L.A. Woman | Doors

The final Doors album to feature vocalist Jim Morrison reaffirmed the quartet's grasp of blues-rock. Beset by personal and professional problems, they retreated to a rehearsal room, cast pressures aside, and recorded a handful of their most memorable compositions. The overall sound of the record is relatively stripped-down, but the musicianship is uniformly excellent, with the empathetic interplay between guitarist Robbie Krieger and keyboard player Ray Manzarek. Jim Morrison's voice, though somewhat ragged and weather-worn, adds its fiercely unmistakable resonance. The spooky, low-key "Cars Hiss By My Window" and an edgy cover of John Lee Hooker's "Crawling King Snake" are straight, no-nonsense blues, but the album's highlights, including the jangling radio hit "Love Her Madly" and the breezy, chugging title track, which rides on a thrumming bassline and Krieger's fluid licks, mix bluesy bluster with the Doors' swirling, poetic magic. Morrison's death within weeks of the album's completion cast a pall over its content, especially the eerie rain and the funereal electric piano of "Riders On The Storm, " the album's indisputable standout, and one of the most compelling, evocative songs in the band's catalogue. Though not the Doors' finest record, L.A. WOMAN was a fitting swan song for one of the most unique and important bands of the '60s.

Features:
- Genre: Hard Rock, Rock & Pop
- Format: Vinyl
- Release Date: 2009/09/15
- Label: Rhino Records (USA)