Jim Morrison and The Doors legacy has grown much like a tall tale story. For someone that was never alive during their heyday, I only knew what was shown in movies, documentaries, and talked about on 30-minute music clip-television shows. I chose to dive right into the madness and see what all the fuss was about.
Is the hype warranted? Yes and no.
The Backstory of The Doors and Me
The truth is, I don’t have a ton of history with The Doors. I have several small samples of memories, but The Doors are not at the forefront.
JFK and Oliver Stone
Somehow I dodged having Mr. Sabatino in high school. Besides being the Martins Ferry High School basketball coach, this history teacher was known for his fascination with the JFK assassination. I knew, slightly, about this whole ordeal, but ten years later I would become more involved than many Coach Sab himself.
Lauren’s dad told me about the film JFK. He rented it from the library and we sat down and watched it one night. Lauren fell asleep on the couch and I finished the movie. Not only did I love the storytelling, but I also bought it all. The conspiracy theory ran through my brain and I needed more. I found myself searching online for information and renting DVDs (documentaries) about JFK, Lee Harvey Oswald, Jack Ruby, and anyone else connected to the case. I was borderline obsessed.
So what does this have to do with The Doors? Well, it just so happens that Oliver Stone was the director of JFK. I thought that since I liked this movie so much, I should sample some of his other movies. I watched Natural Born Killers, Nixon, W., and finally The Doors. None of these movies held up to JFK, but this was my first time learning about the crazy Jim Morrison.
The Doors Now vs. The Doors Rank In 2007
Much like a lot of early rock bands, I knew The Doors from their greatest hits and radio songs. After hearing the complete catalog, my overall perception dropped. There were definitely some songs that were not up to par to their hits, but more importantly – lots of spoken word tracks.
But, the great songs are plentiful and still help the overall band perception today.
Check out where they rank on my current list.
The Doors Metrics
By The Numbers
- Qualified Songs: 90
- Greatest Hits: 14
- Four Star: 25
- Three Star: 46
- Two Star: 4
- One Star: 1
Score
633.33%
Right out of the gate, The Doors released an album full of hits. Not just songs that are good, but great, iconic songs. Sadly, when Jim died they released a few albums that lacked that same substance.
A Deep Dive Into the Current Score
It is not just a coincidence but seems to be the trend. The older a rock band gets, the less likely they produce quality songs and albums. Every now and then you get a band resurgence, but it was impossible for The Doors. Jim joined the 27-club and passed on. The resulting albums would tank the momentum and overall score. Granted, much of the spoken word/poems are eliminated from the equation, the non-Morrison album did plenty of damage. The Doors needed Jim Morrison.
The Doors Podcasts for Reference
5 Minute Biographies – would you like to know about Jim Morrison in Five minutes? The host appears to read his notes on Jim in, of course, five minutes.
I Love This Band – If you want to hear about Jim Morrison in 11 minutes, check out this podcast. Although the podcast is over an hour, the host does an opening read all about The Doors. She goes on to have a full conversation about the band.
Slanderhour – This Podcast felt like I was listening to two guys from the British Office talk gossip on Jim Morrison. This is a very unfiltered NSFW take on the band. Although I have no idea if the allegations are correct, they sure make Jim out to be a dirtbag.
Your Favorite Band Suck – The podcast that trashes your favorite band takes a shot at Jim Morrison and The Doors. They don’t disappoint. They are a little nicer than the previous podcast, but still pretty crude.
The Doors Videos for Reference
Rock Legends (AXS TV) – Set that DVR and wait. that’s what I did. I captured nearly every episode on DVR so I can watch the 22-minute biographies. They are always the same but with a different story. The Doors in less than a half-hour was fine.
When You’re Strange (YouTube) – Johnny Depp narrates this documentary. It starts off a bit weird with Jim Morrison driving down the road, listening to a radio report his death. Beyond that point, it’s a fantastic look at The Doors. Not only does it tell the story of Jim Morrison and the band, it does a great job taking a look at the late 60s and the political climate of the country.
Classic Albums: The Doors (AXS TV) – There is no question that this album was their best and it’s always great to hear a little more about each song. The remaining members of the doors review the album, the making, and the legacy of the songs.
The Doors in the Movies
The Doors (Amazon Prime) – I found this movie years ago, right after I found JFK by Oliver Stone. Watching this movie and getting little clips of songs makes me want to go stop and go listen to The Doors.
An American Pastoral – I was unable to find this movie and to be honest, I wasn’t too concerned if I didn’t watch it. It’s probably much like Morrison’s college student film – it would be cool to trial, but I think I get the vibe by just reading the brief synopsis.
The Battle of The Doors Albums
The debut album should just be called the greatest hits. There are several other great songs sprinkled on other albums, but if you only had one album – The Doors is it. No contest.
| Album | Score |
| The Doors | 600.00% |
| Strange Days | 280.00% |
| L.A. Woman | 160.00% |
| Morrison Hotel | 109.09% |
| The Soft Parade | 66.67% |
| Waiting for the Sun | 36.36% |
| Full Circle | 22.22% |
| Other Voices | 0.00% |
| An American Prayer | -23.53% |
The Greatest Hit from The Doors
The Doors had plenty of 5-star songs. They took to battle in a modified tournament. Two songs automatically advanced (random) and it turned into a pretty simple single-elimination tournament. Although there were some early favorites, I wasn’t sure what song would come out victorious.
Previous Greatest Hit and Tournament Outcome
“Light My Fire”
The Doors are likely known for several main songs – “Light My Fire” is a top one. If you listen to this song, you get the complete picture of who The Doors are and what they do. It’s a great song and worthy of any Greatest Hits of the Decade compilation.
Overview
The Doors might be a little better in one’s mind than they actually were in real life. They do belong on anyone’s top fifty rock groups, but not every song was a hit. If you randomly throw on a Doors playlist, you might get a track from the Other Voices album or maybe some mumbo jumbo from Morrison. You do have the chance of getting Peace Frog – so I guess it’s up to chance.
Amendments
February 25, 2020
Is it a song or is it spoken word? This question is put to the test with The Doors. Even more questionable, should an album released posthumously be considered? Maybe as time goes by I will change my opinion.