A music podcast where we discuss our favorite albums, song by song. New episodes every other Tuesday.

158: The Doors - The Doors (1967)

“The future’s uncertain and the end is always near.”

—Jim Morrison

Everyone has an opinion about the Doors - whether you think they’re transgressive and mind-blowing, or you find them silly and overrated, or - like Ben - you just think they made some killer music. With invaluable help from Amanda, Dan, and Mike, Ben makes the case that the Doors’ 1967 self-titled debut album contains more killer music than many people realize. It might even blow your mind a little, too. 

Miscellany

• Some other notable covers of songs on this album (of varying quality) include Stevie Wonder’s cover of “Light My Fire,” the Ramones’ cover of “Take It as It Comes,” Nico’s cover of “The End,” and our namesake band Duran Duran’s cover of “Crystal Ship,” from the covers album that almost ended their career.

• Somehow, Ben missed the huge effect John Coltrane had on the Doors’ musical development, and especially on the solos in “Light My Fire.” Extended Coltrane tracks like “Ole” and “My Favorite Things” were a big influence on Ray Manzarek and Robby Krieger as they developed their musical styles.

• Mike tracked down the source of his groovy Jim Morrison quote about the single edit of “Light My Fire,” and it turned out to be an amalgam of two different remarks made by Morrison and Ray Manzarek, as quoted in Manzarek’s Light My Fire: My Life with the Doors. The full passage is as follows:

  • “If I didn’t know the solos were there, I’d think it was just a groovy new tune,” I said. “Especially the part about ‘Our love becomes a funeral pyre.’ Being seventeen in Cleveland, I’d love that part. Ohh . . . spooky!”

    Jim jumped in. “And if I dug the single on the radio and went out and bought the album and played ‘Light My Fire’ . . . I’d get a whole new trip! A real bonus. Solos, in the middle of the song where there weren’t any solos before! It would be like magic.”

• The Residents did not index The Third Reich ‘n Roll into individual tracks, so the fact that Mike clipped one minute of “Hitler Was a Vegetarian” means our Spotify playlist contains all of side 2. You’re welcome.

• Ben’s Evergreen Doors Story Generator: “Oh man, let me tell you about the time Jim Morrison got totally _____(1)______ and ended up  ____(2)______.” - _____(3)______, ____(4)____

  • 1. Drunk on beer, tipsy on wine, plastered on whiskey, trashed on Coca-Cola (somehow), kerplotzed, bored, stoned on pot, high on cocaine, high on magic radishes, amped up on Children’s Tylenol

  • 2. Trashing a hotel room, sleeping on a trash pile, trashing a trash pile, guest-starring on Green Acres, waking up in Antarctica, reciting the Epic of Gilgamesh in the original Sumerian, spending the winter of 1968 in a bear’s den, joining the Shirelles, discovering Atlantis but then losing it again, winning the Kentucky Derby

  • 3. Ray Manzarek, Robby Krieger, John Densmore

  • 4. 1971 or any year thereafter

Other links 

• The official Doors website (thedoors.com)

• The Doors sketch on Kids in the Hall (YouTube)

• Discord & Rhyme’s The Doors playlist (Spotify)

• Discord & Rhyme’s merch store (TeePublic)

• Discord & Rhyme’s Patreon

Discord & Rhyme Roll Call 

• Ben Marlin (host)

• Amanda Rodgers (moderator)

• Mike DeFabio

• Dan Watkins 

The Doors tracklist 

1. Break On Through (To the Other Side)

2. Soul Kitchen

3. The Crystal Ship

4. Twentieth Century Fox

5. Alabama Song (Whisky Bar)

6. Light My Fire

7. Back Door Man

8. I Looked at You

9. End of the Night

10. Take It as It Comes

11. The End 

Other clips used 

The Doors:

• Strange Days

• Love Me Two Times

• Break On Through (To the Other Side) (New Stereo Mix)

• I’m Horny, I’m Stoned

• Back Door Man (Absolutely Live version)

• L.A. Woman

• Not to Touch the Earth

• Peace Frog 

Others:

• Mogwai - I’m Jim Morrison, I’m Dead

• Rick & the Ravens - Soul Train

• Johnny Rivers - Rockin’ Pneumonia and the Boogie Woogie Flu

• Frank Zappa - If Only She Woulda

• "Weird Al" Yankovic - Craigslist

• X - Soul Kitchen

• Ray Manzarek - The Wheel of Fortune

• The Elligibles - The Ballad of Gilligan's Isle

• Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - We No Who U R

• David Bowie - Alabama Song

• Lotte Lenya - Alabama-Song

• Stereolab - Spark Plug

• The Residents - Hitler Was a Vegetarian

• The Stranglers - Walk On By

• Howlin' Wolf - Back Door Man

• Pink Floyd - Main Theme

• The Beatles - The End

• The Guess Who - Friends of Mine

• The Heavy Heavy - All My Dreams

• The Moody Blues - House of Four Doors (Part Two)

Band/album personnel 

• Jim Morrison – vocals

• Ray Manzarek – organ, piano, bass; backing vocals and marxophone (5)

• Robby Krieger – guitar; bass guitar (2, 7), backing vocals (5)

• John Densmore – drums; backing vocals (5)

• Larry Knechtel – bass guitar (2, 4, 6, 8, 10) 

• Paul A. Rothchild – production; backing vocals (5)

• Bruce Botnick – engineering

Credits 

“Discord & Rhyme (theme),” composed by the Other Leading Brand, contains elements of: 

• Duran Duran - Hungry Like the Wolf

• Amon Düül II - Dehypnotized Toothpaste

• The Dukes of Stratosphear - What in the World?? ...

• Faith No More - Midlife Crisis

• Herbie Hancock - Hornets

• Kraftwerk - Autobahn

• Talking Heads - Seen and Not Seen

• The Doors - Back Door Man (this episode only) 

You can buy or stream The Doors and other albums by the Doors at thedoors.com, your local record store, or the usual suspects such as Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, and Amazon. Follow Discord & Rhyme on Instagram, Threads, and BlueSky @DiscordPod for news, updates, and other random stuff. Editing is by Rich Bunnell, and special thanks to our own Mike DeFabio, the Other Leading Brand, for production and our awesome theme song. See you next album, and keep as cool as you can.