THE DOORS’ “WISHFUL SINFUL”: AN ORCHESTRAL EXPERIMENT

Soon after the release of The Doors' third LP ("Waiting For The Sun", July 1968), the long and grueling recordings for their next effort, "The Soft Parade" (released a year later, in July 1969), began.

Among the first songs recorded in the summer of '68 was "Wishful Sinful", written by the band's guitarist, Robby Krieger.

Fitting into the stylistic groove already established by one of his recent compositions ("Yes, The River Knows"), the song was chosen to try out a new approach to arrangement that would later be repeated on other tracks on "The Soft Parade".

Krieger and The Doors producer Paul Rothchild opted for an orchestral accompaniment inspired by such hugely successful records as The Beatles' "Revolver" and "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band”.

The orchestra consisted of strings and horns combined together that strongly conditioned the overall sound atmosphere. It was recorded about four months after the drums, electric bass and electric guitar (in November 1968).

The orchestration of the tune greatly enhances its romantic atmosphere, taking it away from rock and introducing it into the pop-rock genre without giving it the originality necessary to sustain this musical transition unharmed.

The somewhat questionable decision to exclude Ray Manzarek's keyboards and replace them with a melancholy, floating blanket of strings and horns is thus detrimental to the entire composition.

This unsatisfactory result is summed up by the brief English horn solo (from min. 1.28 to min. 1.39), which is perhaps one of the least successful moments inside The Doors' entire discography.

A fairly common trend in 1968-'69, the addition of cumbersome orchestral backgrounds detracted from the quality of many otherwise fine works of the period. We mention as examples the first two Nick Drake records or Judy Sill's first LP.

The rhythm section, provided by Densmore's drums and electric bass, passionately tries to add dynamics and depth to the progress of the melodies.

The bass line in particular stands out for its imaginative yet fluid pulse. It is conceived and played by the excellent sessionman Doug Lubhan, known for his praiseworthy work on two earlier The Doors LPs ("Strange Days" and "Waiting For The Sun").

Of course, Morrison's vocals also contribute to improve the fortunes of "Wishful Sinful".

The singer succeeds mainly in the short bridges that connect verse and chorus, when he sings the words "Right back where I came" (for example, from min. 0.29 to min. 0.32).

Here the rhythm is broken, taking on a rock-like appearance for a few seconds, enabling the temporary emergence of the scratchy energy that only Morrison's vocals can express.

In "Wishful Sinful", the singer exhibits his peculiar "Frank Sinatra-esque" singing style, which fits well with the pop-tinged melodies; the latter constantly supported by the slightly distorted arpeggio of the electric guitar.

A version of "Wishful Sinful" that predates the orchestral overdubbing has also been made available over time.

Although worth a listen (link here), it cannot be considered satisfactory due to a structural problem.

In fact, the recording was made with the prospect of adding horns and strings to the arrangement at a later date.

As a result, there are deliberately left empty spaces, a circumstance that makes this stripped-down track more of a demo than an alternative version of the original song.

“Wishful Sinful" was also released as a single (its B-side was "Who Scared You") in March 1969, well ahead of the album "The Soft Parade" on which it will later appear.

The 44th spot reached in the US (not entering the UK charts), only slightly diminished its overall musical quality.

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