Customer Reviews

La Woman

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The Doors last stand. A bit of a departure from the earlier recordings. This was Jim's last recording before his death. A very bluesy effort with a laid back sound throughout. Songs like the Changeling, Love her madly and others are more real and not contrived just for the sake of doing a different record. Jim sounds like a blues shamen on this one. Too bad they never got to build from this one. Riders on the Storm rejoice and pick this one up.

"L.A. Woman" is the final album put together by the Doors before the death of Jim Morrison and what is so striking about it for me is how the two best tracks, the title one and "Riders of the Storm," are so different from the rest of what is on the album. Contrasting the start of those tracks with the opening song on the album, "The Changeling," and they are like night and day. Most of the rest of this 1971 album is really blues oriented, with "Love Her Madly" clearly being the best of the bunch, and some of the rest being instantly forgettable. I think it is obvious that the band was trying to get back their credibility after veering too far in the direction of pop for a couple of albums, with "Morrison Hotel" and this one righting those wrongs. But since a few of these songs are pretty forgettable, "L.A. Woman" is an album that is caught between a 4 and a 5 but you have to round up given how good its two best songs end up being.

My two favorite parts of Oliver Stone's movie "The Doors" is when we hear Ray Manzarek in the background fooling around on the organ until he gets the bit for "Light My Fire" right and the end credits with the tracking shot showing the record of "L.A. Woman," with Val Kilmer's Morrison taking advantage of the great acoustics in the bathroom. For years when I was driving back from the Twin Cities and coming up the final hills before being able to see the lights of home, to wit the "city of lights," "L.A. Woman" was the song I would play in the car because it perfectly suited the moment.

Since the track opens with the sound of an accelerating car engine it is easy to see why the songs is associated with driving. Robbie Krieger simulates that sound on his guitar, but with a hint of eeriness that leads into first Manzarek's keyboards and then John Densmore's cymbal tapping and session player Jerry Scheff's throbbing bass. From that intriguing beginning the song generates its compelling rhythm and allows Morrison to wax lyrical. The bridge represents one of the most creative changes in rock history, using a tango tempo while Morrison sings about burning hair before getting to the final section where the anagrammatic "Mr. Mojo Risin'" makes his appearance. On a lot of these tracks Morrison's voice sounds about shot, but there are no complaints about "L.A. Woman," which qualifies as his last great vocal performance.

"Riders of the Storm" is one of the moodiest Doors' songs and the lyrics create a sense of foreboding (e.g., "Into this house were born/Into this world we're thrown") representing the questionable side of human existence. Musically Manzarek captures the sound of the storm, with actual thunderstorm sound effects dubbed on to the track, while Densmore again works the cymbals and Scheff provides a simple bass line, reflecting a minimalist approach that is quite effective. The song made it to #14 on the Billboard charts after Morrison's death in Paris ("Love Her Madly" had made it to #11 while the title track was just too long for AM radio). The "L.A. Woman" album only made it to #9, which, believe it or not, makes it the worst performance by a Doors album. Of course, a decade later Morrison and the Doors were bigger than ever and "L.A. Woman" was a frequent mention as the group's best track.

Yes the album is inconsistent,and yes there is too much blues filler - but that misses the point. Unlike all the other previous Doors albums, which were over produced to varying degrees, this album gives you an unvarnished glimpse into a stream-of-consciousness Morrision as he teeters on the edge between pure genius and sheer madness.

Morrison warns us from the start in the Changeling that this this not going to be a TV-ready performance when he sings "I've never been so broke that I couldn't be stoned". A great rock screamer and a fantastic opening song. The title song is simply the Doors at their best - great lyrics and fantastic ensemble playing - especially the drumming of John Densmore. It's wonderful to hear him play with an actual bassist. The WASP (Texas Radio and the Big Beat) is Morrison at his poeteic best, full of provoacative imagery. Riders on the Storm is one of the most uniquely ethereal pieces of rock music ever created. There's not much to say about the rest of the album that hasn't been said already.

In short - all fans of 60's pscyhedelic rock need this album. If you love "Tonight's the Night" or "The Madcap Laughs", this is your cup of tea.

This album is maybe The Doors best album since Strange Days. The album can do without The Changeling, Cars Hiss By My Window, and Crawling King Snake. Been Down So Long, L'America, The WASP (Texas Radio and the Big Beat), and Hyacinth House are great songs to help support the album. Love Her Madly is a great song. The title track, L.A. Woman, is a great song with so much energy, especially with the big build-up during the bridge. The band leaves us with Riders On the Storm, which is just pure brilliance. The Doors finish up with one of their best albums ever.

This album is so bad, it's almost worth owning. Track after plodding track astonishes. When I listen to this album, I feel intensely sorry for the other members of The Doors. An obviously inebriated Jimbo sounds like he couldn't decide whether to throw up or to go to sleep, so instead he went to the studio and cut some tracks. His vocals are shockingly [bad] and painfully off-key. He actually SOUNDS fat! Seriously...check it out! To make matters worse, at least half of the tunes sound like Morrison made up the abysmal lyrics as he went along. There are a couple tunes where apparently the other Doors managed to get their fearless leader semi-sobered up or at least convinced him to come up with some [bad]lyrics in advance (Riders on the Storm being the best of these), but they are the exception. Mostly the tunes are lazy, generic blues variations that a below-average bar band would be ashamed to call their own. And Morrison turns in the least convincing "blues" vocals this side of Eric Clapton's From The Cradle (yikes!)! This is bad, bad stuff. That said, it's pretty [] funny if you have a perverse enough sense of humor, and it's a great party album if your friends have a similar sense of humor. I guess nothing's all bad.