Disc
One - Without A Safety
Net
Five To One
7:29
Written
by The Doors. Published by Doors Music, Inc. (ASCAP)
RECORDED LIVE
AT THE DINNER KEY AUDITORIUM, MIAMI, 1969
Ray:
Miami! Live, crazy, out of control. Prelude to a riot. A hot,
southern, Tennessee Williams night when swamp madness prevailed.
Did Jim expose himself? We'll never know for sure. No
photo was ever taken of his substantial member at the concert.
Two hundred photos were offered in evidence at the trial but
not one contained even a glimpse of the "ivory shaft."
This, however, is what he said at the infamous Miami concert:
"I'm talkin' about love!"
Robby:
Jim figured that by 1969, there would be five times as many
people under the age of 21 as would be over, therefore, why
not rebel? We could take over. Chris Jones who was a big fan
of Jim's, made a movie about the idea called Wild In The Streets.
They got the guns but we got the numbers (joints?). Gonna
win, yeah, we're taking over! This track was one of the predecessors
to Heavy Metal.
John:
Jim did not expose himself at Miami... 'cause if he had, he
would have tripped.
Queen Of The
Highway 3:32
Written
by The Doors. Published by Doors Music, Inc. (ASCAP)
RECORDED AT
ELECTRA STUDIOS, LOS ANGELES, 1969
Ray:
Cool jazz. A trio with a nightclub singer. John playing very
hip brushes on the snare, Harvey Brooks on bass. I'm on a
Bill Evans homage acoustic piano. Imagine yourself at a smoky
jazz joint in the Village circa 1962 with Jim as a world-weary,
existential balladeer singing a tale of love. That's the mood
we were going for.
John:
Love this cocktail, lizard-lounge version.
Hyacinth House
2:40
Written
by The Doors. Published by Doors Music, Inc. (ASCAP)
DEMO RECORDED
AT ROBBY KRIEGER'S HOME STUDIO, 1969
John:
Possibly the saddest song Jim ever wrote. Edith Hamilton's
book on mythology, a book Jim carried around in the early
days, illuminates the Hyacinth myth, which I quote in my book
Riders On The Storm: "Another flower that came into being
through the death of a beautiful youth was the hyacinth."
There was a contest in which Hyacinthus was accidentally slain
by Apollo, and his blood made a wondrous flower bloom, making
the lad's name known forever. Jim's lyrics speak of sacrifice
and regret, wanting a new friend who doesn't ask for anything
to "please to the lions." Jim has crossed over to
the other world, and, again from Riders: "Our songs (flowers)
have bloomed with wondrous longevity."
Robby:
'Hyacinth' was written at my house. Jim and John came over
one day and we turned on the tape recorder. "Hyacinths"
refers to some flowers growing outside my living room. "I
see the bathroom is clear" is Jim's friend. Babe, finally
leaving the bathroom so Jim could use it. The "lions"
refer to my pet bobcat Poppy. "I need a brand new friend"
alludes to one of many break-ups with Pam.
Ray:
The first test run of the song. Robby on acoustic guitar.
John on Arabic dunbek drum. I'm not there. This song became
one of my favorites when we finally recorded it. I played
a Chopin Polonaise in the solo. Here it is at its inception,
I love John's cool drums.
My Eyes Have
Seen You 2:01
Written
by The Doors. Published by Doors Music, Inc. (ASCAP)
DEMO RECORDED
AT WORLD PACIFIC STUDIOS, LOS ANSELES, 1965
Ray:
The Doors demo, recorded with my brothers Rick and Jim on
guitar and harp, respectively. I don't know who the bass player
was. This was recorded at the World Pacific Srudio, home of
the great West Coast jazz Libel; the home of Gerry Mulligan,
Chet Baker, Chico Hamilton, Shelly Manne, Shorty Rogers and
even Ravi Shankar. Dick Bock was the head of the company and
he introduced me to the teachings of the Maharishi. That's
how I first met Rubby and John. My brothers' band. Rick and
The Ravens, were signed to World Pacific's rock and roll subsidiary.
Aura Records.
Robby:
A real guitar player's song! I still play this one to this
very day. Some great lyrics in this one. Someday, people will
discover songs like this one.
John:
Jim's most erotic lyric.
Who Scared
You 3:16
Written
by The Doors. Published by Doors Music, Inc. (ASCAP)
RECORDED AT
ELECTRA STUDIOS, LOS ANGELES, 1969
Ray:
Originally recorded for The Soft Parade album but not released
until the Weird Scenes Inside The Gold Mine compilation album.
Jim took the title from a line in a letter that William Burroughs
had written to Alien Ginsberg after Alien had taken yage -
the powerful hallucinogenic, ayahuasca - in the jungle and
gotten "the fear!" It's in Burroughs' book The Yage
Letters. I know that fear.
Robby:
Harvey Brooks played bass on The Soft Parade album. He was
a great help in arranging many of the songs that I wrote for
the album. Since we knew there would be horns added to the
songs, the bass had to be written with that in mind. Listen
to the horns on 'Who Scared You' and how they sit with the
bass. Paul Harris, who arranged The Thrill Is Gone' for B.
B. King, did our horn charts.
John:
Nice groove, nice lyric.
Black Train
Song 12:22
Written
by The Doors. Published by Doors Music, Inc. (ASCAP)
'Mystery
Train’ written by Parker/Phillips. Published by Unichappell
Music/Hi-Lo Music Co. (BMI)
RECORDED LIVE
AT THE SPECIRUM, PHILADELPHIA, 1970
John:
This jam starts out with 'Mystery Train' in which the lyric
refers to a funeral train, it goes "Away to India,"
and finally arrives at the crossroads. Funerals were held
at crossroads, because the person dying is crossing over to
the other world. Crossroads can also signify a collision of
different perspectives, like the weight of ideas in Jim's
head - "I got the H-bomb on my mind." It reminds
me of another line of Jim's that I like: "1 had a splitting
headache, from which the future is made." The song could
be the meeting place of Western Civilization (Elvis's version
of 'Mystery Train' is the classic), and Eastern thought ("Away
in India"), although it wasn't conscious, we just jammed
on all of these sections, like a living pot of gumbo. At the
end, the sorcerer releases us all from the train ride with:
"I woke up this morning, nothin' on my mind!" The
self-described soul of a clown says: "I took you through
all that, but what I'm really saying is 'Just kidding!'"
Jim LOVED to perform this one.
End Of The
Night 2:59
Written
by The Doors. Published by Doors Music, Inc. (ASCAP)
DEMO RECORDED
AT WORLD PACIFIC STUDIOS, LOS ANGELES, 1965
Ray:
Taken from the title of the book by Ferdinand Celine: Journey
To The End Of The Night. This is one of our earliest songs,
I love the fact that Jim would mix literary quotes and allusions
into his poetry. It's one of the things that first attracted
me to his writing. He was at once original and uniquely creative;
and able to cop a line from the past masters and weave it
seamlessly into his lyrics. I tried to do the same thing with
my musical quotes. Some people have said Jim was stealing.
All I can say is I wish more rock and roll poets would do
the same thing. It would make the art form a little more referential,
a little more allusion... and a whole lot broader in scope.
Wouldn't that feed the mind?
P.S. That's
my brother Jim on harp. What a sweet sounding cat and what
a good human being. "Thanks, brother."
John:
Lines Jim stole - excuse me. plagiarized - from William Blak:
"some are born to sweet delight/some are born to the
endless night."
Whiskey, Mystics
And Men 2:19
Written
by The Doors. Published by Doors Music, Inc. (ASCAP)
RECORDED AT
ELEKTRA STUDIOS, LOS ANCELES 1970
Ray:
A sea chantey. We're on port leave. New Bedford, in a grog
tavern in the middle of the 19th century. I'm playing mellotron
and marxophone. Fritz Ritchmond is on jug. John's on a reggae
kick drum. Jessie McReynolds on mandolin. Robby's on bottle-neck.
This is part of the Morrisun naval oeuvre. Jim comes from
a long line of navy men. There was even a Morrison on the
Bounty. This is the mystical sea. This is Herman Melville.
The freedom of water.
Robby:
The low bass noise you hear is a guy blowing air into a whiskey
jug. Fritz, who played it for us, is probably the world's
finest jug player. He played for The Jim Kwcskin Jug Band.
A great jug band, A little known fact is that I played in
a jug band in high school in Menlo Park, California. 1 played
guitar, harmonica and voice. We were called The Back Bay Chamber
Pot Terriers.
I Will Never
Be Untrue 3:56
Written
by The Doors. Published by Doors Music, Inc. (ASCAP)
RECORDED LIVE
AT THE AQUARIUS THEATER, HOLLYWOOD, 1970
Ray:
Robby and Jim originally did this for a Norman Mailer for
Mayor of New York City benefit held at the Cinematheque 16
on the Sunset Strip in 1968. They did it so well together
that we decided to try it with all four Doors. This track
has never been released before.
Moonlight Drive
(Demo) 2:31
Written
by The Doors. Published by Doors Music, Inc. (ASCAP)
RECORDED AT
WORLD PACIFIC STUDIOS, LOS ANGELES, 1965
Ray:
This is also from the demo. Compare this version with the
next cut with Robby. Quite a difference, huh?
Moonlight Drive
(Sunset Sound) 2:40
Written
by The Doors. Published by Doors Music, Inc. (ASCAP)
RECORDED AT
SUNSET SOUND STUDIOS, LOS ANGELES, 1966
Ray:
The very first song Jim sang to me on the beach in Venice,
California after we'd graduated from the UCLA Film School.
Contrary to the Oliver Stone movie, Jim did not quit college.
He received his Bachelor's degree and I received my Master's
degree in June of 1965. This is the first song we cut with
Paul Rothchild and Bruce Botnick at Sunset Sound in late August
of 1966. Without them, it never would have happened. All six
of us were equally responsible for the magic. I love them
very much and most of all Jim and Paul who will always be
with us in the air... in the light.
Robby:
I was the last to join the group. The very first rehearsal
/get together, we worked up 'Moonlight Drive'. It turned out
to be a perfect song for my bottle-neck guitar style which
Jim had never heard before. He loved it so much that he wanted
me to use it on all the songs. That first day went so well
that we knew we were a band.
John:
Psychedelic love song.
Rock Is Dead
16:39
Written
by The Doors. Published by Doors Music, Inc. (ASCAP)
RECORDED AT
ELEKTRA STUDIOS, LOS ANGELES, 1969
Ray:
Four Doors drunk as skunks. Morrison Hotel sessions. Dinner
at the Blue Boar just down the street from the Elektra recording
studio on La Cienega Boulevard. Too many beers and glasses
of wine and far too many toasts by Paul Ferrara, our buddy
and cameraman, and Babe Hill our sound man reprobate. "Here's
to the Doors and their jazzy music,' said Paul. "Here,
here,' said Babe. "Rock and Roll! Come on everyone, drink
up!" And we all had to stand and drink-Paul chug-a-lugged
his glass of Cabernet and then hurled it into the fireplace.
It fucking exploded! He was Errol Flynn in some swashbuckling
flick that was unreeling behind his eyes. We were in a private
room, thank God, so the shattered glass called no attention
to itself- But Paul was emboldened and toasted again, and
then Babe, and then Jim toasted. Soon we were all joining
in, toasting, drinking, laughing, and eating great haunches
of beef and chops of pork and huge bowls of steaming vegetables
- it was friends. It was fun. And it was a good time to be
alive. We went back to the studio and Jim said "Let's
jam!" This is the result of that jam on the Night of
the Blue Boar.
Robby:
After a drunken dinner up the street from the studio we came
back and turned on the mics. The rest is history. Ifs kind
of amazing how Jim was ahead of his time. Soon after this,
Janis and Jimi died. Cream broke up, etc. Rock did die.
John:
After a large meal in a mediocre Mexican restaurant, complete
with several dos Equis - this opus was possible, Wouldn't
have happened without pork fat.
Albinoni's
Adagio In G Minor 4:40
Written
by Tomaso Giovanni Albioni.
RECORDED AT
TTG STUDIOS, HOLLYWOOD, 1968
Ray:
This was one of Jim's favorite pieces of music. He loved the
melancholy mood of this almost mystical classic. We played
it with the "La Cienega Symphony Strings" put together
by Bruce Botnick's father for this unique over dub.
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