Released: October 2009

Format: 6-CD set

Rating: 10/10+++

Tracks: includes Light My Fire, Roadhouse Blues, Blue Sunday, Ship Of Fools, Soul Kitchen, Five To One, Love Hides, Break On Through (To The Other Side) Alabama Song (Whisky Bar), The End.

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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 !

Weblink: thedoors.com / rhino.com

Review & concert pics copyright © Elly Roberts, 2004-2010.

DVDs reviewed by the editor are watched on a Panasonic TXW32R4 32" widescreen TV connected to either a Creative Dxr2 DVD-ROM player or Microsoft Xbox and played through a Sony STR-DB930 amplifier.

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