Best Of The Doors, The - Doors (The)

Advantages: All the classics Doors tracks
Disadvantages: A few indifferent ones as well

For a long time I thought The Doors were thoroughly overrated. They struck me as just another American band who made the odd decent single, but who might have been quickly forgotten had it not been for their vocalist’s exhibitionistic antics, excess-strewn lifestyle and early death (and that’s leaving out the recurrent is-he-dead-or-isn’t-he stuff). Several years on, and a listen to this retrospective, and I’m happy to eat my words. 17 tracks, over ...
...photos and authoritative notes by music journalist Max Bell – this package promises well. On the whole it delivers too. Press to play and track one washes over you, literally. Cue waves coming over the shore, and the seven-minute epic ‘Riders on the Storm’, which was a Top 20 hit a few months after Morrison’s death. Despite its length, to this day it’s probably the most-played Doors song on the radio. It’s also pretty well the most laid-back and ... Read review

Advantages: Great music by a seminal fusion band
Disadvantages: A few of my favourites aren't included

...and free form, in the best jazz tradition. When you add the solid, "keep us from flying away" drumming of John Densmore, these players combined to create a cohesive sound that merged many musical styles. To top off the whole thing, throw in eccentric, erratic rock 'n roll poet and vocalist Jim Morrison, and you have one of the greatest bands of all time. The Best Of The Doors goes a long way towards capturing the essence of what this band was all ...
...which will be familiar to almost any person who grooves on The Doors or any music of the era of the '60's. If this album has a shortcoming, it's that many of their more obscure (and best) songs aren't here, but that's only the opinion of this reviewer. Disc One has Light My Fire, the first commercial success of this band, and it's the long version, complete with all those cool jazzy guitar parts that Krieger did so well, and the classical-carnival ... Read review

Advantages: Brilliant music, songs, image, words
Disadvantages: Some naff songs

...to hear them at their best then check out The Best Of The Doors. Some people, including Mauri, criticise this album for missing out some notable tracks, but I think that's a bit unfair because what you've got here is a startling record, sprawled over 2 CDs, of The Doors in full flight. Much much more than just a one man band, The Doors were an epic outfit, consisting of keyboardist Ray Manzarek (undoubtedly the greatest influence on the Stranglers ...
...Bobby Charlton hair cut) and drummer John Densmore (one of the most gifted percussionists of the 60s). They made a unique, marvellous sound that captivated a whole generation of disaffected youth, though the sex in leather appeal of their spaced out front man undoubtedly earned them attention and a teen following that their music alone would have struggled to capture. This album includes the biggest hits (Break On Through, Light My Fire, Hello I ... Read review

Advantages: great music
Disadvantages: can't include all my favorites

The Best of the Doors I am a huge fan of The Doors and their music is timeless, so I was really pleased when my son bought my partner the C.D The Best of the Doors. I like all the tracks on it and usually blast it out whilst doing the housework. He should have bought it me but we share everything. The members of the band are. Ray Manzarek, John Densmore, Robby Krieger and the legendary Jim Morrison. All of the members of the band attended UCLA ...
...Doors. It was on the Best of the Doors (Quadraphonic) Third compilation Release in Aug 1973 and on The Doors Greastest Hits Released Jan 1980. Into this world we’re thrown, like a dog without a bone. (classic words) 2. Light my Fire Everyone must have heard this one too, what with Will Young taking it and revamping it into a love song, which I thought took all the power and meaning out of it, but such is progress. I can’t help singing along to ... Read review

Advantages: Great album
Disadvantages: none

...heroin overdose but the cause of death was listed as a heart attack. The rest of the group made two more albums before disbanding in 1972. If you want to sample The Doors unique music I would highly recommend their greatest hits, as it contains all their best songs. ... Read review

Advantages: Some forgotten tracks are brought back into the spotlight
Disadvantages: another Doors compilation!

...Before you say "oh no, not another Best Of The Doors album, that's it, I'm off down the pub", please bear two things in mind (1) not everyone will have heard of them and (2) order me one in when you get there will you? I'll be down in a minute when I've finished writing this, and I'll thrash you on the snooker table as well. So for any Doors "newbies" here follows a short history of the band and its members, then we'll get to the review. Most people, upon hearing a Doors tune, will instantly think of Jim Morrison, who was the singer. Son of a US Navy Admiral, he was a charismatic performer, a great lyricist, heavy drinker and drug abuser. It's easy, and lazy, to compare him with Kurt Cobain, but they were both seen as spokesmen of their generation, and both died aged 27. However The Doors were more than... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: a brief but insightful overview of the band
Disadvantages: no singleCD is big enough to fully show their genius

...style generated between the four permanent members was always the chosen approach. John Densmore was a jazz drummer with an unbeatable knack for shamanic rhythm and theatrical timing who had honed his skills originally in the regimented world of marching bands. Robby Krieger, was a song writing secret weapon who could play any guitar, from classic flamenco to bottle-neck blues, to creating styles and sounds previously unheard on this planet. And Jim Morrison, the baritone, eclectic/electric poet with an innate compositional gift and the soul of a mystic. Together these men brought The Doors' songs to life, they were equal points of a musical diamond and created a band that was more than the sum of its parts, and for anyone who wants to experience this heady mix could do no better than pick up a copy of "The Best of the Doors" and album that... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful