THE DOORS' "SPANISH CARAVAN": THE FOLLOW-UP TO "STRANGE DAYS”

After the release of The Doors' second LP ("Strange Days", September 1967), new musical horizons opened up for the group.

The psychedelic rock that pervaded the afore mentioned album was expanded into even more distinctive arrangements and instrumentally sophisticated ways.

These included unusual and elaborate elements capable of surprising the listener and greatly varying the palette of colors used within rock.

As early as the fall of 1967, the band began recording "The Unknown Soldier" (a song we explored in another article on this blog), which includes a theatrical section (without music) in which the execution of a soldier is staged.

Immediately after this innovative song, the band began to develop an idea of guitarist Robby Krieger in the recording studio, which by the end of '67 would become "Spanish Caravan" and be included on the next album ("Waiting For The Sun", July 1968).

The song is imbued with the Iberian atmosphere that the title itself explicitly evokes and that is mirrored in both the arrangement and the instrumentation.

The lyrics paint strongly evocative images of the golden age of the Spanish Empire in the 16th and 17th centuries, amidst gold, galleons and lush wheat fields.

The composition is divided into three distinct parts, separated by a second of silence between each of them. Each one takes up about a third of the tune's three minutes.

The first section is instrumental and finds Krieger putting his flamenco guitar studies into practice with a charming run on the strings of a flamenco (hence acoustic and not amplified) guitar.

It is joined by a second flamenco guitar line, also recorded by Krieger, which complements the beautiful melody (taken from a classical Spanish motif).

At min. 0.28 enters another acoustic instrument: the double bass, played by a specially hired jazz musician. He is Leroy Vinnegar, who was active in the cool jazz genre mainly from the mid-1950s to the late 1960s.

His intervention adds depth to the Spanish-style dance tastefully sketched by Krieger and remains present until the end of the second section, leaving the scene in the last part of the composition.

From min. 0.38 a drums’ cymbal also appears, probably modified with some objects placed on it to shorten and dry its sound. It is used to punctuate the progress of the piece, giving it rhythm and dynamism.

In the second section, the same arrangement is repeated (two classical guitars and double bass), but the deep voice of Jim Morrison is added, singing a verse-chorus sequence.

The melody traced by the singer's voice is extremely effective in transporting the listener to the "spanish caravan" with a vivid feeling of languid and fascinating poetry.

Finally, the third section, starting at min. 1.46, dives into psychedelia with the full rock riff-driven guitar, this time electric and distorted by the fuzz pedal.

The double bass is replaced by the electric bass played by session man Doug Lubahn, while Morrison's voice is even darker, deeper and more haunting.

Ray Manzarek's electric organ also makes its appearance in this last section, turning its notes into evanescent swirls that at times seem to utter a magical spell, mysterious and carefree at the same time (listen from min. 1.56 to min. 2.12).

Lastly, the previously absent drums accompany this final section with the almost jazzy discretion typical of drummer John Densmore.

After finishing "Spanish Caravan", the Doors continued recording "Waiting For The Sun" (during the first half of 1968). The song was performed live several times through that year.

"Spanish Caravan" remains an example of how the band knew how to evoke sound pictures of great charm and originality, enriching the psychedelic rock that characterized their music at the time with highly unconventional and surprising elements.