93. The Doors — The Doors (1967)

Jeff Bebe would not like this cover

1. Now this is how you use an organ in rock music. The “What’d I Say”-esque organ work on “Break On Through (To The Other Side)” escalates a great rock song to a stupendously great rock song. The organ persistently and consistently enhances the music on The Doors; it’s a bit of a revelation to me.
2. I grew up with this nagging take in the back of my mind that Jim Morrison was a drunken wannabe-poet, and always held them in lower esteem as a result. Obviously he was beloved by many; it was one of those “ugh, the populace is stupid” sentiments. Certainly Lester Bangs in Almost Famous is in part to blame. (“The Doors? Jim Morrison? He’s a drunken buffoon posing as a poet. Give me The Guess Who. They got the courage to be drunken buffoons, which makes them poetic!”). This was Robert Christgau’s take as well. I can’t necessarily speak to the poetry of the lyricism, but I substantially underrated the musicianship of this band. This is a complete package; jazzy, hard rocking, groovy.
3. “Break On Through” is an unquestioned classic; “Light My Fire” is perfection (hello again, dope organ); “The End” is perhaps a bit bloated, but the bloat is the point. But I’m taken aback how much I enjoy the rest of the tunes here. “Soul Kitchen” somehow pulls off the impossible as a worthy 2nd song after “Break On Through.” The two covers are well chosen and complementary. The three hits are spread out nicely across the album so that every time it starts running the risk of sounding same-same-y, it kicks into a different gear. This is a solid album. The Doors, I apologize for my inexplicable pretension.

One Essential Song:

Listen on Spotify: