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64 of 67 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The panultimate Doors experience., July 30, 2001
I'll admit, I don't really listen to my other Doors CD's that much anymore...but "An American Prayer" is an exception. Jim Morrison will be recognized as one of the most important (and certainly the most imitated) frontmen in the history of rock/pop music, and deservedly so...but as most knowledgeable music afficianados (Rob O'Connor need not apply) will tell you, Morrison was a great deal more. As compelling (and disturbing) as his lyrics were, it was with the medium of poetry that Morrison truly felt his place to be; his desire was to use popular music as a means of presenting his writing to a greater audience. Having three of the most talented and versatile musicians of the 1960's in his band certainly didn't hurt, and this as much as Morrison's own talents as a lyricist and indominitable charisma as a frontman helped to achieve this end. The reading that he gives on this CD (recorded on Morrison's birthday in 1970, I believe) is first rate. And though it must be allowed that Morrison probably never intended for musical accompanyment to be added to his words (this was done by the surviving Doors members years after his death), it was likely Schiller probably felt the same way at the time he wrote his "Ode to Joy"...and Beethoven's use of Schiller's piece in his 9th Symphony finale certainly can't be seen as a dilution of that work by any stretch of the imagination. Nor is the subsequent Doors instrumentation (as well as the addition of previously released music) to be seen as a lessening of the experience of "An American Prayer". This is an extremely well-conceived production; the music compliments Morrison's reading perfectly. Morrison himself reads in a soothing, engaging, and intimate manner (similar to Charles Bukowski's "Run With The Hunted" expanded CD session), and, if indeed he was "Stoned Immaculate" at the time of the recording, the clarity of his voice lays more to inspiration rather than inebriation. This CD finds all participants in finest form, and the result is an extremely natural progression of sound. This recording may be considered "spoken word" due to its vocal delivery (and as such is unsurpassed by Bukowski, Henry Rollins, William Burroughs, or anyone else to whom I've compared it), but as with the work released by the Doors as a band, the music here is not to be underestimated. This recording was well ahead of its time, and in my opinion represents the Doors as Morrison had intended them to become through an evolution he was unfortunately unable to see through; I believe he would have approved of this work, and I can't recommend it enough, either to fans of poetry, music, and of life itself.
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33 of 36 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Tommy who?, April 2, 2004
Crimson and clover? Why don't you compare Wayne Newton to Primus? Anyways, this review isn't a bash; it's my feelings about the album. First of all "American Prayer" isn't an album that you just pick one or two songs off of to listen to, it's a story, similar to Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon," "The Wall," or Neilson's "The Point." And similar to those in that it is best enjoyed relaxing on your couch, following the inebriant of your choice. It also is great for long road trips at night, but I prefer to have my eyes closed when listening to it. Jim's poetry is raw and vibrant and conjures up images of the movies The Doors and Natural Born Killers. The background music adds to the poetry like the sense of smell does to taste. As a second generation door's fan, my view of this album may be slightly nostalgic, but listening to it, for me, is like a vivid dream that captures something reminiscent of Manson's views of the 60's. It's filled with intenseness of peaking on window pane (LSD, for the sheltered) and the spacey philosophical ranting that accompany its come-down. This album is art and contains all the passion and skewed visions of the artist. I would compare this album to something like sushi; at first it may sound repulsive to some, but if given a chance you may start to crave it. If this doesn't sound like your spicy tuna roll, then maybe you can go back to mind-numbing, sticky-sweet pop music and other mass media produced nausients, and leave interpretation of art to someone else. Okay, it is kind of a bash.
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16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Don't listen to Rob O'Connor -- the Amazon mouthpiece, October 6, 2004
Like others I also give this fours stars instead of five. And I do so as a penalty to the remaining doors, Bruce Botnick (engineer), and most of all world class sycophant - Danny Sugarman. This is Morrison's last recorded piece of significance (there also was a drunk session in Paris with a couple of street musicians.) Sugarman has turned a fortunate position as groupie / sycophant in the doors L.A office answering fan mail into a career of self-promotion, mining a dead man's hard work, and worse ... If you've ever met Sugarman you'll get the idea. Morrison did not write this stuff as a doors project. And, as the late doors producer Paul Rothchild stated, it was never meant to be an opportunity for Sugarman's group to increase their product line. Saddest of all, the original recordings of Morrison have been torn into a million pieces and reassembled in whatever order best fit the noises the rest of the band could make years after Morrison's death. I understand it must be hard for the Robbie, John and Ray not to reach back and have another moment with the lost friend, but this is really over the line of good taste. And that is unusual for these three guys - particularly Robbie and John. If you are a doors fan then you'll surely enjoy this work - just don't play it on the 405 on your way to work. Like much of the doors work, this requires some work from the listener. Their music isn't a soundtack for plodding from work to purchase. Instead, go to the desert, listen, and wait for the sun but be careful about picking up hitchhikers. Finally, could we have a break from the jealousy of wannabe artists (Rob O'Connor) who are stuck in jobs they hate like journalism, copy writing for web sites, or as music critics who can't seem to separate Morrison's work from the life he lived? They seem to know little or nothing about Morrison other than what they've read in their competitor's publications. And their qualifications for making meaning from the Art of others is a mystery never explained or demonstrated. It's bad enough for them that Morrison had an I.Q. of 160 plus, was classically attractive in the extreme, had a Master's from UCLA, often knew more about Literature than his university professors, had a distinctive voice perfectly suited to his work, and worst of all, had all the girls looking for him (Jim) that the wannabe artists (like Amazon's Rob O'Connor) wished were looking for them (show us the green Rob!) It must really crush these guys that Morrison could stumble in to a house drunk, sit on the toilet, listen to Robbie, John and Ray on a rough Jam of L.A. Woman and then, on the spot with no notes or notebooks, simply start creating and singing the lyrics onto the recording tape. Then have another bottle and do it again from scratch with Riders on the Storm. That Morrison's first cut at the lyrics was exactly what was published / used must make these wannabes want to reach for their own bottle. Time generally separates the great works from the lesser stuff. It seems generally agreed that the doors impact on bands since is very significant. And despite the media's infatuation with promoting the Beatles and the Stones, the truth seems to be that each successive generation is voting for the doors.
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by The Doors 
