The Doors (album)
Encyclopedia
The Doors is the debut album by the American rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...

 band The Doors
The Doors
The Doors were an American rock band formed in 1965 in Los Angeles, California, with vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, drummer John Densmore, and guitarist Robby Krieger...

, recorded in August 1966 and released in January 1967. It was originally released in significantly different stereo
STEREO
STEREO is a solar observation mission. Two nearly identical spacecraft were launched into orbits that cause them to respectively pull farther ahead of and fall gradually behind the Earth...

 and mono
Monaural
Monaural or monophonic sound reproduction is single-channel. Typically there is only one microphone, one loudspeaker, or channels are fed from a common signal path...

 mixes. It features the breakthrough single "Light My Fire
Light My Fire
"Light My Fire" is a song by The Doors which was recorded in August 1966 and released the first week of January 1967 on the Doors' debut album. Released as a single in April, it spent three weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and one week on the Cash Box Top 100, nearly a year after...

", extended with a substantial instrumental section mostly omitted on the single release, and the lengthy song "The End
The End (The Doors song)
"The End" is a song by The Doors. Originally written by Jim Morrison as a song about breaking up with girlfriend Mary Werbelow, it evolved through months of performances at Los Angeles' Whisky a Go Go into a nearly 12-minute opus on their self-titled album. The band would perform the song to close...

" with its Oedipal
Oedipus complex
In psychoanalytic theory, the term Oedipus complex denotes the emotions and ideas that the mind keeps in the unconscious, via dynamic repression, that concentrate upon a boy’s desire to sexually possess his mother, and kill his father...

 spoken-word section.

The Doors credit the success of their first album to being able to work the songs out night after night at the Whisky a Go Go
Whisky a Go Go
The Whisky a Go Go is a nightclub in West Hollywood, California, United States. It is located at 8901 Sunset Boulevard, on the Sunset Strip.-History:...

 and the London Fog
London Fog (nightclub)
The London Fog was a 1960s nightclub located on the Sunset Strip in what was then unincorporated Los Angeles County, California...

. The album was ranked number 42 on Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...

s list the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.

Background

The Doors final line up was formed in mid 1965 after Ray Manzarek's two brothers left and Robby Krieger joined. The Doors were initially signed to Columbia Records
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...

 under a six month contract, but the band agreed to a release after being unable to secure a producer for the album from Columbia. After being released from the label The Doors played club venues including the London Fog
London Fog (nightclub)
The London Fog was a 1960s nightclub located on the Sunset Strip in what was then unincorporated Los Angeles County, California...

 and The Whisky a Go Go
Whisky a Go Go
The Whisky a Go Go is a nightclub in West Hollywood, California, United States. It is located at 8901 Sunset Boulevard, on the Sunset Strip.-History:...

 until they were signed to Elektra records
Elektra Records
Elektra Records is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group. In 2004, it was consolidated into WMG's Atlantic Records Group. After five years of dormancy, the label was revived by Atlantic in 2009....

 by Jac Holzman
Jac Holzman
Jac Holzman was the founder, chief executive officer and head of both Elektra Records and Nonesuch Records.-Biography:He founded Elektra Records in his St. John's College dorm room in 1950 and Nonesuch Records in 1964...

.

Production

The album was recorded at Sunset Sound Studios in California over six days, with producer Paul Rothchild and audio engineer Bruce Botnick
Bruce Botnick
Bruce Botnick is an American audio engineer and record producer, best known for his work with The Doors, and with Love. He engineered Love's first two albums, and co-produced their third album, Forever Changes, with the band's singer-songwriter, Arthur Lee.In November 1970, he took over production...

. A four track tape machine was used for recording using mostly three tracks, bass and drums on one, guitar and organ on another with Jim's voice on the third. The fourth track was used for overdubbing. During recording of the album a bass player was present on some of the songs, while on stage Ray Manzarek used a left-handed keyboard bass. For tracks "The End" and "Light My Fire" two takes were worked of each and cut together to achieve the final song.

Writing and composition

Although composition credit went to the band as a whole, the album's primary writers were Morrison and Krieger.
"The End"'s Oedipal climax was first performed live at the Whisky A Go Go; the band was thrown out as a result of Morrison
Jim Morrison
James Douglas "Jim" Morrison was an American musician, singer, and poet, best known as the lead singer and lyricist of the rock band The Doors...

 screaming "Mother...I want to fuck you!" towards the end of the song.
"Alabama Song
Alabama Song
The "Alabama Song" was originally published in Bertolt Brecht's Hauspostille . It was set to music by Kurt Weill for the 1927 "Songspiel" Mahagonny and used again in Weill's and Brecht's 1930 opera Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny...

" was written and composed by Bertolt Brecht
Bertolt Brecht
Bertolt Brecht was a German poet, playwright, and theatre director.An influential theatre practitioner of the 20th century, Brecht made equally significant contributions to dramaturgy and theatrical production, the latter particularly through the seismic impact of the tours undertaken by the...

 and Kurt Weill
Kurt Weill
Kurt Julian Weill was a German-Jewish composer, active from the 1920s, and in his later years in the United States. He was a leading composer for the stage who was best known for his fruitful collaborations with Bertolt Brecht...

 in 1927, for their opera Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny
Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny
Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny is a political-satirical opera composed by Kurt Weill to a German libretto by Bertolt Brecht. It was first performed in Leipzig on 9 March 1930.-Composition history:...

(Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny); "Back Door Man
Back Door Man
"Back Door Man" is a blues song written by Willie Dixon and recorded by Howlin' Wolf in 1961. It was released by Chess Records as the B-side to Wolf's "Wang Dang Doodle"...

" was written by Willie Dixon
Willie Dixon
William James "Willie" Dixon was an American blues musician, vocalist, songwriter, arranger and record producer. A Grammy Award winner who was proficient on both the Upright bass and the guitar, as well as his own singing voice, Dixon is arguably best known as one of the most prolific songwriters...

 and originally recorded by Howlin' Wolf
Howlin' Wolf
Chester Arthur Burnett , known as Howlin' Wolf, was an influential American blues singer, guitarist and harmonica player....

. The line "Some are born to sweet delight, some are born to endless night" from "End of the Night" is a quote from William Blake
William Blake
William Blake was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his lifetime, Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of both the poetry and visual arts of the Romantic Age...

's poem "Auguries of Innocence".

Speed discrepancy

The 40th Anniversary Mix presents a stereo version in speed-corrected form for the first time. The speed discrepancy (being about 3.5% slow) was brought to Bruce Botnick
Bruce Botnick
Bruce Botnick is an American audio engineer and record producer, best known for his work with The Doors, and with Love. He engineered Love's first two albums, and co-produced their third album, Forever Changes, with the band's singer-songwriter, Arthur Lee.In November 1970, he took over production...

's attention by a Brigham Young University
Brigham Young University
Brigham Young University is a private university located in Provo, Utah. It is owned and operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , and is the United States' largest religious university and third-largest private university.Approximately 98% of the university's 34,000 students...

 professor who stated that all the video and audio live performances of The Doors performing "Light My Fire", as well as the sheet music show the song being in a key almost a half step higher than the stereo LP release. The mono 45 RPM single of "Light My Fire", and the mono LP were produced at the correct speed.

Mono version

The mono LP (Elektra EKL-4007) has unique mixes that sound different than the stereo version (EKS-74004.) The mono LP version was deleted not long after its original release and remained unavailable until 2010, when it was re-issued as a limited edition 180 gram audiophile LP by Rhino Records. This version has never been officially released on Compact Disc
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...

, it is however available for purchase through digital media outlets such as iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....

 and Amazon
Amazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc. is a multinational electronic commerce company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the world's largest online retailer. Amazon has separate websites for the following countries: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, and...

.

Reception

The Doors made a steady climb up the Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...

, ultimately becoming a huge success in the US once "Light My Fire" scaled the charts, with the album peaking at #2 on the chart in September 1967 and going on to achieve multi-platinum status. In Europe, the band would have to wait slightly longer for similar recognition, with "Light My Fire" originally stalling at #49 in the UK singles chart and the album failing to chart at all. However, in 1991, buoyed by the high profile of Oliver Stone's film The Doors
The Doors (film)
The Doors is a 1991 biopic about the 1960s-1970s rock band of the same name which emphasizes the life of its lead singer, Jim Morrison. It was directed by Oliver Stone, and stars Val Kilmer as Morrison, Meg Ryan as Pamela Courson , Kyle MacLachlan as Ray Manzarek, Frank Whaley as Robby Krieger,...

, a re-issue of "Light My Fire" made #7 in the singles chart and the album made #43. It eventually spent more time on the UK chart than any other Doors studio album.

The album is #42 on "Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time" and is also on "The Rolling Stone Hall Of Fame". The album is on Q
Q (magazine)
Q is a popular music magazine published monthly in the United Kingdom.Founders Mark Ellen and David Hepworth were dismayed by the music press of the time, which they felt was ignoring a generation of older music buyers who were buying CDs — then still a new technology...

magazine's "100 Greatest Albums Ever" and ranked #25 in NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...

magazine's list of the "Greatest Albums Of All Time". Critic/historian Piero Scaruffi
Piero Scaruffi
Piero Scaruffi received a degree in Mathematics in 1982 from University of Turin, where he did work on the General Theory of Relativity. For a number of years he was the head of the Artificial Intelligence Center at Olivetti, based in Cupertino, California. He has been a visiting scholar at...

 named The Doors the fifth greatest rock album of all time.

Censorship

The songs "Break on Through (To the Other Side)
Break on Through (To the Other Side)
"Break on Through " is a song by The Doors from their debut album, The Doors. It was the first single released by the band and was unsuccessful compared to later hits, reaching only #126 in the United States...

" and "The End
The End (The Doors song)
"The End" is a song by The Doors. Originally written by Jim Morrison as a song about breaking up with girlfriend Mary Werbelow, it evolved through months of performances at Los Angeles' Whisky a Go Go into a nearly 12-minute opus on their self-titled album. The band would perform the song to close...

" were both released censored
Censorship
thumb|[[Book burning]] following the [[1973 Chilean coup d'état|1973 coup]] that installed the [[Military government of Chile |Pinochet regime]] in Chile...

 on the album. During "Break on Through," the part where Jim Morrison sings "She gets, she gets" was originally recorded as "She gets high, she gets high." The vocal interlude near the end of "The End" includes Morrison using the word fuck
Fuck
"Fuck" is an English word that is generally considered obscene which, in its most literal meaning, refers to the act of sexual intercourse. By extension it may be used to negatively characterize anything that can be dismissed, disdained, defiled, or destroyed."Fuck" can be used as a verb, adverb,...

 repeatedly and was taken out of the album's stereo release; however, it remains in the mono LP release of the album. Subsequent releases of the album have both of the original parts intact, although 1980s compact disc
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...

 reissues kept the verses censored. The band accepted this censorship, but refused to reword "Light My Fire" in their infamous Ed Sullivan Show
The Ed Sullivan Show
The Ed Sullivan Show is an American TV variety show that originally ran on CBS from Sunday June 20, 1948 to Sunday June 6, 1971, and was hosted by New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan....

 performance ("Girl we couldn't get much higher").

Track listing

All songs written by Jim Morrison
Jim Morrison
James Douglas "Jim" Morrison was an American musician, singer, and poet, best known as the lead singer and lyricist of the rock band The Doors...

, Robby Krieger
Robby Krieger
Robert Alan "Robby" Krieger is an American rock guitarist and songwriter. He was the guitarist in The Doors, and wrote some of the band's best known songs, including "Light My Fire," "Love Me Two Times," "Touch Me," and "Love Her Madly."...

, Ray Manzarek
Ray Manzarek
Raymond Daniel Manzarek, Jr., better known as Ray Manzarek , is an American musician, singer, producer, film director, writer, co-founder and keyboardist of The Doors from 1965 to 1973, Nite City from 1977–1978 and Manzarek-Krieger since 2001.Manzarek is listed #4 on Digital Dreamdoor's "100...

 and John Densmore
John Densmore
John Paul Densmore is an American musician and songwriter. He is best known as the drummer of the rock group The Doors.-Early life and The Doors:Born in Los Angeles, Densmore attended Santa Monica City College and Cal...

, except where noted.

The running time of "Light My Fire
Light My Fire
"Light My Fire" is a song by The Doors which was recorded in August 1966 and released the first week of January 1967 on the Doors' debut album. Released as a single in April, it spent three weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and one week on the Cash Box Top 100, nearly a year after...

", while listed correctly below, is incorrectly stated as 6:30 or 6:50 on some LP and CD versions of the album. An edited version was issued as the Doors' second single in May 1967, with most of its organ and guitar solos removed it had a running time of 2:52. As per the aforementioned speed discrepancy, the 40th anniversary speed-corrected mix made "Light My Fire" 6:58, with all solos intact.

Side one

  1. "Break on Through (To the Other Side)
    Break on Through (To the Other Side)
    "Break on Through " is a song by The Doors from their debut album, The Doors. It was the first single released by the band and was unsuccessful compared to later hits, reaching only #126 in the United States...

    " – 2:29
  2. "Soul Kitchen
    Soul Kitchen (song)
    "Soul Kitchen" is a song by The Doors from their self titled debut album The Doors. It runs 3 minutes and 35 seconds.The punk band X made it a cover at 1980 for their debut album...

    " – 3:35
  3. "The Crystal Ship" – 2:34
  4. "Twentieth Century Fox" – 2:33
  5. "Alabama Song (Whisky Bar)
    Alabama Song
    The "Alabama Song" was originally published in Bertolt Brecht's Hauspostille . It was set to music by Kurt Weill for the 1927 "Songspiel" Mahagonny and used again in Weill's and Brecht's 1930 opera Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny...

    " (Bertolt Brecht
    Bertolt Brecht
    Bertolt Brecht was a German poet, playwright, and theatre director.An influential theatre practitioner of the 20th century, Brecht made equally significant contributions to dramaturgy and theatrical production, the latter particularly through the seismic impact of the tours undertaken by the...

    , Kurt Weill
    Kurt Weill
    Kurt Julian Weill was a German-Jewish composer, active from the 1920s, and in his later years in the United States. He was a leading composer for the stage who was best known for his fruitful collaborations with Bertolt Brecht...

    ) – 3:20
  6. "Light My Fire
    Light My Fire
    "Light My Fire" is a song by The Doors which was recorded in August 1966 and released the first week of January 1967 on the Doors' debut album. Released as a single in April, it spent three weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and one week on the Cash Box Top 100, nearly a year after...

    " – 7:06

Side two

  1. "Back Door Man
    Back Door Man
    "Back Door Man" is a blues song written by Willie Dixon and recorded by Howlin' Wolf in 1961. It was released by Chess Records as the B-side to Wolf's "Wang Dang Doodle"...

    " (Willie Dixon
    Willie Dixon
    William James "Willie" Dixon was an American blues musician, vocalist, songwriter, arranger and record producer. A Grammy Award winner who was proficient on both the Upright bass and the guitar, as well as his own singing voice, Dixon is arguably best known as one of the most prolific songwriters...

    ) – 3:34
  2. "I Looked at You" – 2:22
  3. "End of the Night" – 2:52
  4. "Take It as It Comes" – 2:23
  5. "The End
    The End (The Doors song)
    "The End" is a song by The Doors. Originally written by Jim Morrison as a song about breaking up with girlfriend Mary Werbelow, it evolved through months of performances at Los Angeles' Whisky a Go Go into a nearly 12-minute opus on their self-titled album. The band would perform the song to close...

    " – 11:41

40th Anniversary Edition CD bonus tracks

  1. "Moonlight Drive" (Version 1, recorded August 1966) – 2:42
  2. "Moonlight Drive" (Version 2, recorded August 1966) – 2:31
  3. "Indian Summer" (Recorded August 1966) – 2:35

Personnel

  • Jim Morrison
    Jim Morrison
    James Douglas "Jim" Morrison was an American musician, singer, and poet, best known as the lead singer and lyricist of the rock band The Doors...

     – vocals
  • Ray Manzarek
    Ray Manzarek
    Raymond Daniel Manzarek, Jr., better known as Ray Manzarek , is an American musician, singer, producer, film director, writer, co-founder and keyboardist of The Doors from 1965 to 1973, Nite City from 1977–1978 and Manzarek-Krieger since 2001.Manzarek is listed #4 on Digital Dreamdoor's "100...

     – Vox Continental
    Vox Continental
    The Vox Continental is a transistor-based combo organ that was introduced in 1962. Known for its thin, bright, breathy sound, the "Connie," as it was affectionately known, was designed to be used by touring musicians...

     organ
    Organ (music)
    The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with...

    , piano
    Piano
    The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...

    , keyboards
    Keyboard instrument
    A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...

    , keyboard bass
    Keyboard bass
    The keyboard bass is the use of a low-pitched keyboard or pedal keyboard to substitute for the bass guitar or double bass in popular music.-1960s:The earliest keyboard bass instrument was the 1960 Fender Rhodes piano bass, pictured above...

    , marxophone
    Marxophone
    The Marxophone is a fretless zither that has four sets of chord strings to be strummed with the left hand and two octaves of double melody strings, which are struck by metal hammers activated by the right hand...

    , backing vocals
  • Robby Krieger
    Robby Krieger
    Robert Alan "Robby" Krieger is an American rock guitarist and songwriter. He was the guitarist in The Doors, and wrote some of the band's best known songs, including "Light My Fire," "Love Me Two Times," "Touch Me," and "Love Her Madly."...

     – guitar
    Guitar
    The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...

    , backing vocals
  • John Densmore
    John Densmore
    John Paul Densmore is an American musician and songwriter. He is best known as the drummer of the rock group The Doors.-Early life and The Doors:Born in Los Angeles, Densmore attended Santa Monica City College and Cal...

     – drums
    Drum kit
    A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....



Additional musicians:
  • Larry Knechtel
    Larry Knechtel
    Lawrence William "Larry" Knechtel was an American keyboard player and bassist, best known for his work as a session musician with such artists as Simon & Garfunkel, Duane Eddy, The Beach Boys, The Mamas & the Papas, The Partridge Family, The Doors, and Elvis Presley, and as a member of the 1970s...

     (uncredited) – bass
    Bass guitar
    The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....

     ("Soul Kitchen", "Twentieth Century Fox", "Light My Fire", "Back Door Man", "I Looked At You", "Take It As It Comes")

Singles

Year Single Chart Position
1967 "Break on Through (To the Other Side)
Break on Through (To the Other Side)
"Break on Through " is a song by The Doors from their debut album, The Doors. It was the first single released by the band and was unsuccessful compared to later hits, reaching only #126 in the United States...

"
B-side: "End of the Night"
Pop Singles 126
1967 "Light My Fire
Light My Fire
"Light My Fire" is a song by The Doors which was recorded in August 1966 and released the first week of January 1967 on the Doors' debut album. Released as a single in April, it spent three weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and one week on the Cash Box Top 100, nearly a year after...

"
B-side: "The Crystal Ship"
Pop Singles 1
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