bus vibes #23 - the doors

hi there

and, going back to the friday that has just gone, rather than the one just ahead of us, look you see, some more vibes musings for you. as mentioned in the last episode of bus vibes, for those of you who are for some reason following all of this, i was in the mood for some west coast of America, if i've got the right side of the country where the LA (man) is.

of the recognized six official albums that The Doors released with their original, pretty much alive line up, selecting one as a favourite is a tricky thing. they are all full of merit, with perhaps only The Soft Parade suffering moments of directionless filler. if for some reason i simply had to select an all time favourite album off of the band, though, LA Woman would take some beating. as this is the most re-issued of the albums from the band, i can only guess i am not alone in thinking this.

why this album above the others? because it brings together all of the elements that made the band great perfectly. Morrison's inherently dark lyrics are off-set by a swathe of love imbued in the psychedelia of the time; the brooding blues of the band takes a moment to drink in the ocean and lets melancholy be washed away for a bit, all whilst retaining the scent of hardness, or if you like harshness.

it is the title track that is, for me, the greatest. maybe that's a little predictable, or perhaps not - most i know would favour the rainswept and interesting sound and vibe of Riders On The Storm. in truth, there's not a bad moment across the whole album, but since this is my blog, here you go, indulge in a few low quality recorded moments of LA Woman.

oh good lord yes, that is Val Kilmer you are looking at; making a very welcome return to this blog. i have grow tired of plugging the ipod into a docking station just to record a few seconds of music for you, so you will please excuse me just using that media player thing off of windows for this.

LA Woman is like Electric Ladyland by Hendrix, the Pearl album off of Janis and, for a slightly more modern comparison, the song You Know You're Right by Nirvana. that is to say, no matter what great heights the artists had reached, all indications of their last work spoke of even more awesome stuff to come.

listening to LA Woman took up all of the journey to verk and some of the way home. on the way home, then, i needed some more vibes. i stuck with The Doors, and played highlights from Waiting For The Sun.

this album contains the song that was, in all likelihood, probably my first encounter with the band, although i would have been unaware of it. Adam Ant, on his debut solo album (Friend Or Foe i think?), did a cover of Hello, I Love You.

One of the more interesting elements to this album is that the title track doesn't appear. i wouldn't state this as fact, but i seem to recall the story was that they decided Waiting For The Sun would be the title, and then the band didn't have the song itself ready in time. it turned up on the next one, i think.

troubling ourselves more with what is, rather than is not, on the album, and it's all pretty much good. far be it from me to speak ill of The Unknown Soldier, or the weird promo film they made for it. beyond that, Love Street, Not To Touch The Earth and Five To One would be my top selections of what is, overall, a great but strangely disjointed sounding record.

sorry for the lack of a poor quality recording of a snippet off of Waiting For The Sun, but do feel free to have a listen to that section or if you like segment from LA Woman once more.

i am, in truth, presently knee deep in books for the bus. i have no idea when i shall next be indulging in the vibes, then, but i hope soon, as i got a rather smart 80s set for father's day, and indeed i found a spiffy film music collection on sale for £2 at  cigarette counter off of Morrisons.