features in: Album Chart of 1968 ● Album Chart of the Decade: 1960s |
I love it, it was commercially successful and was critically acclaimed – now that does make a nice change. The third Doors LP, issued in July ‘68, gave them their one and only Number One in the Billboard charts, as well as their first chart placement in the UK, peaking at #16. The album opens with the current single “Hello, I Love You” which preceded the album by a month. By August, the single had assailed the heady heights of the Billboard Hot 100, giving the group their second Number 1 single, following on from last year’s “Light My Fire”. Amusingly, “Hello, I Love You” had company in the Top 5 singles chart with Jose Feliciano, who was riding high with his radio-friendly interpretation of the Doors first number one. One suspects that Jim, Robby, Ray Manzarek and John would not be too displeased with their royalty cheques in 1968.
The album is consistently terrific on side 1, and peaks with the last track on the side, “The Unknown Soldier”, which had been the first single to be released from the album, peaking more modestly at #39 in the Billboard. Critical songs about the American war machine do not Number One singles make. It’s one of the most dramatic and powerful statements in the Doors catalogue; in live performances Robby Krieger would point his guitar towards Morrison like a rifle, drummer John Densmore would emulate a gunshot by producing a loud rimshot, by hitting the edge of the snare drum, and breaking the drum sticks, Manzarek would raise his hand and drop it as if to release the signal, and Morrison would fall screaming to the ground.
Side 2 is also notable for starting and finishing with the strongest tracks; Robby Krieger’s wondrous flamenco guitar frames “Spanish Caravan”, with motifs rooted in “Asturias”, a classical piece by Spanish composer, Isaac Albeniz. The whole group lose themselves in a performance which is head-swirlingly brilliant, recalling the glory of Arthur Lee’s Love from last year. The menacing rocker “Five To One” is a stone-classic finale; hearing that Jim Morrison was very drunk when he turned up to record his vocal makes perfect sense of that incredible drawl. Co-incidence or not, it had recently been announced that American troops were outnumbered five to one by the Viet Congs. It’s possible there’s a bit of that in there, but it’s more likely to be a rebel rouser for the youth: “The old get old, and the young get stronger; may take a week, and it may take longer. They got the guns, but we got the numbers. Gonna win, yeah; We're takin' over. Come on!” Inebriated or straightened, this quartet can do no wrong – brilliance abounds for the third album in a row.
The Jukebox Rebel
24–Apr–2007
Tracklist |
A1 | [02:22] The Doors - Hello, I Love You (Jim Morrison, Ray Manzarek, Robby Krieger, John Densmore) Psychedelia |
A2 | [03:06] The Doors - Love Street (Jim Morrison, Ray Manzarek, Robby Krieger, John Densmore) Cerebral Pop |
A3 | [03:54] The Doors - Not To Touch The Earth (Jim Morrison, Ray Manzarek, Robby Krieger, John Densmore) Psychedelia |
A4 | [03:20] The Doors - Summer’s Almost Gone (Jim Morrison, Ray Manzarek, Robby Krieger, John Densmore) Blues Rock / Soul Rock |
A5 | [01:52] The Doors - Wintertime Love (Jim Morrison, Ray Manzarek, Robby Krieger, John Densmore) Cerebral Pop |
A6 | [03:10] The Doors - The Unknown Soldier (Jim Morrison, Ray Manzarek, Robby Krieger, John Densmore) Psychedelia |
B1 | [02:58] The Doors - Spanish Caravan (Jim Morrison, Ray Manzarek, Robby Krieger, John Densmore) Prog |
B2 | [02:50] The Doors - My Wild Love (Jim Morrison, Ray Manzarek, Robby Krieger, John Densmore) Native Americas |
B3 | [02:20] The Doors - We Could Be So Good Together (Jim Morrison, Ray Manzarek, Robby Krieger, John Densmore) Cerebral Pop |
B4 | [02:35] The Doors - Yes, The River Knows (Jim Morrison, Ray Manzarek, Robby Krieger, John Densmore) Songwriter |
B5 | [04:22] The Doors - Five To One (Jim Morrison, Ray Manzarek, Robby Krieger, John Densmore) Rock |