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Week 32:
The Doors
Artist Introduction
This was a pretty critical band for my love of music when I was in high school. It's one of the first bands that I really did an individual deep dive on, and I watched a bunch of documentaries on Jim Morrison, the lead singer. Morrison never had the visions to be a front man of a rock n roll band, but it was his only lane to expressing himself through poetry. So here you have The Doors, enjoy!
Joe Cascella
Most Popular
Riders On The Storm
People Are Strange
Break On Through
Personal Favorites
Roadhouse Blues
LA Woman
Love Me Two Times
Unique Songs
You're Lost Little Girl
The Soft Parade
End Of The Night
Conclusions
Cascella Family Reviews
Vin Cascella
This should be a fun listen. The Doors are one of those classic groups that has countless hits that I always enjoy listening to. I know most of this playlist and I’m sad that a few songs are missing but it’s hard to narrow down songs when the group has so many mega hits. Although I’m very familiar with their music and familiar enough with the chronicles of Jim Morrison, I don’t think I’ve ever taken the time to really dive deep into their music. So yea, lets get into it.
Riders On The Storm: I mean this is the coolest shit. How did this come out 55 years ago!? I really do love everything about this song. Right off the rip, the eerie background rolling thunder, twinkling piano, bouncing bassline, and ride percussion set up what is to be an amazing song and Morrison’s haunting voice rounds out the track. The guitar tone is fantastic and the use of the overdubbed whispers just add to this wild track. It’s hardly even a rock song, it doesn’t really fit into any genre. Is it rock, is it jazz, really good elevator music!? I never considered this one of my favorite songs of all time but now that I’m really diving in… it's gotta be in the top 10. There’s so much going on, it's so ahead of its time and it all works perfectly. Masterpiece.
People Are Strange: Another wild song. This one is almost a full 60 years old!! Blues, meets rock, meets psychedelic carnival. Short, sweet, undeniably catchy. 2/2 on excellent timeless tracks.
Break On Through: The most rocking song so far. Definitely a more straight forward rock song. Sounds like Johnny Cash and Elvis but with more edge. Another great song. No fluff, short and straight to the point. Just a super aggressive rock song with some off beat instruments and sounds in a solid rock song. This might be the best “most popular” section of anything we’ve listened to so far.
Roadhouse Blues: Another solid rock song that leans heavy into the blues. I’d argue that it’s a little generic for the Doors. That being said, it is a fun rocker and extremely punk for the time. This sound of this one fits their controversial persona. The song is pretty much a barfight turned into music.
LA Woman: You can hear the culmination of a lot of their sounds in this song. It’s a long track that features a whole bunch of instruments, background sounds, ad libs all while wrapped into a solid blues rock song. The build in the middle of the song leading into him repeating an anagram for his own name is really cool. I can’t really think of anyone else doing anything like this at the time and rocking this hard.
Love Me Two Times: I love that this selection of 9 songs only has 2 songs that fit a typical song length or structure. It’s either under 3 minutes or a 7+ minute epic. It’s just another example of how they were innovators and didn’t mind experimenting with everything. Sound, lyrics, structure, production, you name it. Another fantastic song. Great use of unique instruments (harpsichord) in a rock n roll song. Although this seems rather tame now, this song was actually banned from some radio play because the lyrics were considered too risque for the time. A really solid Personal Favorite section. Wish I saw “Touch Me” here or “Alabama Song” in the unique section.
You’re Lost Little Girl: And now it’s time to get weird. Similar to People Are Strange off of the same album the song feels like something that could be part of a psychedelic carnival. Cool little guitar solo at the end as well. Not as great as the rest of the tracks.
The Soft Parade: Is this long convoluted track about the bizarre and varied humanity on Sunset Boulevard good, bad, misunderstood? I’ve gone back and forth on whether I like this song or not. As I write this review I’ve decided that I love this song although it could lose a couple minutes in the back half. The fuck is going on? It’s like 5 different songs in one with some preaching, some elevator ambiance, and then a ridiculous Yes-style prog-rock section (this is the best part of the trip!). The ad-libs are comical at times in the best way possible. I saw a comment about this song that I think describes it perfectly. “It’s 2026 and this song is still 20 years ahead of its time”.
End Of The Night: Reminds me of the Peaky Blinders theme song “Red Right Hand”. This one is a little too out there for me, especially as a standalone listen. As the closing track of their debut LP I think this song fits a lot better. I really can’t get over how innovative and weird this band is. Quick tangent. I haven’t spoken about any of the band members outside of a few words about Jim Morrison. Robby Krieger on guitar more than holds his own and his lyrical and songwriting contributions are timeless. John Densmore on drums holds it down throughout their catalogue and some of the percussion choices are really cool. Jim Morrison is obviously one of a kind of vocals, lyrics, and stage presence. And then in my opinion, the unsung hero of the band is Ray Manzarek. His role on keyboard and vocals is really what helps to define this band’s unique sound. Also someone can correct me if I’m wrong but I read that since the band never had a bassist, Ray would play the bass during live shows using his keyboard. Some of the best parts of this band are the basslines and they don’t even have a bassist!
What a wild ride this band is. Personally for me I like them best when they feature some experimentation while not fully leaning into their obscure avant-garde side. They for sure rock, and then when they add in some of their experimental elements I think they really shine. Sometimes they go so far off the rails that it becomes a challenge to really get into, but I think that’s part of the fun of a band like this. It is for sure undeniable that they are one of a kind and I really can’t think of another band that I can compare to them, especially at the level of fame they were able to achieve. Maybe Pink Floyd? They both get pretty psychedelic while still being considered rock n roll. As for the rating. It’s going to be a strong score. When they are right they are amazing, but I do think the unique section did get a little too weird for me and I would’ve swapped a couple songs in the personal favorites section but they have so many great songs it is hard to choose. I’m not going to lie, I was floating around a low 8 as I went through my listening but now that I write this review I realize how much I enjoy this band. They hit all the metrics of a top score. Super influential, one-of-a-kind, lasting legacy, and I love their music. I might be going a little high, especially with the unique tracks but I gotta call em as I see em. The Doors break on through into my top 5, with a huge score. 8.9
Dad Cascella
On to THE DOORS. Surprising pick for Joseph as I didn’t know he even knew who this band was. For me, I’m fairly well versed on this band, as they’re probably the second most music I heard when in college (I had a few friends who were big DOORS fans). Obviously know about Jim Morrison and his demons. But surprisingly, without looking it up, I remembered the other players as Ray Manzarek, Robby Krieger, and John Densmore. I always found THE DOORS to be a pretty good band, so let’s see if the deep dive can sway my thinking.
RIDERS ON THE STORM- Iconic soft opening leads to a great opening intro song to THE DOORS. Nothing fancy here, just a real cool vibe. Featuring mostly Manzarek’s keyboard work (it’s funny, but listen carefully, he actually hits a couple of clunkers, but it fits). And the bass work isn’t Manzarek, it’s actually the bassist from Elvis’ band. Classic deep vocals by Morrison, with simple lyrics (by his standards). I read that this was the very last song THE DOORS recorded with Morrison’s vocals. Could have been shortened by a minute and a half, but very good start to this listen.
PEOPLE ARE STRANGE- Short song, and another DOORS classic. Again with a low sorta vibe, simple lyrics referring to hippies and the counter-culture of the times. The music is also fairly simple, almost popish for DOORS music. Morrison stretches his vocals ever so slightly. Not much to it, but sounds like nothing else in the ‘60’s, which was definitely a DOORS signature. For me, an o.k. Song.
BREAK ON THROUGH- Alright, now we’re rocking. With howls and echo’d vocals, this one is about as rocking as THE DOORS get. I read years ago that Mick Jagger once said he wished THE STONES wrote this song, that’s how much he liked it. While it features mostly Manzarek’s keyboards, I’m really liking Densmore’s drumming. Cool lyrics, but I know not Morrison’s best. And think about this, these first 3 songs were so different and unique sounding for the 60’s and early 70’s, no other band sounded like this. These first three were some of the most played music on FM radio in my day.
ROADHOUSE BLUES- George Thorogood, meet THE DOORS. Great, great guitar riff by Krieger, with harmonica and piano accompanying. Lots going on here musically. And I love Morrison telling Krieger “do it Robbie, do it” leading into a cool guitar lead. “Ashen lady, give up your vows”. These last two songs have very suggestive and controversial lyrics for its time. Geez, I forgot how good this band could be.
L A WOMAN- Another cool opening, again so different for its time period (maybe Jefferson Airplane comes close). Listen to this song in headphones to get the overall effect. With great music by the whole band and really good vocals. And Morrison’s lyrics are great and somewhat ambiguous about Los Angeles (Maynard was much more direct). And again, Densmore’s drumming stands out. It’s a long song, but it all works.
LOVE ME TWO TIMES- It doesn’t get any more risque than these Morrison lyrics. It’s again a low-vibe bluesy rocker, short, with very few lyrics. At 2 ½ minute mark Morrison lets loose a bit, always liked when he did. He was always a bit shy about his singing, and didn’t think he should cut loose too much. Good song.
YOU’RE LOST LITTLE GIRL- Wow, haven’t heard this song in about 30 years. Always liked it. Very different for THE DOORS, while still being unmistakably THE DOORS (no denying Morrisons deep vocals). A soft ballad, somber throughout. Not much to talk about musically, but I like the choice.
THE SOFT PARADE- thank God, Joseph, that you included this song. It’s so unique, crazy, mystical, and so, so, so ahead of its time. So much going on. We start with Morrison preaching and then yelling “you can not petition the Lord with prayer”. Then a soft guitar accompanying Morrison’s lyrics giving us possibly our first glance at his imminent doom. “I can’t make it anymore”. Then it goes into a jazzy sound with lyrics that could have been written by A. Kiedis (they make no sense, just words). Then we go into a bass driven YES sound. Are you still with me? Cause this songs all over the place, and sometimes genius. Then at 3:15 mark we get a total shift. Tribal drums with Morrison just throwing out words. Then we get four great bluesy verses explaining The Soft Parade. His best lyrics now. And the band is cooking the whole time. It’s a long song, but for me, one of my favorite DOORS songs. Nobody was even close to producing a song like this in 1968. Queen would eventually do Bohemian Rhapsody years later.
END OF THE NIGHT- basic musical opening with simple playing and very basic and few lyrics. Not much to say about this one. Thank God for the previous 8 selections. Was hoping Crystal Ship, or The End would make the unique list.
So that’s it for THE DOORS. Truthfully, my pre-thinking on this dive was that it’d be a decent listen, and probably mid to upper 7’s. But I truly forgot how good this band was. Looking for live performances, sadly, did not find many options. Back in the 60’s when a band went on TV shows, most of the performances were lip sync’ed. But good versions of THE DOORS can be seen on The Ed Sullivan Show (Light My Fire) and a rare performance of a full 10 minute version of THE SOFT PARADE in Soundstage Performances. We all know the sad saga of Jim Morrison, but he was definitely known as a man who pushed things to the limit and beyond, with drugs, alcohol, and social norms. I’m not a conspiracy guy, so yes, he did die in that bathtub in Paris, becoming one of the founding fathers of the 27 club. As for THE DOORS music, while Morrison is the highlight of this band, Manzarek, Krieger, and Densmore were very accomplished musicians and their work within this band is undeniably great. I really enjoyed this dive, and I’m going higher than my original thinking. THE DOORS get an 8.2
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