"MY EYES HAVE SEEN YOU": FROM THE DEMO TO THE OFFICIAL RECORD

 

Among the demos recorded in early September 1965 by the band that would shortly thereafter, with the arrival of Robby Krieger, become the Doors, we find the song "My Eyes Have Seen You".

It would later appear on their second record, "Strange Days", released in September 1967. We’re going to see how the initial intuition Jim Morrison had in the summer of '65 for this song was later developed by the group into the final LP version.

These two versions are separated by about a year and five months in time, the official one being recorded in February 1967, in advance of the rest of the tracks that make up "Strange Days" (recorded during spring-summer ’67).

The first of the two, namely the '65 demo, featured Ray Manzarek on piano, John Densmore on drums, Jim Morrison on vocals, and two of Manzarek's brothers on harmonica and guitar respectively. The identity of a girl on electric bass is uncertain; however, the instrument is certainly present on this recording.

With this diverse lineup, "My Eyes Have Seen You" already possesses its almost definitive structure. Even the conclusion has already taken its final form, although still lacking important elements such as the haunting guitar theme repeated at the end of the album version as Morrison's voice fades in an electric whirlwind.

Despite these similarities, the demo is still closely tied to Rhythm and Blues, lacking the shift to rock that marks its presence on the LP instead. This feeling is made even more intense by the accompaniment that the harmonica carries on throughout the track, hence juxtaposing the latter’s sound atmosphere with that created in the same period by bands such as Them.

The demo lacks the prolonged and distorted guitar solos as well as the sinuous driving path carried out in the verses by the vibrato of Krieger's electric guitar. Of course, not only the details are missing in the demo: compared to the official version of the album it still lacks the very construction of a more mature and complete musical environment.

Another notable difference can be found in Morrison's voice. While in the demo it already traces the line that will later follow on the LP, the two interpretations differ from each other considerably in timbre and intensity.

In fact, in '65 the singer has yet to acquire that baritone depth, so sensual and mysterious, that will make his singing unmistakable. An aspect that was fundamental to the Doors' sound and would completely transform the group's performances from mid-1966 onward.

On the demo of "My Eyes Have Seen You", Morrison's still-acerbic voice is supported from time to time by Manzarek's, confirming how it still lacked the depth and expressiveness that would fully blossom ten months later.

The seed sown in the September 1965 sessions contained within itself some tentative signs of the musical elements that would make the Doors one of the greatest groups in modern music history. Nevertheless, the track we have considered here, less than others foreshadows what was to come in the band's future.

When compared to "Go Insane", which is part of the same recordings, the demo of "My Eyes Have Seen You" remains prisoner of the patterns dictated by the British Rhythm and Blues groups, who, by the way, at that point were beginning their own transformation towards the Pop-Rock and Rock genres.

However, The Doors would recover plenty of ground in the version of "My Eyes Have Seen You" recorded for the LP "Strange Days" in February 1967: a distillation of sound strength, amazing charm and intelligently provocative Rock.