An 18 track, double LP round-up of exactly what it says on the sleeve, “The Best Of The Doors”.

There was a time in the 60’s in LA when on given nights on Sunset Boulevard you could go into a club like Ciro’s or the Whiskey A Go-Go and see The Byrds or Buffalo Springfield or Love or The Doors, what a time that must have been. 

All their great singles are here “Light My Fire”, “Break On Through”, “Hello I Love You”, “Riders On The Storm” (in its full length form) but it’s the album tracks, longer pieces, that stand out. “The End”, used to incredible effect in Francis Ford Coppola’s “Apocalypse Now”, “When The Music’s Over” and the complete version of “Roadhouse Blues”. 

As Best Of’s go this one covers everything you need.

The End (edit from “Apocalypse Now”) - https://youtu.be/CIrvSJwwJUE

I like The Doors (I know I said that yesterday but it bears repeating). I don’t really know a lot about them. I’ve seen the movie about them starring Val Kilmer and yes I understand that is unlikely to be a completely accurate historical document. I’ve never bought in to the cult of the Lizard King, nice looking boy, decent voice, knew how to wear a pair of leather keks but we’ll leave it there. I just happen to like the noise they make.

“LA Woman” begins with “The Changeling”, a groovy, keyboard heavy opener that sets a mood for the record. The band wanted it as the albums lead single but were overruled by Elektra in favour of “Love Her Madly”, a careering, tumbling, out of control thing with a fantastic hook.

There are other classics within, the title track could be the perfect soundtrack to driving around LA (I’ve done it, these type of songs make much more sense when driving along Sunset or Hollywood Boulevard with the soft top down, see Don Henley’s “Boys Of Summer” or the Gin Blossoms “Hey Jealousy” also), and of course this album finishes with a real classic (Doors or otherwise) the utterly beguiling “Riders On The Storm”, a fitting outro for Jim Morrison who died just 76 days after the albums release.

This is one of those records I acquired through owning a record shop. I got it as part of a collection I bought for the shop, a UK 1st issue with the rounded corners on the sleeve and the cellophane “window” with The Doors staring out at you. It’s not in pristine condition and, like “Morrison Hotel” before it, I could have sold it cheap but it plays well enough and as you now know, I like the noise they make.

The Changeling - https://youtu.be/4py-jtiCtfc

As I’ll confirm below, I like The Doors. This copy of their 5th album from 1970 that I now own is a UK 1st issue which, in nice condition, would sell for a very handsome sum. This copy isn’t in very nice condition so rather than sell it for a pittance I thought it could come stay with me. The sleeve is very worn all over and the record itself is scratched and marked and noisy, but it plays through without jumping. I hope someone will look out for me when I’m old and banged up like this fella is, so I decided I’d look after this one.

I put him in a nice poly sleeve to keep his sleeve clean and protected from any more damage. I gave the record a good deep clean, with some magic gel I like to use in these extreme cases, and I then put it in an anti-static archival sleeve. Then, every now and again, I bring him out and let him tell his stories about roadhouses and the sun, he talks about frogs and queens, fools and Indian summers, which he enjoys.

That’s gotta be better than being abandoned in the £2 bargain bin to end up who knows where and treated with less respect than he deserves. This old timer deserved better than that.

Roadhouse Blues - https://youtu.be/yV9DJwJKWMw