LIVE IN NEW YORK 1970

[TheWallsScreamedPoetry]

The latest addition to the band's acclaimed series of archival concert releases, this 6-disc collection contains all four of The Doors' performances - in their entirety - recorded in 1970 at the Felt Forum in New York City.

Recorded just a few weeks before the release of Morrison Hotel - these concerts find Jim Morrison, John Densmore, Robby Krieger, and Ray Manzarek locked in tight as they deliver smoking takes on soon-to-be-classics from their forthcoming album, including “Roadhouse Blues,” “Peace Frog,” “Ship Of Fools,” and “Maggie M'Gill.” The shows also feature a number of driving blues covers, such as Bo Diddley's “Who Do You Love,” Howlin' Wolf's “Back Door Man,” and John Lee Hooker's “Crawling King Snake.” “Those were the bluesy songs we always used to do,” Krieger says. “We probably hadn't done some of them in years, but we had resurrected them for these shows.”

In 1969, the year prior to these shows, The Doors became one of the first rock bands to play New York City's Madison Square Garden. When they returned in 1970, Densmore says they chose to play the Felt Forum, a smaller venue at the Garden. “It was more intimate, and you could feel the audience more,” he says. “There was more interaction, and the acoustics were much better, because it was designed for music.”

Manzarek hails these shows as a return to the group's early days, when they used to play a club called London Fog. “I mean, talk about going back to basics. We used to do four sets a night at the London Fog, and we only had a small block of songs written up to that time. So we would do other people's material. And in New York, it was like the same thing as the London Fog. We've got four shows to play here, two sets tonight, two sets tomorrow night. Let's play whatever we want! Let's just go!”

Go they did. Along with a mix of then-unheard new songs and old covers, the band also tapped into its 1967, self-titled debut, peppering the set lists with signature songs such as “Break On Through (To The Other Side),” “Soul Kitchen,” “The End,” and “Light My Fire,” The Doors' first #1 hit.

For the final show of the Felt Forum stand, the band was joined onstage by two guests - The Lovin' Spoonful's John Sebastian (who played harmonica on the studio version of “Roadhouse Blues”) and drummer Dallas Taylor, who'd played on Crosby, Stills & Nash's debut. Sebastian sat in for “Rock Me” and was joined by Taylor for “Going To N.Y. Blues” and “Maggie M'Gill.”

Fans will be blown away by the crisp sound found on LIVE IN NEW YORK. All four shows were mixed and mastered by the band's longtime engineer, Bruce Botnick, who recorded a number of shows from The Doors' 1970 tour on multi-track tape for the Absolutely Live album. While most of the music contained on LIVE IN NEW YORK is unreleased, a few songs (and portions of songs) surfaced in 1970 on Absolutely Live and in 1997 on Box Set.

Sadly, these shows represent The Doors' final New York City performances with Morrison, who passed away July 3, 1971.



Disc 1 (January 17, 1970, Show 1)

(Start Of Show 1)
Roadhouse Blues
Ship Of Fools
Break On Through (To The Other Side)
(Tuning/Breather)
Peace Frog
Blue Sunday
Alabama Song (Whisky Bar)
Back Door Man
Love Hides
Five To One
(Tuning/Breather)
Who Do You Love
Little Red Rooster
Money
(Tuning/Breather)
Light My Fire
(More, More, More)
Soul Kitchen
(End Of Show)

Disc 2 (January 17, 1970, Show 2)

(Start Of Show 2)
(Jim “How Ya Doing?”)
Roadhouse Blues
Break On Through (To The Other Side)
Ship Of Fools
Crawling King Snake
Alabama Song (Whisky Bar)
Back Door Man
Five To One
(Pretty Neat, Pretty Good)
Build Me A Woman
(Tuning/Breather)
Who Do You Love
(Tuning/Breather)
Wild Child
(Cheering/Tuning)
When The Music's Over

Disc 3 (January 17, 1970, Show 2)

(Tuning/Breather)
Light My Fire
(Hey, Mr. Light Man!)
Soul Kitchen
(Jim’s Fish Joke)
The End
(End Of Show)

Disc 4 (January 18, 1970, Show 3)

(Start Of Show 3)
Roadhouse Blues
Ship Of Fools
Break On Through (To The Other Side)
(Tuning/Breather)
Universal Mind
Alabama Song (Whisky Bar) (False Start)
Alabama Song (Whisky Bar)
Back Door Man
Five To One
(Tuning/Breather)
Moonlight Drive
Who Do You Love
(Calling Out For Songs)
Money
(Tuning/Breather)
Light My Fire
(More, More More)
When The Music’s Over
(Good Night/End Of Show)

Disc 5 (January 18, 1970, Show 4)

(Start Of Show 4)
Roadhouse Blues
Peace Frog
Alabama Song (Whisky Bar)
Back Door Man
Five To One
(We Have A Special Treat)
Celebration Of The Lizard
(Alright Let’s Boogie)
Build Me A Woman
When The Music’s Over
(More, More, More)

Disc 6 (January 18, 1970, Show 4)

Soul Kitchen
(For Fear Of Getting Too Patriotic)
(Petition The Lord With Prayer)
Light My Fire
(Only When The Moon Comes Out)
Close To You
(The Encore Begins)
Rock Me
(What To Do Next?)
Going To N.Y. Blues
(Tuning/Breather)
Maggie M’Gill
(Tuning/Breather)
Gloria/(End Of Show)

PersonnelJim Morrison - vocals
Ray Manzarek - organ, keyboard bass, vocals
Robby Krieger - guitar
John Densmore - drums
John Sebastian - Harmonica on "Rock Me", "Going To N.Y. Blues" & " Maggie M’Gill"

[TheWallsScreamedPoetry]

[TheWallsScreamedPoetry]

[TheWallsScreamedPoetry]

The house lights dimmed, The Doors were announced, and a peculiar tension built in the air; an excitement pulsed and moved from the shadowed corners, lacing the room with an emotional current. "Hello," said Jim. And they began to play. He was a reviled figure: hated by the press; never taken seriously by critics who felt themselves lost amid his cinematic imagery. He had dressed himself in funereal leather, dropped his pants, shouted obscenities, and was guilty only of believing a myth he had created. And after all, that's something almost all rock stars are guilty of.
Eric Van Lustbader, Madison Square Garden's Felt Forum.
Circus Magazine, September 1971

[TheWallsScreamedPoetry]

Live In New York - The Doors Album Review

LA's Lizard King and buddies rip up NY. Phew!

Live albums went out of fashion yonks ago. Concert DVDs have taken their place. This album might just reignite your interest. You'll need a fair bit of time to judge it though, because of the six CDs.

You won't be disappointed, especially if you listen through headphones.

LA's Lizard King - Jim Morrison's alter-ego - and three band mates Ray Manzarek (organ / bass) Robby Kreiger (guitar) and John Densmore (drums) hit the Big Apple's Felt Forum ( a 5,000 -seater venue within Madison Square Gardens) and blew the place apart.

Over two nights in January 1970 The Doors consolidated themselves as the coolest band on the planet. CDs 1-3 are from January 17, CDs 4-6 from January 18.

At the time, the band were 'risky business' due to Morrison's sexually charged delivery, with promoters trembling in their boots following a succession of infamous incidents by Morrison. He went one step too far in Miami in March 1969 after which he was arrested for, 'lewd and lascivious behaviour...' Many promoters included an 'obscenity clause' in their contracts as a safety net.

Some of these show's content surfaced on Absolutely Live (1970), An America Prayer plus one more, but this is the full blown version, for the first time.

Rhino have done a great job on a recent run of freshly exhumed Doors gigs - this is the biggie though. Due to missing bits on the 8 track masters, and with the help of Doors collectors and snippets on the 2 track tapes, it was possible to plug gaps, resulting in the first complete faithful reproduction of the concerts.

Despite its bootleg quality - audience banter, tune-ups (it took them nearly 5 minutes to start the first show!) and repeated songs, it captures the band at the pinnacle of their all-too-brief existence, brought to a rapid end following Jim Morrison's mysterious death in a Paris hotel bath tub, aged 27.

The Jim Morrison who turned up was not the one fans related to. Gone were the leather pants and he was much chubbier. There was an attempt to lose the rock star image as tried to become a 'regular bluesman', so in their sets, they included some rasping covers of blues standards -Back Door Man, Little Red Rooster and Money.

After a casual start, tune -up, no pleasantries, they launched into Roadhouse Blues, which opened all four shows, so the highly expectant crowd got what they wanted.

On CD 1, Kreiger shows his skills on a thumping Ship Of Fools with Morrison's tubes letting rip. On Peace Frog both Kreiger and Manzarek turn up the heat on this pulsating rocker, but it's Back Door Man that brings the best out of them. Five To One consolidates Krieger as one of the finest guitarists of his generation as he dazzles with blistering solos. The highlight is the near nine minute cover of Jose Feliciano's Light My Fire with protracted jam-like organ sequence by Manzarek with Krieger delving into Carlos Santana-like licks.

The same initial lack of urgency welcomed crowd number two (CD2) but at least Morrison was more engaging at the start - "Alright..how ya doing man?". "Looking good," was greeted by cheers and whistles.

A wild "Wow!" pre-fixed Roadhouse Blues and it's as hot as the first one. By track four, Crawling King Snake, Morrison was finding his sensual groove, sure to titillate the young ladies. CD1's Who Do You Love lacked passion but they hit a high the second time around spanning a whopping nine minutes 35 seconds. After a shambolic Wild Child they hit anther peak with a stunning and raucous When The Music's Over. During as short breather Morrison finally opened up with a compliment. "Hey.. you know what's really weird? Let me tell you...let me tell you man...Los Angeles California has the best landscape, the climate and all that, but New York has the grooviest people.." greeted by shrieks of approval segued by another sensational Light My Fire. Once again Morrison tried his hand as entertainer by cracking his now famous Fish Joke, to mixed reactions.

Arguably their most famous /infamous song, the unnerving and explicitly Oedipal "The End" was saved for the closer, lasting an exhausting 20 minutes.

Show three, CD 4, follows a similar format and includes a Alabama Song (Whisky Bar) false start (yes even The Doors got it wrong sometimes). Defining the third show was an outstanding Universal Mind with Krieger once again he had all the tricks on the book, with Who Do You Love now becoming a force of nature due to John Densmore's sizzling drumming, especially the start, while Light My Fire is now perfected.

By show four, Morrison is gushing with 'funnies'. "Is everybody ready? We're gonna have some fun tonight, right? Alright, alright..everybody's gonna get it on right?", then it's Roadhouse Blues for the final time.

Peace Frog has now developed into a funky groove. There's no blip on Alabama Song either. Celebration Of The Lizard is quirky but cool.

Disc 6 continues show four. The highlights are - another sizzling Light My Fire while Morrison plays with tonal values. A brilliant R&B Close To You and the dirty grooves of Going To N.Y.Blues showing their deep roots are still firmly intact. Capping a glorious weekend, they close with a scintillating 13 minute cover of Van Morrison's Gloria.

You may or may not be a Doors fan, but you simply have to check this out.

The verdict - Worth every penny!

Elly Roberts: All Gigs

[TheWallsScreamedPoetry]

[TheWallsScreamedPoetry]

Back of CD box set


20 track 2 Album vinyl special limited edition

[TheWallsScreamedPoetry]

Live In New York

Lavish six-disc document of the Lizard King’s last stand in New York.

Whereas most live albums are finessed into artist-flattering listening experiences, this lavish box set – presenting an unexpurgated record of the band’s final four NY shows, from January 1970 – preserves the false starts, equipment breakdowns and audience baiting, often as individual tracks.

While heightening the swaggering punch when the songs finally kick in, such longueurs are as likely to bamboozle casual listeners as the choice between four different versions of Light My Fire. Morrison’s theatricality enhances visceral renditions of When The Music’s Over and The End, but can’t salvage the staggeringly pretentious Celebration Of The Lizard.

Engineered by long-time Doors associate Bruce Botnick, this set sounds fantastic; no faux-bootleg caveats are required here. Nevertheless, this exhaustive release arguably has more value as source material for fanatics’ fantasy playlists than as a repeated listen in its own right.


Jonathan Lewis
Classic Rock Magazine January 2010

[wplj]

Dammit, all these threads on these BMR albums are making me want to actually acquire physical copies! Argh!

[TheWallsScreamedPoetry]