wailing guitars and keyboards; it somehow feels slow and heavy, but at the same time driving; plus, it's in 3/4 time (which took me an embarrassingly long while to notice). I liked this album so much that it's about all I listened to when I went to Las Vegas- to the point where putting it on and closing my eyes, I can practically see the desert around me. I've since discovered two bonus songs from the album, Who Scared You, and Whiskey, Mystics and Men, both of which immediately were added to my list of favourite Doors songs. I don't call this album my favourite because it has the highest number of good songs, but because the songs I like, I really like.
Morrison Hotel
I'm not sure exactly why, but it wasn't until this album that the song Waiting For The Sun was released. This album is probably tied for my least favourite by the Doors, along with LA Woman (which I'll get to next). There are some songs on it I like- Waiting For The Sun, Peace Frog, Ship of Fools and Land Ho!- but I really have to be in the mood for the others. I do enjoy them sometimes- I remember for a while in December, this album was pretty much the only thing I wanted to listen to- but most of the time it's a bit too bluesy for me.
LA Woman
This album, for me, is essentially a more exaggerated version of Morrison Hotel. The songs that I do like, I tend to like more, but the songs I don't like, I like even less. From this album, my favourites would have to be Love Her Madly, L'America, Hyacinth House and Riders on the Storm. Some of the other songs, though, can honestly be a bit tough for me to sit through- probably the only Doors songs (excluding live songs) I would say that about are from this album. Riders on the Storm is, obviously, a very well-known song for the Doors, and with good reason- it's got a nice, simple riff, the usual Doors "darkness" to it, and it's catchy. Musically, it might be my favourite on the album, but lyrically I prefer Hyacinth House. It feels to me like a very personal song, basically describing Jim Morrison's state of mind at the time it was written.
Anyways, that's gonna be it for today- hopefully you enjoyed this post! If you're a fan of the Doors, let me know your opinion on these albums, and whether you agree or disagree with what I've said.