The Los Angeles psychedelic rock band The Doors released their first studio album, titled The Doors, in early 1967. The album kick-started their incredibly successful career, in which they received a total of 20 gold, 14 platinum, and 5 multi-platinum awards in the US alone. The Doors is one of the most essential albums in the development of psychedelic rock. However, what makes it unique is the successful incorporation of a wide variety of other elements from other musical genres. Psychedelic rock is a style of music that attempts to replicate the sensation of mind-altering drugs, often containing the use of electric guitars, keyboards, organs, long instrumental solos, and lyrics with drug references. The Doors has all of this and more. The album is a prime example of the sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll feel of this time in the US, with reoccurring themes throughout the album such as women and spiritual ideals. This is what makes it an outstanding example of a sixties hippy album. These themes were also prevalent in much of the music that influenced The Doors, such as Count Five, The Beatles and Muddy Waters. The wide array of artists that influenced The Doors lead to incorporation of are of a variety of genres in this particular album. Although it is primarily a psychedelic rock album, it also includes other features of blues, funk, and garage rock. The Doors had such a unique sound that it is hard to pick out one particular artist that their music stems from. The genre of Psychedelic rock was just becoming popular at the time of the album's release, partly due to the prevalent topics The Doors and other psychedelic rock artists typically sing about.
The album begins with one of The Doors’ more upbeat songs: “Break On Through (To The Other Side)”. This song starts off strong with a contagiously groovy beat played on a keyboard bass. Lead singer Jim Morrison comes in and sings of breaking into another side of consciousness. This is, no doubt, a drug reference, typical of a psychedelic rock song. The piece has strong electric guitar in the chorus, along with an organ solo in the middle of the song. Electric guitar and organ are not unusual features of psychedelic rock tracks, although the jazzy beat in the beginning and between each chorus is. "Break On Through" is one of the bands most popular songs. It is also a good example of how The Doors were able to create music of several different genres- as this song could be classified as psychedelic rock, jazz, or blues rock. The song that follows, "Soul Kitchen", has the same mix of psychedelic rock with another genre. It begins with a jazzy keyboard intro, but when the chorus comes around, the electric guitar and drums pick up creating more of a rock sound.
The Doors includes a wide range of psychedelic rock songs that have very different sounds. There are upbeat tracks with heavy electric guitar presence and long, infamous organ solos like in "Take is as It Comes" and "I Looked At You". In the track "Take It As It Comes", Morrison sings of the spiritual idea of accepting what life gives you and not rushing things because there is a time for everything. These kinds of ideas fit into the psychedelic rock genre well. But, not every song sounds like these typical rock songs. For example, "Alabama Song (Whisky Bar)" is based off of a German opera. It sounds almost like a circus song at the beginning, and it features an organ and a keyboard base. The song also contains an uncommon instrument called a marxophone that adds an eerie sound to the end of the verses. This tune is an ode to alcoholism, as seen in the lyrics: "must have whisky, oh, you know why". Then there's "Back Door Man", which sounds completely different from "Alabama Song". It is a blues song with a contagious, foot-tapping beat. The band creates a sexual vibe with this song and incorporates a generous amount of Morrison's famous screams. A "back door man" is about a man having an affair with a married woman, which explains the sexual vibe the band was going for with this tune. The song is heavily influenced by and perhaps a cover of Howlin' Wolfe's "Back Door Man". The two songs have a very similar slow, steady sound with the use of electric guitars and drums to give a jazz/blues sound. Howlin' Wolfe is a strong influence of The Door's sound here.
My favorite song on the album, “The Crystal Ship” opens with Morrison’s deep, soothing voice slowly singing “before you slip into unconsciousness…”, a line that makes the song seem as though it is about drugs, when in reality it is a tragic love song. The song features classical piano playing in the background of Morrison reciting poetry. Morrison's captivatingly smooth voice is what makes this song so special. This track, along with "End Of The Night", show that not all psychedelic rock music is fast and loud, but it can also contain slow, soothing guitar playing. The following song, “Twentieth Century Fox”, snaps you out of your trance with its upbeat tune about a stunningly beautiful girl. This track sounds like a typical Beatles love song, showing how The Beatles influenced some of The Doors' music.
The final song on the album is "The End", an almost twelve minute track written by Morrison about a break up. The song is my least favorite on the album, only because I consider it a weak track to end with, as it is extremely repetitive and drags on for the first nine minutes until it begins to pick up into a clash of loud drumming and guitar playing. This song provides a gloomy, dark side of psychedelic rock.
This album contains a variety of genres including blues, jazz, and even German opera, proving the band's ability to take psychedelic rock music and combine it with different sounds to create amazing new rock music. This album pushes the envelope of psychedelic rock, and The Doors continue to push more envelopes throughout their successful rock career.
