I was in school when I first heard The Doors – Light My Fire and there has been no turning back since then. Jim Morrison was someone I practically idolized (apart from Kurt Cobain) when growing up especially in my audiophile musical journey. If you are a fan of The Doors and have a good collection of their albums and their hits then this is a collection you can pass by or just keep it handy to have all the hits in one place.
If you however have just started on The Doors, or heard them occasionally on the radio and now want their hits on CD or even have just discovered The Doors then it goes without saying that this album is an absolute essential. This would be one collection that you would want with you when marooned on a lonely island. The only other album that would be essential and especially if you don’t have this one would be Jim Morrison – An American Prayer. The Doors were a band formed in 1965 comprising of Jim Morrison, John Densmore, Ray Manzarek, and Robby Krieger and they made great, magical and very mystical music till Jim Morrison’s untimely death in 1971. Very obviously in that short span of time they made some very great and memorable music that’s withstood the test of time. Some of their major hits found on this selection are Break On Through (To The Other Side), Light My Fire, Strange Days, Love Me Two Times, Alabama Song (Whiskey Bar), When the Music’s Over, The End, Hello, I Love You, Roadhouse Blues, L.A. Woman, Riders On The Storm, Love Her Madly, and Unknown Soldier to name a few.
While the members of The Doors were all accomplished musicians in their own right with Ray Manzarek on the keyboards, John Densmore playing the drums, Robby Krieger on the guitar, it was Jim Morrison with his powerful vocals that the audience identified with. He was the focal point of the band and his onstage persona and chemistry set the stage literally on fire. Unfortunately, with Jim Morrison’s untimely death the band all but disbanded. This makes the selection of music on this album all the more delectable since The Doors made very little in terms of music and yet so much of it was sheer brilliance. I can very well go ahead and make a prediction, once you’ve heard The Doors and particularly this album you will be looking for more of The Doors. This is just the beginning and the doorway to the brilliance of Jim Morrison and The Doors. One very good thing about this collection or rather selection is that no material from the post Jim Morrison period is included here. As I stated the other members of The Doors were good and accomplished musicians but the persona of Jim Morrison held sway over them as well as everyone else once Jim Morrison took center stage. This is some of the best and most memorable music that you will ever come across. Each track in and of itself is worth the price of the entire CD and absolutely essential in any music catalogue or collection. Take my word for it, once you’ve heard Jim Morrison sing to the music and tunes of The Doors, there is just no turning back and this is “The End My Friend”.
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Tags: Alabama Song (Whiskey Bar), An American Prayer, Break On Through (To The Other Side), Hello, I Love You, Jim Morrison, John Densmore, L.A. Woman, Light My Fire, Love Her Madly, Love Me Two Times, Ray Manzarek, Riders On The Storm, Roadhouse Blues, Robby Krieger, Strange Days, The Best Of The Doors Album Review, The End, Unknown Soldier, When The Music's Over