4) The Doors: The Doors

When I wrote about “Are You Experienced” I said that it may have been the strongest debut album by any band, but there is one debut album that most certainly gives it a good run for its money and that is this self titled piece by The Doors. Obviously I believe it tops it, and I have good reason behind it. The Doors busted on the scene in such a strong fashion with this album and unfortunately could never quite meet the high standards they set for themselves. The album immediately grabs the listeners attention with the intense “Break on Through.” Right from the beginning the listener hears one of the best songs put out by The Doors but the fantastic music doesn’t just end there. “Soul Kitchen” follows and Robbie Krieger’s guitar work certainly goes overlooked, but it’s not hard to understand why he’s overlooked. When you have someone as charismatic as Jim Morrison as your lead man it’s nearly impossible to even be known which was something that The Doors had to deal with. On “The Crystal Ship” we get a glimpse of the incredible writing skills of Jim Morrison, it’s such a lovely song backed by his passionate voice, it’s pretty hard to not fall in love with him. Then there is the fun and up-tempo “Twentieth Century Fox,” which is one of my personal favorites on the album. Eventually we get to the song that made The Doors “Light My Fire.” The song was cut down for the public when played on radio but on the album they didn’t hold back. They gave us a nice lengthy instrumental section by Manzarek and some nice guitar work by Krieger. Next is “Backdoor Man” which is actually a cover but opens up with the primal scream of the infamous Morrison and they make it their own by giving it their own touch. The only time the lyrics are sub par on this album is on “I Looked at You,” and just because they lyrics are rather pathetic doesn’t mean the song is bad, it’s actually an incredibly catchy song. From the catchy “I Looked at You” we go to the haunting and glum “End of the Night.” The album ends with the Oedipal tragedy “The End.” Many write off the song saying it’s too pretentious but it is far from that. If anything it is the best mixture of poetry and music by any band. It’s cryptic, haunting and moving, and is also the highlight of the album. The whole album builds to this epic ending and it’s perfect. Without this song there is no doubt in my mind that it would be taken off this list. Now I’m not going as far as saying that “The End” is the album, but I do believe that it’s the most important aspect of it. The Doors will be remembered for The Shaman himself Jim Morrison but The Doors were much larger than a Lizard King. They pushed the minds of their listeners and they pushed the boundaries of music. They were a band willing to cross the lines set by the music business and this album does just that.

1. Break On Through (To The Other Side)
2. Soul Kitchen
3. The Crystal Ship
4. Twentieth Century Fox
5. Alabama Song (Whisky Bar)
6. Light My Fire
7. Back Door Man
8. I Looked At You
9. End Of The Night
10. Take It As It Comes
11. The End