SACD The Doors – L.A. Woman

L.A. Woman as a hybrid multichannel SACD from Analogue Productions’ Doors series: Doug Sax mastered it under the supervision of Bruce Botnick, and the surround programme comes from Botnick’s own 96 kHz/24-bit mixes. All ten songs play in one sequence – from “The Changeling” to “Riders on the Storm”.

Back in their own room

At the turn of 1971, the Doors returned to familiar ground for their sixth studio album: their own workshop on Santa Monica Boulevard in West Hollywood. The rehearsal room became the studio. Bruce Botnick installed the equipment and shared production with the band after Paul A. Rothchild stepped away – and that changed far more than a line in the credits. In a space they knew inside out, the musicians could answer each other directly, and the album grew out of playing together.

Released in April 1971, L.A. Woman became the last studio album this line-up issued during Jim Morrison’s lifetime. Later events cast a long shadow over it, yet the sessions themselves are a joy to discover: a band bringing blues, tight songs and long, open forms together once more. Most of it was recorded in the winter of 1970–71 – ten pieces that show how many sides this group still had.

Four Doors and two important guests

Morrison, Ray Manzarek, Robby Krieger and John Densmore stand at the centre, joined by two important guests: Jerry Scheff on bass, known among other things from Elvis Presley’s band, and Marc Benno on rhythm guitar. Benno is documented on “Been Down So Long”, “Cars Hiss by My Window”, the title track and “Crawling King Snake” – with a second guitarist, Krieger no longer has to carry every rhythmic foundation on his own.

Inside the band, the perspective keeps shifting too. Manzarek’s keyboards do far more than fill in harmony, and Densmore’s drums shape transitions and steer phrases in new directions. Follow the bass on one listen, the guitar on the next and the drums on a third, and you will hear connections that a singer-centred listen easily misses.

Blues and the spaces beyond it

“The Changeling” opens the programme, “Love Her Madly” brings a tighter shape, and “Been Down So Long” and “Cars Hiss by My Window” head deep into blues territory. The extended title track is the centrepiece: “Mr. Mojo Risin’” is an anagram of Jim Morrison, but the thrill lies in how the band builds around those words, prepares the famous passage and moves away from it again.

“L’America”, “Hyacinth House” and “Crawling King Snake” lead to three very different places, “The WASP (Texas Radio and the Big Beat)” brings Morrison’s spoken delivery to the front, and “Riders on the Storm” closes the album – rain and thunder are part of the recording itself. Hearing all ten performances as one album, including the ones retrospectives mention less often, is a special pleasure.

The hybrid multichannel SACD from Analogue Productions

CAPP 75011 SA is a hybrid multichannel SACD from Analogue Productions’ Doors reissue series. According to the publisher, Doug Sax mastered it, overseen by the Doors’ producer and engineer Bruce Botnick. The surround programme comes from the original 96 kHz/24-bit files that Botnick mixed and mastered for the DVD-Audio release Doors/Perception, made from the original eight-track analogue master tapes; for the SACD, those mixes were up-sampled without filters to DSD with the Weiss Saracon converter and authored by Gus Skinas at the Super Audio Center. For the surround programme you need a multichannel-capable SACD player and a matching setup; the CD layer plays on any conventional CD player. The disc contains the ten songs of the original 1971 album.

You order from Michael 45 in Germany. We arrange the US import and ship from Hilden.

Also in other editions: double LP (45 RPM) · UHQR (33⅓ RPM)

More SACDs by The Doors: Morrison Hotel · Strange Days · The Soft Parade · Waiting For The Sun

Artist page: All titles by The Doors

Customer question: Buying Analogue Productions records in Europe

Musicians

Participants and documented credit status. Track references correspond to the tracklist.

• Jim MorrisonvocalsParticipation: Album personnel; individual track assignments not specified
• Robby KriegerguitarParticipation: Album personnel; individual track assignments not specified
• Ray Manzarekpiano, organParticipation: Album personnel; individual track assignments not specified
• John DensmoredrumsParticipation: Album personnel; individual track assignments not specified
• Jerry ScheffbassParticipation: Album personnel; individual track assignments not specified
• Marc Bennorhythm guitarParticipation: tracks 3, 4, 5, 8

Album credits do not imply every instrument on every track.