L.A. Woman

Never really been a fan of The Doors. A lot of the stuff on this album just feels incredibly dated to me, with the only thing propping it up being the singles, which have aged a lot better in my opinion (or it could just be that I've heard the songs so much, they don't sound as dated due to familiarity).

Manche Songs gut, manche nervig. Trotzdem ikonisches Album.
Riders on the Storm geiler Song von Need for Speed Underground 2.
Würde es in die Playlist aufnehmen, aber 7 Minuten Song ist einfach zu lang.

Ahh yes, the final Doors album with Jim Morrison before his untimely death. It is technically not the final Doors album, as the surviving members continued with the band for another two albums until their contract with Elektra lapsed and they quickly disbanded soon after. It's always a Herculean task to try and continue a band without the lead singer, and that was certainly the case for the Doors. Thus, people have accepted that L.A. Woman was the band's swansong. Boy, what a swansong it was.

I already knew three tracks I heard on the radio were killer—the title track with its crescendoing bridge, "Love Her Madly" as a jaunty fun tune, and "Riders on the Storm" with Jim's whispered and sung vocals layered together over a haunting piano line. I did not expect the rest of the album to be just as amazing. "The Changeling" is an excellent opener that sets the tone of this album as blues rock with experimentation. Whether it's the aggressive play of "Been Down So Long" with smooth slide guitar from Robby Krieger, the slow burn of "Car Hiss by My Window", the eerie glistening of the keys over drum overdubs on "L'America", the incorporation of Jim's spoken poetry into "The WASP (Texas Radio and the Big Beat)", or the early progressive rock composition with organ accompaniment on "Hyacinth House", the album mixes up how the blues are played. Even their update to Big Joe Williams's "Crawling King Snake" sounded fresh with the heavier guitar work. Everyone played superbly on these tracks, and the mixing was well done to give it that near-live band vibe.

This was an excellent Doors album all the way through. I'm glad Jim realized his blues album before his untimely demise.

The most convincingly bluesy they ever got. Not quite perfect, but it gets the bump for the site.

4.5/5

Ehh, it's pretty alright I suppose. The problem with being the original influences of blues musics is that I have heard it all before. Still, what is there is quite good, and I do appreciate that they try to make their tracks distinct from one another.

I can't ever decide what I think of The Doors. Their great songs are great, all the rest fall off into mediocrity. I feel like Jim Morrison was bigger than The Doors and people liked the band just because of him. I don't get the reverence bordering on worship that he had though. Even when I was a kid 20 years after he died I knew people that thought he was some kind of prophet. I mean he was a good frontman, but I feel like had he not died, The Doors would have faded away into obscurity.
Anyway, this album is fine. It's got a couple great songs on it and a lot of filler. Honestly though, Jim Morrison is my least favorite part of the whole album. Probably the same can be said about all Doors albums. 3/5

A solid Doors album. Some straight up bluesy rock, some strange psychedelic tracks. Great stuff.

The Doors have never been huge for me, but I do like the ways they featured keyboard/organ. This is not my favorite album from them, while there are some good tracks, Morrison Hotel is probably the one I would take if I had to pick one.

I have never been able to get into The Doors and this album is no different. Not the worst thing I've ever listened to, but mediocre at best. 2/5

Jimbo can blow

Very different sound to the last Doors album I reviewed. I prefer the lean into blues rock much more

I still don’t love The Doors. A couple of these songs are pretty good, but I just don’t think I like Jim Morrison’s voice and style too much. The musicianship is all there so it’s not bad by any stretch of the imagination. I just wouldn’t choose to put this on over others doing a similar sound. Favorite songs were the title track, The WASP, and Riders On The Storm

I always feel like I SHOULD like the Doors. They do have a few songs that I like alot. But generally I just want them to get over themselves. Most of their songs could be half the length and be fine. Could be an attention span thing. I can hear the talent and like some components but am usually ready for their songs to be done WAY before they end.

I’m at a 4.5 that I’ll bump up to a 5.

That’s just a great album. I don’t really know quite what to say – it’s not the most technically sound, even though the band is on fire for most of it (save for the rather dull Been Down So Long). It’s not the most well written, even though there’s some great lines on here. It’s just an album that oozes charisma from top to bottom, and that charisma creates an undeniable confidence that makes for a pretty damn good 48 minutes.

I do think a few tracks are a little too long, and a few tracks aren’t super captivating, but when the album hits those points, it’s still a really smooth listen that eventually pulls you back in. I will say this – I genuinely don’t think I liked it as much as Morrison Hotel. I don’t know if that’s sacrilege, but I think that album just had a greater variance of styles and slightly tighter composition for my tastes.

Seriously, I got nothing. It’s got good blues, good rock, some strong vocals, and it’s 48 minutes that fly by (save for a few longer spots). I’m at a 4.5 that I’ll bump up to a 5 because I just enjoyed it that much. Sometimes, you don’t have to justify it. I liked it.

A little too bluesy for me but it did leave me feeling high which is always a positive

This review sums it up perfectly.
You can classify Doors tunes into 3 categories; the hits, average blues tunes and drug addled drek.

Alors, nous y voilà, on attaque du lourd, voir du très lourd. Un de ces albums qui, à force d'être partout, finit par faire partie du mobilier. Je parle évidemment de "L.A. Woman" des Doors. Le disque-testament, le chant du cygne, l'épitaphe bluesy du Roi Lézard avant qu'il n'aille moisir dans une baignoire parisienne.

Et je le regarde, avec sa pochette couleur vinasse et sa photo de groupe où Morrison, barbu et déjà bien entamé par les excès, semble nous dire : "Allez, c'est la dernière, après j'arrête les conneries". On me demande un avis, un ressenti. Et mon ressenti, le voilà, brut de décoffrage : 3 sur 5.

Sacrilège ! Hérésie ! Comment, puis-je oser profaner une telle relique ? C'est simple. Parce que j'ai 55 balais, et que ce disque, je l'ai entendu jusqu'à la nausée. Et avec le recul, débarrassé de toute la mythologie morbide qui l'entoure, que reste-t-il ? Un bon, voire très bon album de blues rock. Et c'est là que le bât blesse.

"Juste" un bon album de blues rock.

Remettons-nous dans le contexte de 1971. Le Flower Power est mort et enterré à Altamont. Les rêves psychédéliques des sixties se sont évaporés dans un nuage de mauvaises descentes. Le rock devient lourd, sérieux, progressif. Et que font les Doors ? Eux, les chamanes électriques, les incendiaires de l'âme, les porte-paroles d'une jeunesse qui voulait "le monde, et le voulait maintenant" ? Ils retournent à la niche. Ils font un disque de blues.

Attention, je n'ai rien contre le blues. C'est la mère de tout. Mais pour un groupe de cette envergure, à ce moment précis de leur carrière, ce virage à 180 degrés sent moins la réinvention audacieuse que le refuge confortable. C'est le son d'un groupe à court d'idées, fatigué, qui se branche sur le pilote automatique du shuffle à douze mesures. C'est le son d'un Jim Morrison qui a troqué sa folie imprévisible contre un professionnalisme un peu pâteux d'alcoolique fonctionnel.

Bien sûr, il y a des fulgurances. On ne peut pas décemment cracher sur tout. Le morceau-titre, "L.A. Woman", est un putain de road trip. C'est l'autoroute de nuit, les néons qui bavent, l'odeur de bitume et de danger. C'est un boogie hypnotique et poisseux qui fonctionne à merveille. Efficace, carré, presque trop. On sent le groupe de musiciens chevronnés qui sait exactement où il va. C'est redoutable, mais où est passée la faille, le dérapage, le moment où tout pouvait basculer dans le chaos ?

Et puis, il y a "Riders on the Storm". Ah, "Riders on the Storm"... Le classique ultime. La bande-son parfaite pour un film noir de David Lynch, pour une nuit d'orage, pour une pub de parfum. C'est magnifique, atmosphérique, avec ce piano électrique fantomatique de Manzarek. C'est un morceau immense. Mais c'est un morceau d'ambiance. Il installe un climat, il ne met pas le feu. Il est devenu si iconique qu'il en a perdu toute sa substance subversive. C'est une belle pièce de musée, qu'on admire avec respect mais qui ne nous fait plus frissonner.

Le reste de l'album ? Franchement, ça oscille entre le correct et l'anecdotique. "Love Her Madly" est une jolie chansonnette pop qui aurait pu être écrite par n'importe qui. "The Changeling" a un bon groove, mais ne décolle jamais vraiment. Les purs blues comme "Crawling King Snake" sont bien exécutés, mais des centaines de groupes faisaient ça à l'époque, et parfois avec plus de conviction et moins de dollars sur leur compte en banque.

Alors, pourquoi ce disque est-il un classique ? Pour une raison simple et tragique : Jim Morrison est mort trois mois après.

Voilà. C'est tout.

"L.A. Woman" est devenu un monument parce que c'est le dernier. C'est le point final. L'oeuvre testamentaire. On l'écoute avec la connaissance de la fin, et cette connaissance teinte chaque note d'une gravité qu'elle n'aurait peut-être jamais eue sinon. Chaque parole de Morrison devient une prophétie, chaque accord une oraison funèbre. On ne juge plus le disque, on commémore le mythe.

Et le mythe, c'est bien ce qui me fatigue. Le mythe du poète maudit qui s'est en réalité noyé dans son vomi et son whisky. Le mythe d'un album de blues rock compétent, élevé au rang de chef-d'oeuvre absolu par la grande faucheuse.

Mon 3 sur 5 n'est pas un jugement méprisant. C'est une note honnête. C'est un album qui s'écoute sans déplaisir, qui a deux, voire trois, titres immortels qui justifient à eux seuls sa place dans le grand livre du rock. Mais pour le reste, ça sent un peu la fin de service. Le groupe a fait le job, a empoché le chèque, et le chanteur est parti prendre son dernier bain. C'est une belle histoire pour les magazines, mais pour mes oreilles de vieux con qui a entendu des milliers de disques, ça manque de cette étincelle de pure folie qui faisait des premiers Doors un groupe véritablement dangereux et essentiel.

C'est un classique, oui. Mais un classique un peu trop confortable. Un classique de salon. Et moi, le rock, je l'ai toujours préféré quand il mettait le bordel dans la baraque.

A great album. I took the opportunity to listen to it again in its entirety. Not only LA Woman and Riders on the Storm are remarkable. The other tracks are also great.
5/5

Probably a 2 without that last track

I guess it's kind of hard to completely dislike The Doors, but on the other hand, they sound very, VERY dated. This is another I would kind of give 3.5 if I could. When comparing it to yesterday's Queen album, I'd say the biggest difference is that the Queen album sounds unmistakably Queen, and very different than anything else. That gives it a sort of timelessness. This album sounds very The Doors, but The Doors sound is very heavy on the 70s rock organ, meaning it sounds very anachronistic. For that reason, I think this album gets a 3.