THE DOORS THROUGH STRANGE DAYS

  "Universal Mind" is one of the dozen or so songs by The Doors that were never used on any of their albums, even though they spanned several years of their musical journey. Those are compositions that appear and disappear among outtakes, bootlegs and live performances, and that in several cases would have deserved greater consideration. Prominent among them is "Universal Mind," which Morrison conceived roughly in the first half of 1969. He was then chaotically navigating the most turbulent and unstable period of his life, largely due to a deep personal crisis and artistic disagreements with the rest of the band. In addition, his role as a rock star, which had turned into a mask that was no longer his own, weighed unbearably on his own individuality. From these premises emerges a rock song with a strong poetic and suffering imprint, revealing the difficult internal and external contradictions just outlined. The lyrics of the song lend themselves to a variety...