Hello,

I got the LIVE IN NEW YORK set from the doors a few days ago. It is absolutely fantastic. What do you think of the Bright Midnight Recordings, which ones do you think are the best? The Aquarius Performances sound interesting because of the setlist. But I think they`re sold out everywhere.

Jan

Is this a newly released collection? Could you post the track list and maybe when it was recorded? Thanks!

Quote
stonehearted
Is this a newly released collection? Could you post the track list and maybe when it was recorded? Thanks!

No, they've been around since 2000 or so. Since then they've done about 20 releases. If you listen to much Doors you've probably heard some (most live releases in the past decade or so are Bright Midnight), just didn't know they were under the "Bright Midnight" banner. The New York one he's talking about was released in '09 and is 4 shows from Jan. 17 & 18 shows at Felt Forum in 1970.

As for other ones that are good hockenheim, try Detroit, Philadelphia and Boston. Those 3 along with New York are probably the best of the bunch. I just recently bought Vancouver and it's OK, but not up there with those 4.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2013-12-18 05:27 by NoCode0680.

Ah, I see. I have a few from 1970. It seems that shows from that year are the only ones that ever get released, because those are the most readily available and frequently recorded, but the band of 1970 always sounds a bit tired to me--though I do like their Isle of Wight set.

I bought the Matrix '67 CDs because there were early songs and covers that weren't done on the 1970 releases. I wish they would release more shows from 1967 and 68.

Quote
stonehearted
Ah, I see. I have a few from 1970. It seems that shows from that year are the only ones that ever get released, because those are the most readily available and frequently recorded, but the band of 1970 always sounds a bit tired to me--though I do like their Isle of Wight set.

I bought the Matrix '67 CDs because there were early songs and covers that weren't done on the 1970 releases. I wish they would release more shows from 1967 and 68

Yeah, the Matrix CDs are Bright Midnight. Now that you mention it, most of them are from '70, but some aren't. Like Matrix, Aquarius Theater and Hollywood Bowl. Why is it that the '70 shows are more readily available? I don't know if they sound tired on that tour, as it seems most live stuff I have of theirs is from '70 so I don't have a lot to compare it to. Tired or not, that Detroit show is amazing.

Quote
NoCode0680

Quote
stonehearted
Ah, I see. I have a few from 1970. It seems that shows from that year are the only ones that ever get released, because those are the most readily available and frequently recorded, but the band of 1970 always sounds a bit tired to me--though I do like their Isle of Wight set.

I bought the Matrix '67 CDs because there were early songs and covers that weren't done on the 1970 releases. I wish they would release more shows from 1967 and 68

Yeah, the Matrix CDs are Bright Midnight. Now that you mention it, most of them are from '70, but some aren't. Like Matrix, Aquarius Theater and Hollywood Bowl. Why is it that the '70 shows are more readily available? I don't know if they sound tired on that tour, as it seems most live stuff I have of theirs is from '70 so I don't have a lot to compare it to. Tired or not, that Detroit show is amazing.

the band rarely recorded themselves live before 1970. i believe almost the entire 1970 tour was recorded. before that it was either up to club owners or the band recorded themselves at special events like the hollywood bowl. there are a few pre 1970 things possible in the pipeline but with the death of ray who knows whats going on.

Quote
NoCode0680

Quote
stonehearted
Ah, I see. I have a few from 1970. It seems that shows from that year are the only ones that ever get released, because those are the most readily available and frequently recorded, but the band of 1970 always sounds a bit tired to me--though I do like their Isle of Wight set.

I bought the Matrix '67 CDs because there were early songs and covers that weren't done on the 1970 releases. I wish they would release more shows from 1967 and 68

Yeah, the Matrix CDs are Bright Midnight. Now that you mention it, most of them are from '70, but some aren't. Like Matrix, Aquarius Theater and Hollywood Bowl. Why is it that the '70 shows are more readily available? I don't know if they sound tired on that tour, as it seems most live stuff I have of theirs is from '70 so I don't have a lot to compare it to. Tired or not, that Detroit show is amazing.

I've got a live boot called "Apocalypse Now" (Alternative Edge Productions) of material recorded from their 1968 "Waiting For The Sun" tour, and there's more a sense of dynamics in their music, more pop and thwack in John's drums, more forcefulness in Robbie's guitar, more passion in Jim's vocals:

set list:
Five To One
Mack The Knife/Alabama Song
Backdoor Man
You're Lost, Little Girl
Love Me Two Times
When The Music's Over
Wild Cherry
Money
Wake Up
Light My Fire
The End
Unknown Soldier

Here's When The Music's Over from that album. See if you find that it has more of a ferocity than the 1970 stuff.

Oh cool. What is the "Wild Cherry" track?

Quote
Claire_M
Oh cool. What is the "Wild Cherry" track?

It's actually Wild Child, but for some reason is listed as "Cherry" instead of "Child" on the track list. I actually had to go back and listen to the track on CD, because I haven't listened in a while and so I forgot, thinking it might be a poem or something.

They already had this song in the can in 1968. It was the first track they recorded for the following year's Soft Parade album.







Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2013-12-18 20:57 by stonehearted.

The Live In Vancouver cd has Albert King sitting in for a few songs.

Live in Detroit is my personal favorite

the shoot 'em dead, brainbell jangler!

Quote
hockenheim95
Hello,

I got the LIVE IN NEW YORK set from the doors a few days ago. It is absolutely fantastic. What do you think of the Bright Midnight Recordings, which ones do you think are the best? The Aquarius Performances sound interesting because of the setlist. But I think they`re sold out everywhere.

Jan

to answer your question each one is very different imo. the new york boxset is the best overall.

pittsburgh- this one is more subdued. jim isn't wild. everything sounds very professional. very odd for a doors gig

boston- exact opposite of pittsburgh. the band is one fire but its to cover up the mistakes ultra drunk jim is having. very wild gig.

vancouver- the entire thing sounds really bluesy. maybe it was because the band knew albert king was joining them later in the show.

I wish they would release stuff from their European tour--except, of course, the Amsterdam show where Ray had to sing because Jim incapacitated himself after swallowing a chunk of hash an hour before show time.

Here's one they never did in any of their widely available 1970 shows.







Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2013-12-19 01:15 by stonehearted.

Love the Doors....

I absolutely LOVE these Bright Midnight releases.

I was telling a friend the other day: for most people, the Doors familiar studio recordings stuff IS the Doors, that's what they think of, "Riders On The Storm," "Hello I Love You" etc, and the live stuff is something extra or rare or exotic to them. For me, thanks to the Bright Midnight releases and bootlegs, it is now the complete reverse of that -- the live stuff is what I think of in my mind as the Doors, and the studio LPs are strange, pale imitations, they're nice but more like an ornament or the cherry on top of the cake, instead of the cake itself. Turns out the live stuff is the real body of work. It completely changed my mindset about the Doors, whom I had grown tired of since high school and the hits being overplayed.

It sounds dumb, but what I love the best is all the different varieties of Jim Morrison screams you get. There would come certain moments in every show where he would just let out a crazy scream -- "Back Door Man" on Absolutely Live for instance. And every one of those screams was completely different, every night, no two were ever alike. Aaauuuughhhh! ooooooOOOhhh! Yeah-yuh Baybeh! Arrrrghhhh! Yahhhhhhhhh!....I could listen to those all day.

The Bright Midnight releases are really good and if you like the doors they're worth buying if only to let them know you want more. It is a shame that so little survives from earlier (66 to 68) when the band is cooking and morrison isn't completely arse over tit and singing like shit. His voice really deteriorated after the 2nd album as did his general demeanour (apparently) but some of the 68 shows are really exciting. I am a big fan of the London Roundhouse show.
Supposedly the next release will be the (finally) complete Matrix recordings which were always missing a couple of tracks on previous releases.

I love these releases, have them all except for the last one they put out, the NY show.

Like mentioned above, some shows Jim is hammered and its messy, others are more serious. But I enjoy all of them. Now that Ray is gone I wonder if anything else from the archives will be put out.

A London Fog club gig is on slate for release.


[www.billboard.com]

Later this year his company, Jampol Artist Management, plans to issue a limited run of an early Doors gig from the London Fog, a Los Angeles club the band played prior to its heyday.

I like the matrix recording personally as my pick of the bunch, some interesting tracks on there and my favourite period of the doors, kinda before they went down the whiskey and blues route.

This rocks...Ian Astbury of the Cult fronting the Doors of the 21st Century...





...yayahh!!!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2013-12-21 03:14 by shadooby.

Favorites from my live collection:

??-??-67 Santa Clara

3-4-67 San Francisco

3-7&10-67 Matrix Club

7-4-67 San Bernadino

10-17-67 Danbury High School

12-26&28-67 Winterland

3-17-68 Boston Back Bay Theater

5-10-68 Coliseum

8-2-68 Singer Bowl

9-15-68 Amersterdam

9-8-68 Chalk Farm Roundhouse

9-20-68 Konserthuset early & late show

12-14-68 L.A. Forum

3-1-69 Diner Key Auditorium

I have 8 shows in '70 (early & late shows), along w/ Isle of Wight & State Fair Music Hall, which is the last recorded show w/ Jim.

Although there is a lot of talk & great reviews of shows in '70, for good reason!! my personal fav. yr. is '68, they were so tight & in sync w/ each other it's amazing!

"Well my heavy throbbers itchin' just to lay a solid rhythm down"

Miami is amazing. I'm not sure i've heard anyone so out of it live in concert. Makes Syd Barrett, Brian Wilson and Roky Erickson sound like the Partridge Family.
I am really looking forward to the London Fog release. I'd forgotten about that one.
Just to reiterate it's really worth picking up the bright midnight releases. I'm not certain but i think the LA Woman set wasn't as grand as we hoped for on account of sales forecasts. When bands release good archive product the only way we have of registering our approval is by buying it.
Much as i prefer physical "product", i imagine that the way to go for a lot of these types of releases is itunes like Beatles/Brian Wilson just did except lossless.

I have all the Bright Midnight recordings except the Matrix as there are bootlegs out there which sound better as evidenced by this review of a Godfather release of the show from the 7th.

[www.collectorsmusicreviews.com]

hopefully The Doors were finally able to secure rights to the masters and can do a proper box set of the matrix tapes

There are also several other reviews of the Bright Midnight releases here including the Felt Forum NYC tapes.

[www.collectorsmusicreviews.com]

I agree the NYC box set is stellar but I would also highly recommend Detroit 1970 and both Aquarius shows.

All are worth having IMHO including the Boston show where Jim is drunk as a skunk.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2013-12-21 17:09 by oldschool.

Just found this excellent Doors database when searching for info on the London Fog gig

[www.thedoorsguide.com]

Quote
plqmule
A London Fog club gig is on slate for release.


[www.billboard.com]

Later this year his company, Jampol Artist Management, plans to issue a limited run of an early Doors gig from the London Fog, a Los Angeles club the band played prior to its heyday.

Really cool stuff about the London Fog residency

[forum.johndensmore.com]

And check out this ebay auction

[www.ebay.com]



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2013-12-21 17:43 by oldschool.

Quote
oldschool

Quote
plqmule
A London Fog club gig is on slate for release.


[www.billboard.com]

Later this year his company, Jampol Artist Management, plans to issue a limited run of an early Doors gig from the London Fog, a Los Angeles club the band played prior to its heyday.

Really cool stuff about the London Fog residency

[forum.johndensmore.com]

And check out this ebay auction

[www.ebay.com]

Cool stuff ! Can't wait to hear it.

Quote
ash
Miami is amazing. I'm not sure i've heard anyone so out of it live in concert. Makes Syd Barrett, Brian Wilson and Roky Erickson sound like the Partridge Family.
I am really looking forward to the London Fog release. I'd forgotten about that one.
Just to reiterate it's really worth picking up the bright midnight releases. I'm not certain but i think the LA Woman set wasn't as grand as we hoped for on account of sales forecasts. When bands release good archive product the only way we have of registering our approval is by buying it.
Much as i prefer physical "product", i imagine that the way to go for a lot of these types of releases is itunes like Beatles/Brian Wilson just did except lossless.

Some of that Miami ranting, the "I'm not talking about a revolution!" type stuff, actually does have an artistic basis, as it comes from the Rock Is Dead jam from the Soft Parade sessions of 1968 to 1969 (bootlegged as Mystic Man). The Rock Is Dead track was recorded on February 25, 1969, so it was fresh in Jim's mind for the Miami concert of a few weeks later, but because it generally hasn't been heard just seemed like some drunkenly insane rant from nowhere.