THE DOORS AT THE SMOTHERS BROTHERS SHOW: CHRONICLE AND CONTEXT

 

After the September 1968 European tour, The Doors entered the second phase of their career.

Artistic and management issues began to separate Jim Morrison from the rest of the band. At the same time, Morrison started to distance himself from the rock star and sex symbol image that had been built up around him over the previous year and a half.

In particular, he gradually shed the clothes that had defined his public identity. This transition would be completed a few months later in March 1969 in Miami, Morrison's last public appearance in the popular leather pants.

The fall of 1968 also marked the beginning of the frontman's period of greatest involvement as a poet and, in part, as a director/actor.

These alternative paths would never completely replace music in his life as an artist, but on the other hand they would distance him from the full commitment he had experienced during the previous two and a half years.

In the context of this partial disintegration of the musical and relational unity of the Californian group, however, there were intense and crowded concerts held in various American cities in November 1968.

They lead us to the television show (The Smothers Brothers Show) in which The Doors participated on December 6th (link here) of the same year, which was broadcasted about a week later.

The band used this opportunity to promote their new single, which also marked a radical change in style: "Touch Me".

For the first time, the band decided to add some horns and strings to their sound and to endorse this controversial change by dedicating the A-side of their first single after the two number ones they had reached in the summer of 1968 (the single "Hello I Love You" and the album "Waiting For The Sun").

The two hosts introduced the performance this way: - ”Our next guests have a sound that’s a real fine sound and more than that they have the ability to combine that sound with their own poetry. Ladies and gentlemen, The Doors!”.

At this point, the cameras focused on the group, who first played "Wild Child" (B-side of "Touch Me" on the aforementioned single) and then, after a break, "Touch Me".

The instrumental parts of the songs were reproduced directly from the single in the TV studio, so Krieger, Manzarek and Densmore mimicked playing on their respective instruments.

Morrison's voice, softly combed and with a light make up, but still wearing his seductive leather pants and his belt, is heard live instead. However, his singing is less purposeful than usual, his expression more distant, his attitude less involved.

The fact that "Touch Me" was not his favorite song (in Miami, three months later, he will interrupt it live, literally shouting "Stop this shit!!") probably played a role in this. The lyrics of this Krieger composition did not excite him either.

Moreover, in the middle of the performance, Morrison misses the four "C'mon's" and goes straight to the words "Touch me babe".

Combine this forgetfulness with the large, elegantly dressed (mimicking) orchestra of old musicians surrounding him, and you get the picture of a musician uncomfortable in his own band.

It should also be noted that television appearances in general were not the areas in which Morrison moved with greater confidence and ease.

These factors contributed to dampening the impact of Morrison's singing, even in "Wild Child," during this TV show.

Here he unleashes his magnetic inspiration to a slightly greater degree. However, his voice is certainly nothing like the charming, mysterious, abrasive version of "Wild Child" that the singer had already recorded on vinyl and that would be released on the LP "The Soft Parade" (as well as, as mentioned, on the B-side of this single).

The Smothers Brothers show of December 1968 is a visible sign of a crisis both within The Doors and within Morrison's own soul; a crisis that had just manifested itself openly and would last until the end of the summer of 1969 without ever being fully resolved.

It is also symbolized by the contrast between the two compositions played that day. "Touch Me" was written by Krieger and carried a new musical direction that was ambiguous and not appreciated by Morrison; "Wild Child" was composed by Morrison and was more related to the magnificent and mysterious rock that only The Doors could express.

We’d like to mention a final curiosity about this TV show: Robby Krieger's black eye (as con be seen in the video of the show), a consequence of a recent and fortunately not serious car accident.

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!

Here’s the link:

Amazon – “The Doors Through Strange Days”