The Doors: Mr. Mojo Risin': The Story of L.A. Woman

Forty years ago in 1971, I bought L.A.Woman, and as all Doors fans back then, was completely blown away by their yet- another amazing sound. As like the Classic Albums dvd THE DOORS from 2008, this dvd also takes us into the making of the Doors L.A. Woman, with amazing stories and footage. The surviving Doors John Densmore, Ray Manzarek and Robbie Krieger tell us the stories behind 9 of their 10 songs- The Changeling, Been Down So Long, Crawling King Snake, Love Her Madly, L.A. Woman, The WASP (Texas Radio And The Big Beat), Riders On The Storm, Cars Hiss By My Window and Hyacinth House. The only song not covered is L'America.Jim Morrison was and would never be the same after the Miami arrest, and his lyrics on this album especially attest to that fact. When The Doors went to begin recording this album at the Sunset Sound Studios in LA, Paul Rothchild didn't like one sound they were playing and walked out saying he would not record any of it. Paul Rothchild recorded all The Doors albums, so this really came as a shock to all of them. Bruce Botnick ignored Rothchild's walk out and took The Doors to their rehearsal studio and asked if they had anything else to record. As always, Jim and Robbie always had plenty of material for songs.Unlike being in the Elektra Studio at Sunset Sound, where it took dozens of takes ending up in weeks or months to get the songs just right for one album, The Doors finished this album in their rehearsal studio on Santa Monica Blvd. in 4 days! All the songs were finished after one or two takes, making this a true garage band album. Bruce Botnick brought in some extra talent with Jerry Scheff on bass guitar and Marc Benno on rhythm guitar. All 4 Doors were excited, especially Jim, to be working with Jerry Scheff, who was bass guitarist for Elvis Presley's TCB band. I'm sure the heavy blues sounds on L.A. Woman came from the addition of these two highly talented guitarists.Riders On the Storm came from the old cowboy classic Ghost Riders In The Sky, of which I still love the Johnny Cash and other old cowboy versions. The Doors and Botnick dissect the songs for us and let us hear Jim sing with the different rhythms, which is really fantastic. Crawling King Snake, John Lee Hooker's huge hit, really brings out the blues in The Doors. The big bonus on this dvd, is the song, She Smells So Nice- another blues song that I have never heard before- and Jim can sing with the best of the bluesmen on this recording. Robbie tells of writing Love Her Madly based on watching his girlfriend walking out after a fight. The Changeling is truly Jim Morrison's farewell to his life, family and friends here in America, and so sadly to The Doors.There is plenty of seen-before footage and photos of The Doors- about 70%, but another 30% I have never seen before, and I have everything on The Doors since 1967! The talks about the music and stories I have never heard before, from The Doors, Botnick, Rothchild, Jac Holzman, Bill Siddons and other friends and associates are very interesting. Another great bonus feature is The Doors Guide to L.A.- seeing the places The Doors were at, back in 1971 and now, really added to the dvd. For a Doors fan, this inside look into the making of The Doors last album with Jim Morrison is well worth buying. On this blu-ray's 103 minutes running time, I viewed a good 30% of never been seen before photos and footage, heard stories about 9 of the 10 songs that I have never heard before, got a view of The Doors LA hangouts from both 1971 and how they look now, and got to hear for the first time The Doors song She Smells So Nice- a fabulous blues song that goes well with Crawling King Snake.This dvd is bittersweet because it would be Jim's last album with the Doors, as after the 4 days of recording, he would join Pam in Paris, never to return, but it also brings a lot of happiness in listening to these great stories from the surviving Doors and the fact that this album was finished in 4 days in a garage type studio is testament to the sheer genius that was and always will be The Doors. I hope the surviving Doors keep making dvd's taking us into the creation of their other albums, as I can never get enough of their pure magic, that even after 40 years is still there!

More than history of THE DOORS final studio album. Filled with insight into the inner workings of The Doors as a truly collaborative band. Should go without saying, the music is great; and prominates this musical documentary. Equal measures of archival and current, reflective footage; we get to see how the music was composed, refined, and came to life inside, what had been, The Doors practice studio. Throughout the making of LA WOMAN, they all knew Jim Morrison had made the fateful decision to flee to Paris. Viewing this film has elevated, for me, the tremendous value of the group's final collaboration.The documentary has been available on the SMITHSONIAN TV NETWORK for a few months. I was enlightened and moved. My 35 year old nephew is a musician and student of the music and cultural movement as well as the social/political history of the 1960's. Purchased DVD for him for view of creative process, as well as LA WOMAN CD.One thought that lingers: It appears THE DOORS did their best work as a single unit, embracing each other's contribution. At the same time, the ones that changed it all, THE BEATLES turned out their best and most innovatve work (ABBEY ROAD, SGT. PEPPER, WHITE ALBUM?) while they were barely speaking, sick of each other, and tired with being THE BEATLES.

I find it odd that I have seen no one review the audio quality of the Blu Ray production. I actually got a taste of it on DirecTv History Channel tonight and the clarity combined with the surround mix was great. I have several hundred Concert DVDs, Blu Rays, CDs and HD recordings and this recording is right up there in the top 5 for quality. I played and watched it on a McIntosh audio system in my home theater and it was stunning. I started played this early in the morning when the family was in bed and I had to watch/listen to the whole thing until 2:00AM because it was that good. Kudos to Doug Sax and Bruce Botnick for compiling an acoustical rock and roll gem along with great visuals and interspection on a legendary American rock band all on one High Definition Blu Ray disk. I have ordered this blu ray disk and the other multichannel Doors albums on SACD. Really looking forward to a little time travel back to the 60s............

Lifelong Doors devotee,so indulge me for a minute.If you care anything about a popular culture keystone such as The Doors,you must watch and listen tothis DVD about how this band ended things,early in 1970. I had long been haunted by LA Woman,but neverknew why.Now,I know. I was haunted by its greatness,I just couldnt understand it as a younger man.I was in Paris when Jim died and didnt know til I returned home. Swore I saw him,on July 14,so it justadds to the mystery.Watching this DVD helped me so much to get a feel for how things went for everyone,that last album.It was such a pleasure,hearing from the folks that were there.Its a compelling story about the end of a wonderful and challenging band that made a permanent impact onmodern music.The added bonus is that the music still sounds fantastic. Buy both. Enjoy.