THE DOORS’ BOOTLEG AT THE AVALON BALLROOM IN THE SPRING 1967

 

In 1967, The Doors performed numerous live shows in California and on the East Coast of the United States, playing more than 150 concerts.

During this time, the band often played in San Francisco and especially at the Avalon Ballroom: March 3 and 4, April 14 and 15, May 12 and 13, and June 3 and 4.

On one of these four occasions, a short bootleg of about 12 minutes was recorded, featuring three songs.

The first was "Back Door Man", taken from the first LP ("The Doors", January 1967).

The second was "Who Do You Love", a cover of the Bo Diddley song originally released in 1956.

The third was "Moonlight Drive", a wonderful song written by the Doors themselves, which would later be included on their second album ("Strange Days", September 1967).

The Avalon Ballroom is also one of the best bootlegs of the group in terms of audio quality.

Let's start with "Back Door Man", where Morrison sporadically played harmonica and even tried a short and restrained solo. This was a rarity for the singer, who would soon stop playing that instrument altogether.

The song, noticeably longer than the vinyl version, finds its best moment in Morrison's vocals, aggressive and excited to the right point. Some fleeting verses improvised by the singer fit into his overall performance, adding to its already vivid appeal.

Ray Manzarek's brief but imaginative electric organ solo, which is missing from the LP tune, should also be mentioned among the highlights of this recording.

On "Who Do You Love", The Doors frontman's voice is powerful, raspy and deep at the same time. He captivates the listener with his outrageous charm and blends in perfectly with the instrumental section.

In the arrangement, John Densmore's drums and Manzarek's electric organ stand out, directing the sound atmosphere of the composition in alternating tensions and electric explosions.

Incidentally, this is the version of the Bo Diddley tune that would remain in the group's concert set list for much of their career.

The final track on this bootleg is "Moonlight Drive," on which Morrison is joined by Manzarek on vocals for almost the entire song.

What stands out here is the combined soloing of Manzarek and Robby Krieger: the former more faithful to the musical structure of the composition, the latter freer from formal constraints.

The electric guitar, played with the slide technique by Krieger, also should be noted, showing considerable creativity in the way its twists and turns are developed.

The seven minutes over which this rendition of "Moonlight Drive" unfolds is more than twice the length of the same song on "Strange Days," the album on which it would be included a few months later at the end of the A side.

The final coda testifies to the spontaneity and passion of a band about to make a remarkable leap in notoriety, propelled by an intense enthusiasm for what they were creating.