Live in Pittsburgh 1970

The Doors | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 4, 2008)
• Original Release Date: 1970
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Bright Midnight Records
• ASIN: B0011U8NZ2
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,550 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Recorded on May 2, 1970 at the Pittsburgh Civic Arena during
The Doors final tour with Jim Morrison as lead vocalist, LIVE IN
PITTSBURGH captures a spectacular concert performance from the
legendary quartet. A single-disc tour de force, the album features
over an hour of incendiary energy from Morrison, keyboardist Ray
Manzarek, drummer John Densmore, and guitarist Robby Krieger as
they take the audience on an epic musical journey. The powerful
recording was expertyly mixed and mastered by the Doors longtime
engineer/producer Bruce Botnick, who recorded several shows
from the band s now-historic 70 tour on multitrack tape for the
Absolutely Live album. Along with classic Doors hits and choice
covers, highlights include Morrison s improvisational riffing during
an exciting 22-plus minute version of When The Music s Over,
leading the band into bits of songs they d never played live.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

58 of 60 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Yet another excellent, complete Absolutely Live show, March 9, 2008

By 

N. P. Stathoulopoulos "nick9155" (Brooklyn, NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Live in Pittsburgh 1970 (Audio CD)

Another Doors show recorded for the Absolutely Live album makes its appearance from Bright Midnight Records, once again uncut and complete. (Actually, Doors engineer Bruce Botnick notes in the liner notes that a couple of snippets are forever gone, so a portion of Light My Fire has been inserted from the Philadelphia '70 show, as well as another short piece).

Shorter than the previously released shows, this is nonetheless excellent. Unlike the recently released Boston 1970 3-CD set, Morrison is completely with it here, and the band is spot on. The singer becomes more talkative as the show goes on, and the set list is fantastic, a true gem for any Doors fan. This is the first and by far the best recording of the ultra-rare Someday Soon. (The other version, recorded in Seattle weeks later, pales in comparison with a drunk and distant Morrison). This version has appeared before on the bootleg boxset Stages, though it was incorrectly labeled Baltimore, 1970.

Highly recommended for fans new and old. The liner notes and packaging are very nice, in keeping with the fresh job done for the Boston shows. Looks like the bulk of the material recorded for Absolutely Live has been released, with Detroit, Philly, Boston, two Aquarius double-disc sets, and some (but not all) of the Felt Forum material having already appeared over the last decade. A complete set of those four Felt Forum shows are ripe for proper release.

Apparently, no overdubs on this one, either. Just the original tapes, remastered by Botnick, who continues to be involved with every Doors release. Skip the 50th greatest hits package they've put out, and get this instead. Much credit to the band for releasing these shows. Though they still release far too many redundant packages of the studio albums, they finally got to the vaults for the material fans have been asking about for decades. Easily one of their best live albums.

25 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another great Doors release, March 6, 2008

By 

Tom S. (Pittsburgh, PA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Live in Pittsburgh 1970 (Audio CD)

Live In Pittsburgh 1970, the newest release from Bright Midnight Archives is yet another masterful recording. Although somewhat shorter than the Doors' other 1970 concert releases, this show does not cease to entertain. With a 22+ minute version of "When the Music's Over", including snippets from "The Soft Parade" and a completely unreleased track "Push Push" that was ONLY ever recorded live here and never made it onto that album. This release is well worth the money. If you are even a casual Doors fan, for the price you definatly need to check this out.

15 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Clean sound, but lack of energy, August 19, 2008

By 

Comedy Album Fanatic "W.C. Fields Forever" (Western New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Live in Pittsburgh 1970 (Audio CD)

I've heard a couple of officially-released live Doors performances that are pretty good: the two unedited performances The Doors live in Detroit and The Doors live in Philadelphia. The new set recorded in Pittsburgh is not on par with the others. The sound quality is fine but (and I think you'll notice this in even the first song), Jim seems to be on autopilot. He is doing everything right, but just not expending any more energy than he has to. The band seems to mirror his lack of energy. I'll be honest and say I didn't finish listening to the show. After the first few numbers I was worn out.

For those of you looking for better live Doors shows:

1. The Detroit show was, I believe, the longest show they ever played. They seem to be enjoying themselves and the energy is good throughout.

2. The show in Philadelphia has a couple of unusual selections, pretty good energy, and the way "Wake Up" leads into "Light My Fire" makes it one of my favorite Doors moments ever.