Rating: 5 Stars (Gold) * * * * *
I'll practice giving a review of a music album by starting with LA Woman by The Doors, a great album by one of my favorite bands. I will be doing a lot of reviews of media that came out a long time ago (in this case, over 40 years ago) just for fun, and for anyone reading who is interested in the reviewed piece.
LA Woman was the final album of The Doors before tragedy struck singer Jim Morrison. Two more albums were later released by the band but they had nowhere near the fame or glory that the bands albums had with their beloved singer. The previous album, Morrision Hotel saw the band returning to a more blues rock style after trying out the very experimental Soft Parade album and LA Woman continues where Morrision Hotel left off.
The album starts off with the track called "The Changeling", a very dancable and enjoyable track that apparently has Morrision sardonically singing about his drastic transformation throughout his career with The Doors, going from the clean cut young singer that had sung "Light My Fire" about 7 years prior, to the gruff, less caring man who he now was during the LA Woman period. Next up is "Love Her Madly", a song with Ray Manzarek playing a fast piano in a style that you would expect to here playing at a saloon. This was evidently the song that caused the producer of the Doors' previous albums, Paul Rothchild, to throw up his hands and walk out during the production of the album, claiming the band had no life left. The song must have been in it's early stages at that point however, as the song which appears on the album is a most enjoyable track.
The third song, "Been Down So Long" takes the album (and the band up to that point for that matter) in a different direction, with an aggressive and jagged sounding guitar and absent keyboard, which in my opinion is the staple of the bands sound. Jim sings about how he has reached a new low and there is nowhere to go but up from here. Sadly looking retrospectively, that could not be further from the truth for him. This is followed by "Cars Hiss By My Window", a song that just sort of chugs lazily on, yet in a good way. It is probably one of the lesser notable songs, yet not a bad song by any means. Jim Morrison imitating the sound of a guitar with his voice near the ending is entertaining.
The first side of the album concludes (oh yes, I know this despite never playing a vinyl record in my life) with the albums title track, a long and rather un-Doors-y sounding song. The song seems to me to be respect for their first hit single "Light My Fire" with the lyrics "If they say I never loved you, you know they are a liar" very reminicent of "You know that I would be a liar, if I was to say to you, girl we couldn't get much higher". Side B opens with "LAmerica" an ominous song that has a sound of constant building, to drive up anticipation of the final side of the final album. What follows it "Hyacinth House" a not increadibly notable song yet not bad at all. It is notable for being one of the only songs written by keyboardist Ray Manzarek however.
Following is the continuing blues sound with a cover of Big Joe Williams' "Crawling King Snake" and the drunken sounding foot tapping escapade "The WASP (Texas Radio and the Big Beat)". The album concludes with one of the best songs of the bands entire career and the perfect closer for the bands good run (minus the under-the-radar albums that technically followed), Riders on the Storm. Described by Ray Manzarek as capturing the sounds of the nightly mid western American desert, this song is truley spectacular, ending the album by fading into sounds of rain.
LA Woman ended up being one of the band's finest albums and has definitely withstood the test of time.
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