Numbered, Limited Edition! 50th Anniversary Deluxe Edition 3CD & 180g Vinyl LP Set! Remastered by Bruce Botnick!
TAS Rated 3.5/5 Music, 4/5 Sonics in the May/June 2020 Issue of The Absolute Sound!
One Of TAS' Ten Best Rock Albums of 2020!
Newly expanded 3CD/1LP set that includes the original studio album and the B-side Who Scared You newly remastered by Bruce Botnick, The Doors longtime engineer and mixer. The collection is a limited edition of individually numbered copies and also includes the original album on 180-gram vinyl along with liner notes by noted rock journalist David Fricke.
The core of the collection is comprised of more than a dozen unreleased songs. Among the highlights are stripped down Doors Only versions of five tracks where the horns and strings have been removed (Tell All The People, Touch Me, Wishful Sinful, Runnin Blue, and Who Scared You.) The set also features three of those stripped-back versions with new guitar parts added by Robby Krieger (Touch Me, Wishful Sinful, and Runnin Blue).
The collection also uncovers three songs from studio rehearsals with Ray Manzarek (a.k.a. Screamin Ray Daniels) on vocals that include an early version of Roadhouse Blues, a song that would be released the following year on Morrison Hotel. These three songs include newly recorded bass parts by Robert DeLeo of Stone Temple Pilots, who joined Krieger and John Densmore at a tribute concert for Manzarek in 2016, three years after the organist died of cancer.
A trio of studio outtakes collected on the sets final disc feature the much-bootlegged, hour-long jam, Rock Is Dead, which appears here in its entire, surviving form for the first time ever. The track finds The Doors riffing through the entire history of rock n roll, from early delta blues through surf music, ending with the death of rock.
The strings and horns never bothered me, but the remixes do have a gritty charm that spotlights the band's playing. Also featured is an early version of 'Roadhouse Blues,' sung by Manzarek, and the rambling hour-long jam 'Rock Is Dead.' The digital tracks are encoded for MQA-capable players and bring an extra sparkle to the proceedings. Overall, a welcome addition to Rhino's ongoing and reverential reissue series.
Features
Numbered, Limited Edition - 15,000 Copies
50th Anniversary Edition
Deluxe Edition
3CD & 1LP
180g Vinyl
Remastered by Bruce Botnick
Nearly 2 hours of unissued recordings
Unreleased stripped-down "Doors Only" mixes of "Touch Me", "Wishful Sinful" and "Tell All The People" with strings and horns removed + 2019 guitar overdubs by Robby Krieger
Debut of the complete, hour-long studio jam "Rock Is Dead"
Liner notes by David Fricke
Housed within a hardbound book cover
Selections
CD 1 - Original Stereo Mix Remastered:
Tell All The People
Touch Me
Shaman's Blues
Do It
Easy Ride
Wild Child
Runnin' Blue
Wishful Sinful
The Soft Parade
Who Scared You (Bonus Track)
CD 2:
Tell All The People (Doors Only Mix)
Touch Me (Doors Only Mix w/New Robby Krieger Overdub)
Runnin' Blue (Doors Only Mix w/New Robby Krieger Overdub)
Wishful Sinful (Doors Only Mix w/New Robby Krieger Overdub)
Who Scared You (Doors Only Mix)
Roadhouse Blues - Screamin' Ray Daniels (a.k.a. Ray Manzarek) On Vocals
(You Need Meat) Don't Go No Further - Screamin' Ray Daniels (a.k.a. Ray Manzarek) On Vocals
I'm Your Doctor - Screamin' Ray Daniels (a.k.a. Ray Manzarek) On Vocals
Touch Me (Doors Only Mix)
Runnin' Blue (Doors Only Mix)
Wishful Sinful (Doors Only Mix)
CD 3:
I Am Troubled
Seminary School (a.k.a. Petition The Lord With Prayer)
Rock Is Dead (Complete Version)
Chaos
LP - Original Stereo Mix Remastered
Side One:
Tell All The People
Touch Me
Shaman's Blues
Do It
Easy Ride
Side Two:
Wild Child
Runnin' Blue
Wishful Sinful
The Soft Parade
All Tracks on CD 2 and Tracks 2-4 on CD 3 Previously Unissued