THE DOORS' "HYACINTH HOUSE": FROM THE DEMO TO THE LP VERSION

 

The Doors' "Hyacinth House" is a sadly prophetic song when it comes to the existence of Jim Morrison, the lyricist and lead singer in this not so famous song.

In fact, the last verse reads, "I need a brand new friend, the end”. That kind of end would come with the death of the singer about seven months after the recording of the song and only three months after its release on the album "L.A. Woman" (April 1971).

Some of the words in the composition are clearly autobiographical and show the inner suffering and loneliness that characterized the singer's life at that time.

A sad and mournful statement of intent, that was anticipated by Morrison as early as 1969, when "Hyacinth House" was rehearsed in the form of a demo (link to demo here) at the home of the band's guitarist, Robby Krieger.

The resulting home recording (anyway of good quality) features Krieger himself on acoustic guitar, Morrison on vocals and John Densmore, drummer for The Doors, on bongos.

The structure, created by Krieger, is already complete at this stage: verse - chorus - with the addition of a middle eight in the center of the tune.

The demo, shorter than the "L.A. Woman" LP version that would be recorded a year and a half later, has the merit of being essential, dry, almost austere.

In this way, it leaves room for spontaneity and emotion to emerge painfully jagged from Morrison's deep, melancholy voice.

A faithful reflection of both the band's fading internal cohesion and Morrison's personal anguish in 1969, this demo is imbued with a bleak straightforwardness and bare bitterness.

After a wait of more than a year, "Hyacinth House" was revived in soft rock form in December 1970, while the aforementioned sessions for "L.A. Woman", the last The Doors record with Jim Morrison alive, were underway.

The first change made in the recording studio was to slow down the tempo of the demo performance.

This decision gives the LP version a relaxed and airy atmosphere, which is sometimes at odds with the meaning of some of its lyrics.

In addition, Morrison's vocals seem less incisive than on the demo, both because they are immersed in a rather lavish instrumental arrangement and because of the aforementioned slower tempo that characterizes the track recorded on vinyl.

In the second "verse - chorus" sequence, the vocals are doubled by Morrison's overdubbing of a second, higher pitched vocal line (listen from min. 0:45 to min. 1:15).

"Hyacinth House", track number seven on the 'L.A. Woman' LP, begins with an evocative riff by Krieger, which is composed of two different guitar parts that follow each other closely.

The first made by chords, while the second one is built up by single notes. The two patterns complement each other and carry on throughout the piece, creating a sound that is gently extended by the reverb applied to it.

The Doors keyboardist Ray Manzarek's role in this track is perhaps the most interesting. He plays an electric organ called a Hammond organ, whose fluid vibrations fill every free space in the arrangement.

Midway through the track (during the middle eight, min. 1.18 to min. 1.43) Manzarek inserts a decidedly creative gimmick.

In fact, the smooth path laid down by the Hammond organ suddenly fragments into short, dissonant touches, cleverly sprinkled to punctuate the background of the middle eight itself.

While this passage stands out for its remarkable originality and innovation, the brief solo that the keyboardist performs from min. 2:09 to min. 2:30 is also noteworthy.

Most of his solo consists of an erudite quotation using the main theme of an 1842 piano composition by Frédéric Chopin (Polonaise in A-flat major Op. 53 for piano; it belongs to the Romantic period of classical music).

You can hear Chopin's theme at min. 1.11, 1.21, 6.05 and 6.15 at this link).

A touch of creative elegance that fits into the music framework of the experimental contaminations between rock, progressive rock and classical music that began about three years earlier thanks to the English keyboardist Keith Emerson.

The overall effect of the band's work in the recording studio is qualitatively remarkable, especially because of the wide, spacious and intelligently refined sound atmosphere heard in the arrangement.

However, it cannot be ignored that the final result envelopes the feelings that the lyrics are supposed to convey with a blanket of sound, which inevitably diminishes their intensity.

As fascinating as the LP version is, the listener is left with the feeling that the demo better represents the human and musical message that "Hyacinth House" originally intended to embody.

P.S.: My book "The Doors Through Strange Days"- The most comprehensive journey ever made through The Doors' second LP, is out and available on Amazon.com!

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