Do you rate The Doors highly?

[fretno]

L.A.Woman is their best tune imo and that tune features a incredible rhythm section.

 

[ArteK]

Jim was a drunk and a substance abuser, fairly unreliable, and all that came with that.

But he was one of the best lyricists of his era. I hear a lot of Morrison in Bono (lyrically and vocally).

And I like his voice (at least on record), but I have a low voice, so he was one of the folks that I'd love to try to emulate.

As for the other three, they were great musicians, all with their own style. Nobody sounded like them.

And come on, Densmore's ride cymbal was one of the best in the business.

 

[ArteK]

And aside from the bass player thing, at least you knew they played their instruments on their records. That is, I don't think the Wrecking Crew were basically their band, like the Beach Boys and many others.

 

[Relayer71]

I love Strange Days and L.A. Woman and their debut is pretty good, but I don't care for some of the other albums.

I liked Robbie Krieger's playing and the band as a whole sounded great, but I wouldn't say I was blown away by any of the musicianship (they were good, just that I preferred the progressive rock bands that came after which were more adventurous!). And while I wouldn't consider Morrison one of my favorite singers, he had presence and a cool voice.

So where does that leave my vote? Unsure! I don't rate them highly, but I do rate them. Their sound was pretty unique and they wrote some great songs. Also, one of the best debut albums of all time.

 

[Jaycat]

Better than the Strawberry Alarm Clock.

Not as good as Country Joe and The Fish.

 

[Jazzdogg]

Yes!! Without them, I'd have to enter the house through a window!

 

[fishdreams]

I played in a Doors tribute back in the day and appreciated how much the different styles of the bass players they chose for the albums shaped the arrangements on the records. It was fun learning to play those parts note-for-note.

Some of those songs rank highly with me personally. Jim’s lyrics don’t always speak to me, but when they do, as shaped by the band, they rank among my favourite pop music moments (for example I think People Are Strange is genius)

From a live perspective I also love the improvising and adventurous nature of The Doors, and if you have such a strong left hand as Ray Manzarek, a bass player would be in the way if you go out and explore and establish an atmosphere as a band. I think they did the right thing sticking to no bass player live.

Me being in that tribute band made sense to me musically from a perspective of performing the greatest hits faithfully to the studiorecordings, but not quite in terms of rendering the spirit of their live work correctly. But I certainly had fun in that band.

 

[bass12]

I was never a fan but I can’t say that The Doors weren’t a good band or that they didn’t write good songs. They’re just not my thing (although I do like the groove on “Peace Frog”.

 

[H K]

The Doors is one of the most iconic American rock groups. But they are a band without a bassist and that's the unique thing about them.
Personally would you rate them highly or not? How much are they appealing to you musically?

"and that's the unique thing about them"....

They had lots of traits that made them unique, Morrissons poetic lyrics and performance, excellent musicianship across the board, an ability to hit on whats going on in society while still evoking musical images of the past, etc etc etc.

And besides, Manzarek's pedal bass was unique in that he played it alot like a bass guitarist would, not just droning on the roots but actually playing interesting riffs, like on riders of the storm...

 

[morrisonhendrix]

Which is my principal gripe against them. If you are going to have a bass player on the record, then why not have one in the band?

They actually asked Doug Lubahn who played bass on several of their albums to join the band. He turned them down because his band, Clear Light, had also been signed to Elektra, and wanted to stay with them to see how their career would go.

 

[mellowgerman]

I really love their live recording catalog and find it really exciting and inspiring, but a lot of their studio stuff to my ears is "just" good, which I think is due to limitations of the studio environment. So oddly enough, I would actually say I prefer the work they did without a bassist. Of course, if they'd had the right bassist with them at live shows, who knows, it could have been even better... but I think Ray's bass playing is part of what gave them their unique, unmistakable vibe.
Different people look for different things from music, but I've always found live performances to be where my favorite bands really shine. I love the way the way great musicians interact (sonically) on stage and like to hear them really create together, in the moment. When a band can do that well and have their own original sound, with every performance being somehow unique, that's what I consider to be a really great band. The Doors fit that bill for me -- at least when they were all present and participating.

 

[MVE]

I love The Doors.

And I love the sound of the Fender Rhodes Piano Bass.

Im not afraid to admit it.

 

[morrisonhendrix]

Unique? The Young Rascals, whose first album came out almost a year before the first Doors album, had the same lineup: singer, guitar, keys, drums.

Edit: and, also like the Doors, they used session bass players on their records. They considered the great Chuck Rainey an unofficial fifth member of the band.

Chuck Rainey never played on a Doors album.

 

[morrisonhendrix]

I really love their live recording catalog but find a lot of their studio stuff to be "just" good, which I think is due to limitations of the studio environment. So oddly enough, I would actually say I prefer the work they did without a bassist. Of course, if they'd had the right bassist with them at live shows, who knows, it could have been even better... but I think Ray's key bass playing is part of what gives them their unique, unmistakable vibe.
Different people look for different things from music, but I've always found live performances to be where my favorite bands really shine. I love the way the way great musicians interact (sonically) on stage and like to hear them really create together, in the moment. When a band can do that well and have their own signature sound, with every performance being somehow unique, that's what I consider to be a really great band. The Doors fit that bill for me -- at least when they were all present and participating.

They actually did some live shows with a bass player in 1968 & 1969, including Madison Square Garden and the L. A. Forum.

 

[Paul New]

Ray Manzarek was a fantastic bass player!

I liked the Doors, and maybe I even like them more now. Rock of the late 60s was maybe a little rough on the edges, but later on it became so formulaic that it lost its appeal, for me anyway. I despise the Styx, Foreigner, REO, VH stuff that came later. The Doors were stepping into new territory!

I was a 16 year old jazz freak when I first heard the Doors, so I’m not hearing them with the same ears as someone who was born in 1990.

 

[edwinhurwitz]

I find their lyrics to be no better than 10th grade "poetry" with their angst pretty unrelateable (I find nothing about JM to be compelling at all) and the compositions sound like they were put together by the same songwriters who furnished the music for jingles and prefab bands of the day. More Tin Pan Alley than rock and roll.

They seem to be all surface and not much depth. But that's just me. I know others like them a lot.

 

[flatwound62p]

And aside from the bass player thing, at least you knew they played their instruments on their records. That is, I don't think the Wrecking Crew were basically their band, like the Beach Boys and many others.

This is true. At least they played on their records. So often when reading about session musicians I get surprised to find that a song or album I've loved for years is actually just a really really good cover band.

 

[GretschWretch]

They actually asked Doug Lubahn who played bass on several of their albums to join the band. He turned them down because his band, Clear Light, had also been signed to Elektra, and wanted to stay with them to see how their career would go.

I was introduced to Lubahn from his work with the Brecker brothers.

 

[mellowgerman]

They actually did some live shows with a bass player in 1968 & 1969, including Madison Square Garden and the L. A. Forum.

Yes though I don't think it made their music significantly better -- at least not on the recordings, maybe in-person, a bigger sound in the auditorium, I can imagine that, especially since live sound systems of the time were also often lacking.
Obviously all subjective, but I guess what I meant by "if they'd had the right bassist... it could have been even better" is if they had a bassist who was a part of the writing process, who creatively contributed another equally unique element to the mix

 

[higain617]

They're one of those bands that sometimes scratches an itch. I think the self-titled and LA Woman are the best records.