 |
| https://classicrockmetaloldies101.blogspot.com/ |
 |
| https://classicrockmetaloldies101.blogspot.com/ |
is the
fifth
studio album
by American
Rock band
The Doors,
released on
February 9, 1970,
by Elektra Records.
After the use of
brass and string
arrangements
recommended by
producer
Paul A. Rothchild
on their previous album,
(1969),
the Doors returned
to their
blues rock style
and this album
was largely seen
as a return to form
for the band.
The group entered
Elektra Sound Recorders
in Los Angeles
in November 1969
to record the album
which is
divided into
two separately
titled sides,
namely:
"Hard Rock Café"
and
"Morrison Hotel".
Blues rock guitar
pioneer
Lonnie Mack
and
Ray Neapolitan
also contributed
to the album
as session bassists.
The album
reached No. 4
on the
Billboard 200,
and performed
better overseas
than the
preceding album
it was the
group's
highest-charting
studio album
in the
United Kingdom,
where it peaked
at No. 12
The accompanying
"You Make Me Real" / "Roadhouse Blues"
single peaked at
No. 50
in May 1970
on the
Billboard 100 chart.
The cover photo
was taken by
Henry Diltz.
.jpg)
Background
On March 1, 1969,
Jim Morrison
performed while
intoxicated
at
the Dinner Key Auditorium
in Coconut Grove, Florida,
in front of a crowd
of nearly 12,000;
he was charged
for his performance
and behavior
with indecent exposure,
on April 4.
The incident
negatively reflected
on the
band's publicity,
sparking a
"March for Decency"
at the
Miami Orange Bowl.
Consequently,
twenty-five dates
on the band's
next tour
were cancelled,
and their records
were blacklisted
from radio airplay,
resulting in the band
abandoning the rest
of their potential tour,
costing what
John Densmore
characterized as
"a million dollars in gigs."
Nevertheless,
the band gradually
regained momentum
by playing concerts
throughout the rest
of the year,
including the
Toronto Rock and Roll Revival;
they played alongside
John Lennon,
among others,
who later said,
"supposedly the Doors
were top of the bill."
In July,
the Doors released
their fourth album,
The Soft Parade,
a heavily
orchestrated affair
that augmented
the band's sound
with horns
and strings.
Around early 1969,
Morrison traded
in his stage leathers
for more
conventional attire,
grew a beard
and gained weight
as he attempted
to live down his
"Lizard King"
image;
however,
his
worsening alcoholism
often undermined
his efforts.
In November,
A drunken Morrison
caused such a
disturbance on a flight
to Phoenix, Arizona,
to see a
Rolling Stones concert
that he was charged
with a new
skyjacking law
that carried up to a
$10,000 fine
and a
ten-year prison
sentence.
Recording and Composition
Morrison Hotel's
back-to-basics approach
largely stemmed from
the group's dismay
over the
protracted sessions
for
The Soft Parade,
which took
nine months to record
and cost
$86,000
(equal to $714,534 today),
far more expensive
than any previous
Doors record.
The band had also
been stung by
the critical reception
to the record.
On Morrison Hotel,
there is a slight steer
toward the blues,
which would be
fully explored by
the band on
their next album
L.A. Woman.
Morrison Hotel
was recorded
between
November 1969
and
January 1970,
with the exception of
"Indian Summer",
which was recorded on
August 19, 1966
for
The Doors
while
"Waiting for the Sun"
actually originated
during the sessions
for the band's third album.
Although
Morrison Hotel
contains no
major hit singles,
it features some
of the band's
most popular songs,
including
"Roadhouse Blues"
and
"Peace Frog",
which would go on to
become staples of
classic rock radio.
"Roadhouse Blues"
took two days to record
(November 4–5, 1969)
with
Paul Rothchild
striving for perfection.
Several takes
from these sessions
were included on the
2006
remastered album,
with Morrison
repeating the phrase
"Money beats soul"
over and over again.
The sessions only
took off on
the second day,
when distinguished
blues guitarist
Lonnie Mack
(also signed to Elektra Records)
joined in on bass
and former
Lovin' Spoonful
bandleader
John Sebastian
(appearing under the pseudonym G. Puglese)
due to the constraint
of his
Reprise Records
recording contract
joined in on harmonica.
Over the course
of the session,
keyboardist
Ray Manzarek
switched from his
Wurlitzer
electric piano
to a tack piano.
The hook of
"Peace Frog" i
s a distorted
G5 chord
played three times
by Krieger, f
ollowed by a brief
percussive
wah-wah effect.
Morrison,
who took the words
from a notebook
entitled
Abortion Stories,
begins nearly every line
with the word
"blood",
often referring to
"Blood in the streets",
which is perhaps
"addressing the civic unrest then gripping the nation".
A brief musical interlude
is next,
followed by a
guitar solo,
and a spoken
word verse
"Indians scattered on dawn's highway bleeding /
Ghosts crowd
the young child's fragile
eggshell mind".
The song ends
with a
final chord
as it segues
into the next track,
"Blue Sunday".
"The Spy"
and
"Queen of the Highway"
celebrate
Morrison's intense
but troubled relationship
with
longtime girlfriend
Pamela Courson.
Originally
"The Spy"
was called
"Spy in the House of Love",
as shown on the
Master Reel Control File,
a line borrowed from
A Spy in the House of Love,
a novel by
Anaïs Nin
published in 1954.
Both songs
are tinged with
ambivalence;
on
"The Spy,"
Morrison cautions,
"I know your deepest, secret fears",
while on
"Queen of the Highway"
he sardonically concludes,
"I hope it can continue a little while longer".
According to the
1980 Doors biography
No One Here Gets Out Alive,
it was during the
Morrison Hotel sessions
that Morrison and Courson
had a violent argument
after she drank
his bottle of liquor
so he could not drink it,
with engineer
Bruce Botnick recalling:
"So here were the two of them,
completely out of
their minds and crying.
He started
shaking her violently.
I think he was
putting me on.
She was crying
out of control,
telling him he
shouldn't drink anymore
and that's why
she drank it.
And I'm cleaning up
and I said,
'Hey man, it's pretty late.'
He looked up,
stopped shaking her,
said,
'Yeah, right', hugged her
and they
walked out arm in arm ...
he'd always give you a
funny look afterward,
to see your reaction
TRACK LIST
CD 1
(Hard Rock Café)
Roadhouse Blues
(2020 Remaster)
Waiting for the Sun
(2020 Remaster)
You Make Me Real
(2020 Remaster)
Peace Frog
(2020 Remaster)
Blue Sunday
(2020 Remaster)
Ship of Fools
(2020 Remaster)
(Morrison Hotel)
Land Ho!
(2020 Remaster)
The Spy
(2020 Remaster)
Queen of the Highway
(2020 Remaster)
Indian Summer
(2020 Remaster)
Maggie M'Gill
(2020 Remaster)
Money Beats Soul/Roadhouse Blues
(False Start Take 1)
Carol
Queen of the Highway
(Alternative Take Recorded at Elektra Studios, 1969)
Peace Frog
(False Starts & Dialogue)
Maggie M'Gill
(John Densmore / FredWreck Remix)
Road House Blues
(Live at the Felt Forum, New York, January 17, 1970)
(Early Show)
Ship Of Fools
(Live at the Felt Forum, New York, January 17, 1970)
(Early Show)
Peace Frog
(Live at the Felt Forum, New York, January 17, 1970)
(Early Show)
Blue Sunday
(Live at the Felt Forum, New York, January 17, 1970)
(Early Show)
Talking Blues
Roadhouse Blues
(takes 1-3)
CD 2
(Mysterious Union)
Queen of the Highway
(Take 1)
[She Was a Princess]
(2020 Remaster)
Queen of the Highway
(Various Takes)
(2020 Remaster)
Queen of the Highway
(Take 44)
[He Was a Monster]
(2020 Remaster)
Queen of the Highway
(Take 12)
[No One Could Save Her]
(2020 Remaster)
Queen of the Highway
(Take 14)
[Save the Blind Tiger]
[With Robby Krieger Guitar Overdub]
(2020 Remaster)
Queen of the Highway
(Take 1)
[American Boy - American Girl]
(2020 Remaster)
Queen of the Highway
(Take 14)
[He Was a Monster- Money Beats Soul]
(takes 5, 6 & 9)
(2020 Remaster)
Queen of the Highway
(Take 14)
[Start It All Over]
(2020 Remaster)
I Will Never Be Untrue
(2020 Remaster)
Queen of the Highway
(Take Unknown)
(Let's Warm Up)
(Studio Talk)
(2020 Remaster)
Roadhouse Blues
(Take 14)
[Keep Your Eyes On The Road]
(2020 Remaster)
Money
(That's What I Want)
(2020 Remaster)
Rock Me Baby
(2020 Remaster)
Roadhouse Blues
(Takes 6 & 7)
[Your Hands Upon The Wheel]
(2020 Remaster)
Roadhouse Blues
(Take 8)
[We're Goin' To The Roadhouse]
(2020 Remaster)
Roadhouse Blues
(Takes 1 & 2)
[We're Gonna Have A Real Good Time]
(2020 Remaster)
Roadhouse Blues
(Takes 5, 6 & 14)
[Let It Roll, Baby, Roll]
(2020 Remaster)
Peace Frog/Blue Sunday
(Take 4)
(2020 Remaster)
Peace Frog
(Take 12)
(2020 Remaster)
CD 3
(BONUS CD)
(Alternative Takes)
Roadhouse Blues
(Alternative Take)
Waiting For The Sun
(Alternative Take)
You Make Me Real
(Alternative Take)
Peace Frog
(Just Vocals)
Blue Sunday
(Drum and Vocals)
Ship Of Fools
(Alternative Take)
Land Ho!
(Just Vocals)
The Spy
(Alternative Take)
Queen Of The Highway
(Alternative Take)
Indian Summer
(Alternative Take)
Maggie M'gill
(Just Vocals)
Peace Frog
(Instr)
Waiting For The Sun
(Instr)
Roadhouse Blues
(Instr)
No comments:
Post a Comment