Best Doors song?

i’ve been thinking about this all week on my long drives. which Doors song best represents how motherfucking awesome they are. I’ve decided that it’s "When the Music's Over", for a number of reasons. 1. The musicianship throughout is inventive and stellar. Check out that mind-bending guitar solo – one of my favorites of all time – and Ray’s fluid organ runs when the song explodes again after the quiet interlude, which brings me to reason #2: this band was better at loud/soft dynamics than anyone, ever. they were incredibly theatrical, right down to the way the drums ‘punctuated’ jim’s vocals. This was especially evident live. a receptive crowd would become absolutely mesmerized by this song. it’s all there on the “Live in Detroit” CD. 3. Especially in their first two albums (L.A. Woman being a return to form), they ingeniously transmitted the noir underbelly vibe of LA. The opening organ riffs set the stage, along with Jim’s almost whispered, “Yeah, c’mon,” and the snaky guitar passages throughout keep it going. 4. Jim’s vocal performance! Holy shit, man. This is Jim at his best. He had arrived. He was confident. He crooned, he screamed, he whispered. He did it all right here. People like to talk about the pretentiousness of the lyrics, but they probably don’t realize that this thing is full of in-jokes (“the scream of the butterfly” was the name of a porno flick Jim saw one day on a marquee). Add to that this stunning fact: Jim was ‘otherwise occupied’ when the other Doors laid down the instrumentals in the studio. All that remained was that he come in and sing. He came in the next day and NAILED it in one take! considering the pauses, loud/soft dynamics, etc, that’s pretty incredible, and a testament to how cohesive this band was at its prime. Anyway, thought I’d share that. Listen to the song, and give me your thoughts.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfv9z23lu9E

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Permalink Reply by terry ells on February 25, 2013 at 2:28pm

when the music over is right there with one of the best doors songs , la women is my fav

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Permalink Reply by Jet Nova on February 25, 2013 at 2:58pm

i love the movements in LA Woman - especially the "I see your hair is burnin'' section. his singing is so great there! 'hills are filled with fi-yahr"

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network founder!Permalink Reply by Rich Page on February 25, 2013 at 3:58pm

That's an awesome review of an amazing doors song Joe! I would love to have you write more articles and posts on here! And as for me, I think its too hard to mention just one - apart from the obvious ones, i also love the changeling, peace frog and strange days...

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Permalink Reply by Jet Nova on February 25, 2013 at 5:56pm

here's my story about 'strange days.":

the morning of 9/11/01, i got up to go to my job site (i was a masonry contractor then) on bainbridge island, up in washington. the news had been reporting the terrorist attack for a few hours, and by then both towers were down. but i chose not to either watch or listen to the news that morning. instead, i popped in a doors CD and the first song that came out was 'strange days.' i didn't know what happened until i got to the jobsite. the homeowner answered the door in her nightgown, with a dazed expression on her face. all she could say was, 'they're gone.' she brought me to her upstairs bedroom to watch it on the news.

jim's words on that morning still resonate with me:

'strange days have found us/

strange days have tracked us down.

they're going to destroy/

our casual joys...'

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Permalink Reply by John D on March 5, 2013 at 10:36pm

I would say "the End" - used perfectly in the final scene of Apocalypse Now"

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Expert RockerPermalink Reply by Jeff Fowler on March 6, 2013 at 9:01pm

Use to skip school in the day and stay home and listen to my sisters Doors records..even now I still crank up the cd in my truck to LA Woman..drivin' down your freeways..midnite alleys roam..cops in cars, the topless bars..never saw a woman - so alone, so alone. Brings me back to 1971 all over again.

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Expert RockerPermalink Reply by Taylor Hudson on May 21, 2013 at 9:04pm

Yes! Another human who appreciates how fucking unbelievably awesome the Doors are.

Gosh..picking favorites? That's like asking me my favorite food.. how do you decide?

I've always loved The Crystal Ships; the words speak to me.

I enjoy moonlight drive

Break On through

Been Down So Long

Love Street..aah!

The Unknown Soldier

Peace Frog

so many more. For a million and one reasons.

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Expert RockerPermalink Reply by Jeff Fowler on July 21, 2013 at 9:31pm

Tightrope Ride was another favorite. It was included on that great four record set "Superstars of the 70's" by Warner Brothers around 1973. I still have mine and even the 8-track set which I played a lot back in day cruisin Riverside, CA. Wish Warner would come out with a special edition CD set of it.

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