THE DOORS - SANTA CLARA 11/3/1967: A JOURNEY THROUGH THE BOOTLEG

In the second half of 1967, the Doors were busy with a tight schedule of concerts. On November 3, about two months after the release of their second LP, "Strange Days" (September 25, 1967), they performed in Santa Clara (California).

In this city they played in a ballroom, the Continental Ballroom, where fortunately part of the performance was recorded.

The resulting bootleg is of decent sound quality, and many thanks go to those who had the idea and the ability to document this show by group.

In front of nearly two thousand boys and girls, the Doors sounded very good overall, and the tracks available from that evening are all from their first record ("The Doors" January 1967).

The show begins with "Soul Kitchen," which features, as a highlight, a longer and more aggressive electric guitar solo than the LP version.

Next is "Break On Through (To The Other Side)". This wonderful song is impetuously sung by Morrison, who inserts a short, but powerful and sharp, vocal improvised section into it.

This piece goes on for almost six minutes, twice as long as the original, thanks to the extension of the rough instrumental parts punctuated by Morrison's shouts.

"Alabama Song" is the third track, played at a faster tempo than the original and shortened in duration. It introduces "Back Door Man" seamlessly.

The latter is perhaps the most interesting song on this bootleg. It is played with abrasive power and it’s enhanced by the poetry Morrison improvises over the blues background held by the rest of the band ("Names Of The Kingdom" - "I've Got The Right"). Unfortunately, the sound fails before the poem is completed.

The tape starts again in the middle of "The End", which also marks the end of the show. Anyway, luckily a good nine minutes of this composition are available. We are in the softest part of the tune, pervaded by a magical and theatrical atmosphere.

Improvised parts, added and subtracted, follow each other in a storm of emotions that certainly no other musical group was able to evoke at that time.

The Oedipus myth section is missing, but it is compensated by an electric, swirling and disorienting dance.

In addition, here Morrison introduces an idea, a fragment of a sentence that would develop over the next few months into the wonderful song "Five To One," which would appear on the next LP ("Waiting For The Sun", 1968).

We’re talking about the famous words, "Get Together, One More Time", addressed to the audience that night in Santa Clara before the finale of "The End".

The bootleg lasts only 26 minutes, but it is enough to give an idea of the passion, artistry and dedication that characterized this memorable performance.

A must-hear bootleg, as a testimony to The Doors' spontaneous improvisation combined with the disruptive sound impact that only this group was capable of producing live in 1967.

Thanks to mildequator.com.