Morrison Hotel cover

Morrison Hotel

Released

After a stunning debut, the Doors made three mixed-bag albums with one or two good songs scattered amid half-baked psychedelic jams lacking both hooks and compelling lyrics, two things they’d once had in abundance. On their next-to-last album with Jim Morrison up front, they recaptured the dark, bluesy heart of their early work. Even the slow songs simmer ominously, but “Roadhouse Blues,” “You Make Me Real,” and “Peace Frog” in particular are fucking jams, featuring some of Robbie Krieger’s most snarling guitar and John Densmore’s most hard-driving funk-rock beats. Meanwhile, “Indian Summer” condenses the best qualities of “The End” (eerie psychedelia, sustained mood) to two and a half minutes, and no dramatic monologuing!

Phil Freeman

Recommended by

Suggestions
Nice 'N' Greasy cover

Nice 'N' Greasy

Atomic Rooster
Fed cover

Fed

Plush
The Rolling Stones cover

The Rolling Stones

The Rolling Stones
Closer to Home cover

Closer to Home

Grand Funk Railroad
Devil in the Flesh cover

Devil in the Flesh

Billy Childish, Dan Melchior
Live at Woodstock cover

Live at Woodstock

Creedence Clearwater Revival
Atomic Rooster cover

Atomic Rooster

Atomic Rooster
The Original Lost Elektra Sessions cover

The Original Lost Elektra Sessions

The Butterfield Blues Band
Are You Experienced? cover

Are You Experienced?

The Jimi Hendrix Experience