Rating: 9/10

Track Amount: 10

Running Time: 34 minutes and 55 seconds

Genre: Psychedelia

Personnel: Jim Morrison (vocals), Ray Manzarek (keyboards), Robby Krieger (guitars), John Densmore (drums)

Producer: Paul A. Rothchild

Recording Location: Sunset Sound Studios, Hollywood, California, USA

Record Label: Elektra

Art Direction: William S. Harvey

Best Tracks: Love Me Two Times, People Are Strange, When The Music’s Over

Quick Verdict: An underrated Psychedelic listen that is better than what most critics think

It was a brilliant move to release this album only eight months after The Doors released their first album, given the amount of material that the group had at the time. Having recorded their self-titled debut album fairly quickly, the group decided to create a more sonically experimental album that would turn heads for fans of the group as such. Utilising new instrumentation, such as the Moog Synthesiser and Marimba, this album was the sound of The Doors experimenting more with their music. The result was a unique take on the Psychedelic sounds and themes of 1967, with The Doors making their own sound and strategy. The reviews at the time for this album were less consistently good than their self-titled debut album, but were overall positive nonetheless. Several singles were released from this album as well. The Doors loved this album in their back catalogue as one of their favourites as well, which is important to know. Let’s take a listen to this album, and we shall hear if it still sounds good today.

1. Strange Days begins with some trippy keyboard playing and launches into a defining and iconic song from the late 1960s. This was the era of Hippies and their ideals, and this song sounds magnificent. Jim Morrison sings like a real king on this tune. This is miles more adventurous, interesting and better than the debut album, which is often seen as a superior listen. No matter, this is very, very good to hear. The drumming pounds along nicely as well, along with Jim Morrison’s awesome and somewhat baritone-styled vocals. A fantastic listen, and something very valuable in The Doors back canon. This is a forward-thinking and amazing-sounding tune that is brilliantly good. The mixture of singing and keyboards sounds awesome. It finishes up quickly with a drum roll and organ finish.

2. You’re Lost Little Girl starts with a good bass guitar riff, electric guitars, and a surreal musical atmosphere throughout. Jim Morrison sings smoothly and well on this tune. This is much more textural than a song of sorts, but it still shines brightly. Jim Morrison exudes sexuality and a great attitude as a singer throughout. This is a fairly repetitive tune, with the track title being sung repeatedly. Soon enough is a good guitar solo, and this piece really is extraordinarily expressive. This is miles better than the band’s self-titled debut album, and the power and beauty of it all is tremendously cool. A nice listen.

3. Love Me Two Times begins with some neat Gibson SG guitar playing, and quickly launches into a pretty and adventurous song about getting it on with a lady before going on in the world. The construction of these songs is extremely intelligent and interesting to hear. Jim Morrison is the main star of the show here, and he proves that he had a unique music personality that was inimitable as a singer. Screaming then emerges, and a harpsichord solo follows, which adds an adventurous musical flavour to it all. This is a good song that is dirty, promiscuous and lustful that sounds good. Jim Morrison sings clearly and screams passionately, in turns. A very good listening experience.

4. Unhappy Girl begins with some interesting keyboard parts that are multitracked, and launches into yet another serious album classic at hand. Very short and pretty to listen to. The music, singing and playing were miles ahead of the competition in the late 1960s. Forget the debut album by The Doors; this is far better than that. The music and sounds present are fantastically innovative. A really great listen, period.

5. Horse Latitudes is another very short piece, at around a minute and a half in length. It begins with a very spacey and wacky keyboard introduction. Soon enough, Jim Morrison speak sings to the listener, with a rush of original sounds and some freaky music, possibly about the four horsemen in the book of Revelations in the Bible. A far-out listen. Very, very good. There is recorded screaming throughout, likely to give you a picture of hell itself.

6. Moonlight Drive begins with some stereo panned keyboards, before marching-style drums and a sweet guitar riff emerge. This is yet another terrific song by The Doors, and this is an image-evoking and superb song. This album proves that you don’t need a long song length to impress a listener. A seriously enjoyable and cool song. There is some neat slide guitar soloing present on this song as well. A beautifully gorgeous and upbeat song that is perfect to play to your lover on a long drive in the countryside at night. Jim Morrison’s singing is awesome as per usual as well. The outro is sweet.

7. People Are Strange begins with some clean Gibson SG and has Jim Morrison singing about being alone and lonely. This quickly shifts into a seriously cool and enjoyable song about being a weirdo, unwanted and unloved by others. The Doors put their all into this song, and the whole thing is majestic. A sweet slide guitar solo again emerges. The whole tune is a pleasant Hippie counterculture sort of song, with some awesome keyboards throughout. Very nice indeed to hear. Great song.

8. My Eyes Have Seen You begins with bass guitar, keyboards fighting against electric guitars and drums for attention. This quickly launches into a sweet and effortless-sounding song by The Doors with some fantastic and iconic singing by Jim Morrison. There is a unique and terrific-sounding guitar solo, which shows that any guitarist should play a Gibson SG at least once. This continues to evolve and become a fine piece of music along the way. Jim Morrison screams nicely towards the end of it all, before the music finishes this tune up in the fade out. Excellent.

9. I Can’t See Your Face In My Mind begins with some interesting keyboards and guitars playing to match each other, followed by Jim Morrison singing softly away. Soon enough, this launches into a really deep and swell tune that sounds amazing to hear. There is a great deal of lyrical and emotional suspense throughout this song. There is more slide guitar present as well, alongside some backwards instrumentation. A very good song at hand indeed. This does sound really magical overall, even for a lesser track on this album. A fine and interesting song to listen to. Sure, it’s not the best song from this album, but it certainly has its merits. A good listen from way back in the 1960s. This has elements of Frank Sinatra’s musical inspiration to it as well, who was admired by Jim Morrison. Nice tune.

10. When The Music’s Over is an 11-minute-long finale on this album, in a typical style of The Doors. It begins with organ, hi-hats and launches into a trippy hippie sort of tune at hand. The organ riffing is fantastic here. This quickly launches into a Hard Rock styled Psychedelic piece, which is awesome to listen to. A very original and unique take on an extended tune at hand. This is exactly the sort of thing that the likes of the Hippies with their Psychedelic drug use would have absolutely loved at the time. Seriously cool to listen to, Jim Morrison is in full Rock God mode on this song. A really wonderful, fantastic tune is present on this song, and it climaxes with synchronicity and enjoyable musicianship. This is an ode to music itself, and any fan of late 1960s Classic Rock will dig this legendary listen. Some reversed, and woman tone sounding guitar solos are present, which sound far out, man. A really sweet and glorious extended jam band-style tune with glorious sounds and musicianship to listen to. A really cool and deep listen. This sounds just as amazing as it did back in 1967. Jim Morrison sings illustrative and impressionistic lyrics on this song, sounding wonderful throughout. A cool and iconic tune, pulsating with male sexuality and musical brilliance throughout. A seriously enjoyable and listenable tune. This is like The End’s sequel from the previous album. A really sensational and great song that is pretty and awesome. The Doors deserve much more credit than they typically get. Jim Morrison begs for a lady to return to him for loving in a very theatrical and suspenseful manner. If you like the idea of music that is like a film, rather than just a simple song, this will fit your mood nicely. All in all, this music is seriously cool. Going from subtle to loud progressively with some awesome drum fills. This obviously is one for those of you who value proto-Progressive Rock Music. Without warning, screaming erupts, and this follows right into action again. Jim Morrison screams for the love of a lady and sounds absolutely manic, like he needs a valium or something similar. This is ridiculously good to listen to. The synchronised guitars, keyboards and drums follow on, leading into a very neat and sweet section of music at hand. The music and performance are miles ahead of others in the realm of LSD taking, drug-loving Hippie Psychedelia. This gradually wraps up nicely and reaches an awesome conclusion at hand. Top and awesome sounds from The Doors. Absolutely monumental, the ending is exciting and fantastic. Brilliant.

This is a much better album than expected. It combines artistry, theatrics and drug-induced fantasies onto an album that is better than The Doors self-titled debut album by a long shot. It is the sound of The Doors breaking down music barriers, as such, and continuing to evolve and develop their sound. This is the real deal. Should you listen to this album? If you love the 1960s, go ahead, but if you like Punk, avoid this one.

If you like this article, please like, share, comment and follow me on The Ultimate Music Library. Thank you, Chris Airey.