Retro Reviews: The Doors: Waiting for The Sun

      I decided to launch a new series to imagine myself as a critic at the end of the 60s and start of the 70s, and to rectify certain reviews from Rolling Stone magazine and Creem. This not meant to be contrarian, but to offer a more balanced perspective. All the albums reviewed are indeed classic albums.

The Doors – Waiting For The Sun (1968)

****

Producer: Paul A Rothchild

Musicians: Jim Morrison, Ray Manzerek, Robby Krieger, John Densmore, Douglas Lubahn, Kerry Magness, Leroy Vinnegar

Songs: Hello, I Love You,  Love Street, Not To Touch The Earth, Summer’s Almost Gone, Wintertime Love, The Unknown Soldier, Spanish Caravan, My Wild Love, We Could Be So Good Together,  Yes, The River Knows, Five To One

Reviewed By Matthew Anthony Allair

    The Door’s second album, Strange Days, didn’t manage to suffer the alleged sophomore slump, probably due to the fact that they had a wealth of material from their club days, but now their third album is released, and will it suffer a notable drop off, how does it measure up? Well the quality remains quite high, there’s an undeniable chemistry between Manzerek and Krieger, and John Densmore remains a solid player. Morrison remains the thematic driving force of the band as the primary lyricist and influence on the others. Bass players Douglas Lubahn and Kerry Magness fills out the sound, and Leroy Vinnegar plays the upright bass on a number. Paul Rothchild’s production offers up a solid grounding and focus. Let’s address the critique I see elsewhere about the ‘pretentiousness’ of Morrison and the band, much of which is driven by the obvious theatrics of the band’s music. I would argue that band is no more ‘pretentious’ than The Beatles as of late. Morrison has helped to find another form of the fusion between poetry and rock, and it’s not different than Dylan’s aims.

    Many of my peers seem to forget that all rock music since the late fifties has had an element of theatrics, in fact, I could argue - when figures like Mr. Bangs dwell on this pretention of the Doors – that as is intellectually dishonest and pretentious for them to assume early Rock and Roll wasn’t theatrical when it was. To suggest that the band is just treading on similar ground, it ignores a few numbers that take some bold steps. The album works. It is no surprise with the opener, “Hello, I Love You” is the single, in spite of the fact that it seems to nod a little too a Kinks number, musically the Manzarek and Krieger are inventive with their interplay, the instruments nearly blend together. Morrison is in crooner mode for the ballad “Love Street”, close to a vaudeville number that will harken back to “Crystal Ship”. Allegedly, “Not To Touch The Earth” was part of a larger piece, it has a strange quality of being both accessible yet uneasy. “Summer’s Almost Gone” has a pop blues sheen with some slippery slide work from Krieger. “Wintertime Love” is a light pop number that is quite strong and the arrangement may mask it’s strength. The compelling “The Unknown Soldier” may be one of the numbers on par with the prior albums. A mock military trial and execution in the middle just reinforces the anti-military bureaucratic sentiment 

    The second side opener “Spanish Caravan” is impressive for showing off Krieger’s guitar skills, and features some nice acoustic layering before the full band wraps it together. “My Wild Love” is like a Native American chant, or a slaver work song traditional, a real surprise. “We Could Be So Good Together” is another pop number with a brief clever quote from Thelonious Monk’s ‘Straight No Chaser”. The sleeper “Yes, The River Knows” is an impressionistic jazz flavored piece where Ray leans into the Piano, and Robbie offers some nice guitar support. The two prior albums closed with sprawling numbers like “The End” and “When The Music Ends”, and the final track differs yet makes a final statement. The dark blues of “Five To One” may remind others of Hendrix’s “If 6 Was 9” in tone, but it is a rallying cry for the counterculture. Morrison offers a drunken slur in his delivery as well as seduction, the track also feels like it could have been recycled from their club days. Yet there remains a dark under current with the band  that asks more questions than offers answers. To even suggest that the band is just treading water is foolish, tracks like “My Wild Love” and “Caravan” show some real growth and risk appraisal. 

    I believe the reason for the critical hostility towards The Doors, like the mixed assessment with The Mothers Of Invention is that both acts represent the darker side to the southern California scene. All of which runs in contrast to the Northern California hippie counterculture, a view which offers up platitudes about peace and love. Those ideals are very lofty, but that might not be very realistic to how human nature operates, The Doors seem to understand this, and Morrison certainly does. The Doors remain a cohesive band, not just a support for Morrison’s whims. The band offers up a theatrical package for a reason; you must look within before you can look without or change the outside world. My biggest complaint with the album is that it is all too brief, and wish there had some more development and length, then again, it does leave wanting and curious for me.

 Recommended.