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BJPortugal
LA Woman is highly praised, but it is my less favourite. Paul Rothschild, earlier producer of The Doors, called that "cocktail music".
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Doxa
At the time - early 80's - I get to know The Doors they had a kind of cool image for certain hispsters of the day - the sort of a counter voice for or teh flip side of the happy, shining, over positive vibes of the mainstream at the time - the people dressed in black, going 'alternative' later and so on. The coolest chicks of the day would be found among those circles...
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Doxa
At the time - early 80's - I get to know The Doors they had a kind of cool image for certain hispsters of the day - the sort of a counter voice for or teh flip side of the happy, shining, over positive vibes of the mainstream at the time - the people dressed in black, going 'alternative' later and so on. The coolest chicks of the day would be found among those circles...
I recall reading in the leading magazine of that sort in Finland stating that 'of any big and revolutionary names of the 60's, the music of The Doors has survived the test of time best'. The coolness of The Velvet Underground was already noticed during the late 70's punk era, so by the 80's they started to be old news. I think the 1980 relaese of Hopkins/Sugarman biography NO ONE HERE GETS ALIVE (Finnish translation 1981) also had a huge role for positive Morrison reception at the time.
After that they were just another band from the classic era of rock - suitable nostalgia material for UNCUT and MOJO readers. I think The Doors have even strangely disappeared from the sight during the last two decades - or at least doesn't have any longer that special aura to stand-out from their contemporaries they once had. Probably the romantic image of Morrison of such a druggie genius poet hasn't actually dated so well, or being so 'cool' as it once was seen.
Me? I liked much the Doors back in the 80's, purchased all their records, but I need to admit: I have not listened to them much since then (so I guess I am one of those snobbish elitists of the 80's whose interest Oliver Stone and Val Kilmer killed haha... or, now to think of it, probably I haven't have a girl friend crazy for Jimbo since then who 'forces' me to listen them...)
- Doxa
- Well, well, well, Ive read your stuff on The Doors before, Doxa. Fersure the band stroke a chord in the Finnish psyche, a Norwegian would think. I was too old for punk, so that didn`t introduce me to the band. As you have pointed out, you can`t milk this band forever. The coolness disappears. They were a short-lived band with only 6 studio albums. I think nobody cares about them today.
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stonehearted
I cannot locate the video clip where producer Paul Rothchild gave an interview about the L.A. Woman sessions, but as I remember it he described the band in general as uninspired at the beginning of those sessions, so he just walked out leaving them in the hands of engineer Bruce Botnick. The shock of having their producer walk out on them appears to have woken them up, and they were then able to pull things together enough to complete the sessions and produce an album without Rothchild's help.
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stonehearted
I cannot locate the video clip where producer Paul Rothchild gave an interview about the L.A. Woman sessions, but as I remember it he described the band in general as uninspired at the beginning of those sessions, so he just walked out leaving them in the hands of engineer Bruce Botnick. The shock of having their producer walk out on them appears to have woken them up, and they were then able to pull things together enough to complete the sessions and produce an album without Rothchild's help.
Yes he wasn't happy with the entire sessions and left, but it was Riders on the Storm specifically which he referred to as "cocktail music" - or "cocktail "jazz" - not the finished album.
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stonehearted
Fun fact:
Most of Strange Days consists of outtakes from the first album, that is, songs that were written around the same time.
Demos of My Eyes Have Seen You and Moonlight Drive date back to 1965 -- in that same recording session (September 2, 1965 at World Pacific Jazz Studios in Los Angeles, CA), they also demoed 2 songs that would be on their third album, Summer's Almost Gone and Hello I Love You, the latter of which would be a #1 national U.S. hit.
Two recordings exist of Moonlight Drive from the 1966 sessions for the first album.
So, Strange Days -- not bad for an album of mostly leftovers.
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stonehearted
I cannot locate the video clip where producer Paul Rothchild gave an interview about the L.A. Woman sessions, but as I remember it he described the band in general as uninspired at the beginning of those sessions, so he just walked out leaving them in the hands of engineer Bruce Botnick. The shock of having their producer walk out on them appears to have woken them up, and they were then able to pull things together enough to complete the sessions and produce an album without Rothchild's help.
Yes he wasn't happy with the entire sessions and left, but it was Riders on the Storm specifically which he referred to as "cocktail music" - or "cocktail "jazz" - not the finished album.
Yes, I'm aware of the comment about Riders on the Storm, but according to Rothchild, he thought Riders on the Storm was fantastic; it was specifically Love Her Madly that drove him away:
BAM: Love Her Madly was not one of their better singles, I agree.
PR: That's exactly the song I was talking about that I said sounded like cocktail music. THAT'S the song that drove me out of the studio. That it sold a million copies means nothing to me. It's still bad music.
Here's the link to that complete 1981 BAM interview: [archives.waiting-forthe-sun.net]
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ghostryder13
Rothchild bailed out of the L.A. Woman sessions because he wanted to work with Janis Joplin on what would be the ''Pearl'' album instead.
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stonehearted
Here's one of the highlights of the 1977 reunion of the original mid-60s lineup (It's All Over Now, Baby Blue): [www.youtube.com]
Below, cover for the 1977 album Before We Were So Rudely Interrupted:
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Hairball
So long story short, he's been cited in numerous publications as calling Riders on the Storm "cocktail jazz", yet in 1981 he denies he said it specifically about Riders on the Storm , and was instead referring to specifically Love Her Madly. He even goes so far to dispel the story by praising Riders on the Storm: "The Doors did go on to produce their own record with Bruce, and from it came two excellent cuts - L.A. Woman and Riders on the Storm, the two that had been excellent in rehearsal" OK then...that almost clears that up, but I'm pretty sure there was an interview with Ray Manzarek (or Desnmore or Krieger?) who also stated Rothchild called Riders "cocktail music". But who knows - the fact is he didn't say it about the entire album which BJPortugal posted and was who I was originally replying to.
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Hairball
So long story short, he's been cited in numerous publications as calling Riders on the Storm "cocktail jazz", yet in 1981 he denies he said it specifically about Riders on the Storm , and was instead referring to specifically Love Her Madly. He even goes so far to dispel the story by praising Riders on the Storm: "The Doors did go on to produce their own record with Bruce, and from it came two excellent cuts - L.A. Woman and Riders on the Storm, the two that had been excellent in rehearsal" OK then...that almost clears that up, but I'm pretty sure there was an interview with Ray Manzarek (or Desnmore or Krieger?) who also stated Rothchild called Riders "cocktail music". But who knows - the fact is he didn't say it about the entire album which BJPortugal posted and was who I was originally replying to.
I always thought as well it was Riders on the Storm that was referred to as cocktail music.
I think the reason for this discrepancy is that it was a "mis-remembered" quote that was printed in an otherwise reputable source -- the Jerry Hopkins/Danny Sugarman Doors bio No One Here Gets Out Alive.
Widely read as well as authorized, that mis-remembered quote would just be taken as fact and reprinted down through the ages.
It's easy to see why it could be attributed to Riders on the Storm, given that the song is piano driven -- and when you think of classic cocktail/lounge music a la Vegas, you think of a piano.
Love Her Madly, on the other hand, just seems more like a straightforward pop song -- which I would imagine is why it was such a big hit.
So, yeah, I came across that interview a while back, and it does clear up the story of why Rothchild walked out and what led to it -- kind of ironic that it was Love Her Madly, a song about someone walking out.
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tatters
I also liked Ark, their new-wave era 1983 second reunion album. I saw them twice on that tour. Still with all five original members.
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tatters
I also liked Ark, their new-wave era 1983 second reunion album. I saw them twice on that tour. Still with all five original members.
I was their North American tour show opener in Buffalo at Shea's Theatre.