Wow? ...Really?

I'm surprised that so many folks didn't like the Doors.
On the night of my senior high school prom in 68
I went to see The Doors in Detroit. I thought it was
a great concert!

I had really liked the Doors before that.
Clearly not much like the Stones but I really dug
the sort of mystical sounding music.

Granted, after Jim died the Doors were over. Kind of
strange in way because John, robbie and Ray were really
all good musicians. Of course, Jim was the man.

The reunions nevre interested me but the orignal several
first LPs' were just great!

Marv

Marv Peck

Y'all remember that rubber legged boy

The trick is dying young. If they'd made 15 more albums they'd be a corporate rock band like the Stones. Successful but not hip.

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andrewt
I never thought the Doors were cool. They've always sounded like a lounge act to me.

What an annoying lounge though. How could you sit and enjoy a drink in that lounge? With all the angry poetry being read loudly over carnival music. I prefer Herb Alpert in my lounge.

LA Woman was one the first albums I constantly played after I discovered my parents owned it. Lots of great blues on that album. Never considered it to be 'cool', just really enjoyed listening to it.

And to put it into context with some posts above, this was around 1980 in the Netherlands.

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The GR
It was some where behind Dan Square near a post office, I remember going to the Doors cafe for a drink after buying my Haag ticket for September (the wettest show ever).

Mmmm...they don't nor did really serve drinks in the Doors cafe, which indeed is just off the Dam Square. It is one of the oldest coffee shops in Amsterdam. Now it is a tourist trap, but on the old days they really sold the best Libanon Red.

Mathijs

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Amsterdamned
I remember growing up in the 7-tees they were very popular in Holland amongst most younger people with a "good taste".

So, where did it go wrong? Drugs?

Mathijs

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Mathijs

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Amsterdamned
I remember growing up in the 7-tees they were very popular in Holland amongst most younger people with a "good taste".

So, where did it go wrong? Drugs?

Mathijs

Nope, Jazz Rock, Prog Rock, Fusion and attractive girls

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Amsterdamned

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Mathijs

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Amsterdamned
I remember growing up in the 7-tees they were very popular in Holland amongst most younger people with a "good taste".

So, where did it go wrong? Drugs?

Mathijs

Nope, Jazz Rock, Prog Rock, Fusion and attractive girls

Well, only the latter doesn't need loads of drugs to enjoy.

Mathijs

To each their own I guess but I'll chime in with my opinion of never caring for them myself, and I tried. Despite being force fed it by our American media I still never could digest it. To me it's just another example of crap floating to the top again with death causing more fame than was deserved.
If you like them them I'm cool with that, I just never have myself and it's only my opinion.

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Munichhilton

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andrewt
I never thought the Doors were cool. They've always sounded like a lounge act to me.

What an annoying lounge though. How could you sit and enjoy a drink in that lounge? With all the angry poetry being read loudly over carnival music. I prefer Herb Alpert in my lounge.

Ha ha! yeah, or Jimmy Smith.

Stairway To Heaven. (Led Zeppelin cover)





I find this funny...

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andy js
Have the Doors ever been cool ?

The only thing I remember them ever being is utter shit

never cool, over-rated but in their own league, which is not the same as the Stones (compare NBA team with a local high school team - so yes, they are overated for a high school local basketball team).
yes, they went into the mainstream at the beginning of the 90's, thanks to the movie. Particularly with the generation born in the 70's. So, a lot of people would say - yes men, I listen to the Doors, I love real rock music (without knowing any other band from the same period, even the Stones). Then 2 years after, you find those people hooked on rap music. I just hope that the Oliver Stone got huge percentage of the album sales after the movie

I'm only interested in music and songwriting. There's lot of fine jazz rock, blues and interesting lyrics on those Doors albums.

I think The Doors were great band.

Over-rated by the media, yes. Due to a big Hollywood movie, I know - but that's not the bands fault, now is it ? - even the band members themselves hated that movie - Ray Manzarek wanted to sue. - So why blame the band when little girls fall in love with the actor Val Kilmer ? Who cares about the movie and popular taste, it really comes down to the music itself. The best parts of The Doors music remain remarkable to this day, - lot of great blues and jazz rock and interesting lyrics. - Lyrics are important part of the Doors songwriting and those guys were trying hard not to repeat the same old cliche's in lyrics. I think insight into Jim's lyrics helps to make his best work shine as real literature.

I respect that.

I dont give a damn about that " He died young like James Dean crap" - leave that to the little girls - To me, - It´s like Whitney Houstons death, - I´m sick of hearing about it already, - I dont give a damn about her death or the media hype around it - but is the media hype really her fault ? I dont think so. It´s a tragedy..but not that interesting. Same goes for Jim and Brian Jones.

Most people who dont like Morrisons lyrics, would rather think of a good song as uplifting, entertaining toe-tapping - with no brains whatsoever - and nothing else. But have you ever read any of the books that Jim was quoting ? Have you got any idea what he was trying to say - and where those lyrics came from - I think he was trying to say lot more than just the " I wanna hold your Hand" crap that had already been done and buried.
I respect a good songwriter, someone who tries his best to write interesting lyrics. And takes a few steps further to build something on his own - in that a long tradition...

The probleam is that when band gets mainstream success - the "hip" and "cool" people dont want to like them anymore, it gets to that silly - I only like obscure "cool" bands " - kind of crap.

I'm only interested in music and songwriting. There's lot of fine jazz rock, blues and interesting lyrics on those Doors albums. {seitan}

Agreed, and Robbie Krieger deserves a lot of recognition. A very warm and versatile player.

Always loved them, but 'Light My Fire' is probably the worst thing they ever did. JM was a poet who wrote some beautiful lyrics, although some suffer from excessive 1960s hippie terms. Even now a lot of their music sounds fresh and listenable. I wish I could have seen them live.

JM was beautiful, sexy and androgynous-looking, until he got really fat around the time he died. His death is very much woven into RS history, via Marianne, the Gettys and Jean de Bréteuil.

They have some great stuff. Their first album was a fresh bold new statement. With some great playing and quality songs. And live they were exciting, sexy and dangerous. But also they have some very pretentious and kitschy sounding material. Ray's keys can sound cheesy and Jim's "poetry" doesn't always work. And they suffered from it.

for 30 plus yrs i've felt i have 2 favorite bands. the stones and the doors. yet i have to be in a cetian mood to listen to the doors. the stones have music for any mood

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seitan
I'm only interested in music and songwriting. There's lot of fine jazz rock, blues and interesting lyrics on those Doors albums.

I think The Doors were great band.

Over-rated by the media, yes. Due to a big Hollywood movie, I know - but that's not the bands fault, now is it ? - even the band members themselves hated that movie - Ray Manzarek wanted to sue. - So why blame the band when little girls fall in love with the actor Val Kilmer ? Who cares about the movie and popular taste, it really comes down to the music itself. The best parts of The Doors music remain remarkable to this day, - lot of great blues and jazz rock and interesting lyrics. - Lyrics are important part of the Doors songwriting and those guys were trying hard not to repeat the same old cliche's in lyrics. I think insight into Jim's lyrics helps to make his best work shine as real literature.

I respect that.

I dont give a damn about that " He died young like James Dean crap" - leave that to the little girls - To me, - It´s like Whitney Houstons death, - I´m sick of hearing about it already, - I dont give a damn about her death or the media hype around it - but is the media hype really her fault ? I dont think so. It´s a tragedy..but not that interesting. Same goes for Jim and Brian Jones.

Most people who dont like Morrisons lyrics, would rather think of a good song as uplifting, entertaining toe-tapping - with no brains whatsoever - and nothing else. But have you ever read any of the books that Jim was quoting ? Have you got any idea what he was trying to say - and where those lyrics came from - I think he was trying to say lot more than just the " I wanna hold your Hand" crap that had already been done and buried.
I respect a good songwriter, someone who tries his best to write interesting lyrics. And takes a few steps further to build something on his own - in that a long tradition...

The probleam is that when band gets mainstream success - the "hip" and "cool" people dont want to like them anymore, it gets to that silly - I only like obscure "cool" bands " - kind of crap.

Good post, seitan. The hype should be separated from the act. But I think the hype is rather tolerable when you like the act. I mean, I think the Stones are never really hyped too much... but then again that band from Liverpool, can't recall their name, gets so much hype, and sometimes I get the impression that nothing else happened during the 60's than that band...

I liked quite a lot The Doors back in the 80's. Like Mathijs described Netherlands of the 80's, the same hold basically in Finland as well: the 60's music scene was a hit back then, at least to some sensible ears. Maybe it was due to reason that the music of the day was something that it drove those who like 'authentic' rock music back to the beginning when music was actually fresh and good and meant something. A kind of reaction to the climate. At least that what was I felt, and I wasn't alone. I think Jim Morrison had what one would call a 'cult following' - everybody who cared of rock music knew him - just like they did Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, etc. I think the coolest chicks around at the time liked especially The Doors... Morrison's poetry was, of course, 'cool'. If the Stones popularized people like Muddy Waters, The Doors did that to people like Nietzsche.

But I don't know, I guess my Doors fandom was a thing of my youth in that 'counter-cultural' reaction to the 80's mainstream. I just lost the interest in their music (and even more to Morrison's 'poetry'). It didn't make me a lasting impact as, say, The Stones, Dylan or Hendrix did. That happened before Stone's movie actually, so the hype around it, was not by any means tolarable to my ears... And I already knew the original books Jimbo was referring to...

- Doxa

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whitem8
They have some great stuff. Their first album was a fresh bold new statement. With some great playing and quality songs. And live they were exciting, sexy and dangerous. But also they have some very pretentious and kitschy sounding material. Ray's keys can sound cheesy and Jim's "poetry" doesn't always work. And they suffered from it.

Probably the best first album anyone has ever released, except maybe Hendrix.

It took me a long time to like, accept the Doors. Two things that botherd me a lot were that I thought Jim M. was hugely overrated. A bloated drunk full self pity. The other thing was Ray Manzarek and that annoying organ grinding.
Then I started to appreciate Robbie Krieger more and more, and Densmore. Then the early Morrison. I saw a documentary on the Doors. Manzarek was telling how he first met Jim on the beach, and JM told him a few lines of his poetry. It hit me how very good the lines were.
So yes, the early Doors I appreciate okay.
All that dropping trou is a joke though.

"...GREATEST HITS ALBUMS ARE FOR HOUSEWIVES AND LITTLE GIRLS!!"



I think the memory of that line single-handedly stopped me from buying at least a half-dozen or so Greatest Hits albums by various artists over the years.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2012-03-04 08:33 by loog droog.