The Doors Box Set [BOX SET]

The Doors

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 28, 1997)
• Original Release Date: October 28, 1997
• Number of Discs: 4
• Format: Box set
• Note on Boxed Sets: During shipping, discs in boxed sets occasionally become dislodged without damage. Please examine and play these discs. If you are not completely satisfied, we'll refund or replace your purchase.
• Label: Elektra / Wea
• ASIN: B000002HRA
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (81 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #8,526 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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Track Listings

Disc: 1

1. Five to One [Live]

2. Queen of the Highway [Alternate Version]

3. Hyacinth House [Demo Version]

4. My Eyes Have Seen You [Demo Version]

5. Who Scared You?

See all 13 tracks on this disc

Disc: 2

1. Roadhouse Blues [Live]

2. Ship of Fools [Live]

3. Peace Frog [Live]

4. Blue Sunday [Live]

5. Celebration of the Lizard [Live]

See all 10 tracks on this disc

Disc: 3

1. Hello to the Cities [Live]

2. Break On Through (To the Other Side) [Live]

3. Rock Me [Live]

4. Money [Live]

5. Someday Soon [Live]

See all 15 tracks on this disc

Disc: 4

1. Light My Fire

2. Peace Frog

3. Wishful Sinful

4. Take It As It Comes

5. L.A. Woman

See all 15 tracks on this disc

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Unlike many a box-set retrospective, this 1997 four-CD collection is clearly tailored for Doors aficionados rather than those curious but not overly familiar with the legendary '60s band's career and oeuvre. The first three discs are filled with previously unreleased live tracks and other rarities, such as the band's early demos, which found them slowly building a foundation stemming from each member's clear strengths and influences: Manzarek's classical background, Densmore's jazz, Krieger's rock, and Morrison's blues. Disc 4 features "band favorites" rather than hits, per se, and thus continues the insider tone taken by the compilation. Once you're inside, though, the rewards are many. --Billy Altman

Product Description

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Flipping off the fans, August 20, 1999

By A Customer

The Doors have to be one of the worst bands when it comes to giving the (smart) fans something of real value and something they really want. This boxset was the one people were waiting for forever, but it turns out to be disappointing. As usual, we have the same old spliced together tracks claiming to be from one venue. The Black Train song is great, BUT...it's literally cut in half. It should run about 25 minutes, not 12(!) The Isle of Wight track? If this is any indication of how the official Doors Isle of Wight disc sounds, folks, the bootleg of this show is excellent UNTOUCHED, NOT OVERDUBBED AND NOT REMIXED soundboard. The echo effects, the blatant Kreiger overdubs and the overproduction on old tracks is shameless. The Doors are always trying to make themselves sound better in concert than they did. AND in the studio! Listen to the cleaned up Rock is Dead. Why is it only 16 minutes? Isn't the bootleg version of this bit about 22 minutes long? Where is a live version of Touch Me? Why don't they use ONE Felt Forum show instead of butchering the tapes of 4 different ones? Where is Paris Blues? Why is Someday Soon CUT?! Why, in the name of God, do we need a band favorites disc??! That, right there, is one of the most lame things any band has done on a boxset. RIPPING OFF THE FANS! The Doors get no respect when it comes to respecting the fans. I'll be dead and in hell long before they decide to let the dozens of Absolutely Live and Feast of Friends recorded concerts see the light of day!

43 of 49 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Two words: HIGHWAY ROBBEREY!, December 11, 2002

By	Hiroshi Yokohama (Osaka, Japan) - See all my reviews

I guess we all could have expected this from the Doors, after all
they are the masters, OF RELEASING THE SAME STUFF 15 TIMES!
The Doors are the kings of re-release (with the Who coming in a close second). There are about 10 or 15 US "greatest hits" albums and about 5 imported ones. If that says anything to you at all, than it probably says that this set was a rip off.

There are some good songs like, "Black Train Song", "Hyacinth House", and "Celebration of the Lizard" but on the whole this set wasn't whole!

The first disc starts out with a preformance of "Five to One" that was apparently included solely because it was recorded the night Jim Morrison allegedly exposed himself. The sound quality and even preformance quality are horrible!

Disc one has severly edited takes of several no-fi bootleg transfers that have been overdubbed just recently (at least when other bands do that i.e. the Beatle's "Real Love" and "Free As A Bird" they tell you that it's just magnetic tape). The Doors try to pass it off as original. There are four or five annoying 1965 demos that are just that, terrible cheap leftover, demos.

Disc 2 however is the master of all the overdub lies. The Doors/Elektra would have you believe that this is a full preformance at Madison Square Garden, but it is actually a collection of tracks from four preformances at the Felt Forum, linked together by ovedubbed (also known as fake) crowd noise.
The worst case of that being "Gloria" which was actually recorded at a sound check in front of an empty auditorium in LA. First, that's not live, and its on the opposite end of the country from New York.

"Hello To The Cities" that kicks off the first disc (and effectivly scuttles it) is, get this, a combo of the Ed Sullivan preformance and Jim saying the names of a bunch of cities at a concert in Detroit. Several tracks labled as "Live" actually aren't. I.E. "Mental Floss" was a sound check. "The Soft Parade" is a combo of the studio recording and a recording for an empty studio (save a few video cameras) for TV. "Orange County Suite" was just recently overdubbed (1996), naturally they don't admit it.

The real insult to injury was disc 4, the infamous "Band Favorites" disc (read any review on this box, and even the fans of it will question its inclusion). Nothing is wrong with Elektra releasing a "Band Favorites Disc", except that any one with this set already had those tracks (remember, 15 US "hits" albums). Worse still it is just a way to swindle you out of fifteen more dollars/yen/euros, whatever. There is nothing wrong with making, and charging for a three disc set, were they worried that people wouldn't buy it if it was three discs? I mean, that's what the linear notes are for, just tell us your sixteen favorite songs, and well listen to them in that order, or whatever.

This was a real dissapointment and after being so excited, driving home from the music store with this set cluched firmly in my hands... putting disc 1 in my discman and then realising I had been, like so many other devoted fans, crapped on.

I'm sure Morrison rolled over in his grave the day this was released.

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Major Disappointment, July 30, 1999

By	N. P. Stathoulopoulos "nick9155" (Brooklyn, NY) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

The Doors Box Set only proves yet again that the Doors and Elektra Records are not very good to their fans when it comes to releasing material. THIS is the box set fans eagerly awaited for years? Three discs, not even full length, and a fourth, completely useless collection of more hits. The great parts are: all of the demos, the Black Train Song on Disc 1, finally a release on CD of Who Scared You? (WHERE is You Need Meat (Don't Go No Further)??), Queen of the Highway, Hyacinth House, and a couple of other rare bits. The Live in New York disc is a sham. This is not live in New York, this is merely the Doors once again splicing together parts of different tracks from DIFFERENT concerts and claiming the tracks are from ONE show. Gloria is the uncensored version from In Concert, and Celebration of the Lizard is chopped up and shorter. Naturally, as well, the Doors over-produced old material to make it sound like it was recorded yesterday (and so they sound better than they were.) Robbie Kreiger even overdubbed his own guitars 27 years later on some tracks(!) The Soft Parade? Um, we HAVE this version on the Video of the Soft Parade. What about something we DON'T have or DON'T know? What about the OTHER, BETTER, version recorded of Someday Soon? What about ALL of those shows recorded for Absolutely Live and Feast of Friends? Dozens of complete, soundboard shows sitting collecting dust in the Doors archives. I was kind of pleased when I got this the first day, and then the excitement wore off when I realized that the box wasn't really so great. It looks nice, has a nice booklet, but it reeks of big money (it was not cheap) and it certainly skimped on the rare and wanted material. The fans want something of quality, like four full discs of rare live and studio stuff NOT over-produced and NOT chopped up. (They chop off the first few notes of Someday Soon and have over-dubbed crowd noise, butchering the beginning of that great track.) I must admit the job on Orange County Suite is very nice, though. But I believe that the Doors attempt to exercise too much nervous control over the stuff they release to the public. Like we can't hear them out of tune live or messing up or not mixed so perfectly. Give us the stuff! It's no wonder people continue to gobble up Doors bootlegs, where you can even find a longer version of Rock is Dead and Jim Morrison's poetry readings. NOT recommended for anyone except a serious Doors fan.