Morrison Hotel Provides Luxury 4 Star Accommodation! (Morrison Hotel - The Doors)

Member Name: DanielKemp

Product:	Morrison Hotel - The Doors
Date:	05/07/09 (66 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: The Doors continue to write strong songs with great musicianship

Disadvantages: The new prominence given to 'the blues' won't be for everyone

The Doors - Morrison Hotel (1970)

Producer: Paul A. Rothchild

Roadhouse Blues
Waiting for the Sun
You Make Me Real
Peace Frog
Blue Sunday
Ship of Fools
Land Ho!
The Spy
Queen of the Highway
Indian Summer
Maggie M'Gill

After their previous album, The Soft Parade, was not well received by either fans or critics due to its experimental edge, The Doors reverted back to their original style for album number five, with a new significance given to the blues. This tactic worked and saw the band receive glowing reviews from critics, and fans had their faith in the band re-established.

The LP sleeve photo, The Doors inside the Morrison Hotel in Chicago, was a difficult one to get, as the owners of the Hotel refused the band access to take the photo. So, when nobody was looking, the band snuck in and quickly took the shots they needed, as you do.

This new found enthusiasm for the blues can be heard on the scorching opening track, Roadhouse Blues. Jim Morrison has never acted out the barroom drunk better than here, his words fighting for prominence as they fall from his intoxicated lips one after the other. The harmonica is rocking out hard and I love the way it mimics Morrison's yells at the 3 minute mark, "Save our city!!" This will be more than enough to please most listeners, but the fact that it also contains an insane guitar solo from Robby Krieger and killer piano work from Ray Manzarek only confirms The Doors' greatness.

You Make Me Real is less than 3 minutes long, and is, in a word, perfection. The playful piano piece from Manzarek is up there with his best work, but I feel it is guitarist Krieger's fondness for leaning towards the blues which truly shines. It's honest, downright gripping, simplified rock 'n' roll. You just know it's going to be great from the first moment Morrison announces, "I really want you!"

Peace Frog is funkadelic and is one of my favourite songs from the band. Morrison allegedly wrote the lyrics, when as a child he saw an accident take place where two vehicles had collided. He claims to have seen the victims scattered everywhere and bleeding, "Indians scattered on Dawn's Highway bleeding, and ghosts crowd the young child's fragile egg-shell mind." With all this myth and legend circling around Morrison's lyrics, it is perhaps easy to forget the momentum which the band had at this point for creating instinctive riffs and watertight melodies. Peace Frog is no different and will have you playing air-guitar if you know what is good for you.

The Spy is very, very cool and a calculated attempt to bring the sleazy clubs of the night to those of us with less than exciting lives. The spindly guitar work is very clever and conjures up images of people sneaking around. Hell, each band member brings something to the table during The Spy; you can quite easily see Manzarek playing his piano in the corner of a nameless club, with smoke spiralling amongst his hosts and the seedy low-life going about their day-to-day lives.

Queen of the Highway is psychedelic, featuring some captivating guitar work by Krieger, and again, more stellar keyboard playing from Manzarek. I mean, you'd be lucky to have any one member of The Doors in a band, but the fact that they had Morrison, Krieger and Manzarek all shooting for the stars simply meant that they could not fail.

Indian Summer shows a more gentle side to the band. It is a carefully considered ballad, in which Morrison has rarely sounded quite as welcoming as he does here.

The final song, Maggie M'Gill, is somewhat different to previous album closers by The Doors. It doesn't boast a massive running time, a la The End or When the Music's Over, but on the other hand it possesses a more refined sound than the closers from their two previous albums, the raw Five to One and the preachy The Soft Parade. Maybe comparisons shouldn't be made with previous efforts, but I feel that it falls a little short of some of the band's other recordings.

@CONCLUSION@

The Doors have few rivals when they get down to the direct thrills and excitement that rock 'n' roll can provide. Morrison Hotel is a wonderful showcase for their talents and makes for a very strong entry in their catalogue. Sure, it has nothing on their debut, but not many things do.

So, just sit back and enjoy a fantastic LP!

8/10

Daniel Kemp

Read more reviews at www.danielkempreviews.co.uk

Summary: The Doors' fifth album is a must buy!