"DO IT" BY THE DOORS: JUST AN UNPRETENTIOUS FILLER?

Considered by many to be a filler in The Doors' catalog, "Do It" appears on the A-side of “The Soft Parade”, the band's fourth album, released in July 1969.

Certainly not of the same quality as the many masterpieces the band produced throughout their career, this song does contain some interesting musical elements that deserve a closer look than it has received so far.

"Do It" was written in the fall of 1968 out of the interaction between a riff by guitarist Robby Krieger and a few verses by Jim Morrison.

The result was taken to the studio in November of that year to be recorded for the forthcoming LP, which at the time still had no definite form.

In August 1969, the composition was also used as the B-side of one of the singles from "The Soft Parade" (with "Runnin' Blue" as the A-side), but without becoming a significant hit: 64^th in America and not entering the charts in England.

Never to be found in the quartet's available concerts and bootlegs, the song seems to be undeservedly destined for almost complete musical oblivion.

However, from the very beginning of the song, it becomes clear that "Do It" is not a filler at all, but on the contrary offers us some rare and stimulating sound perspectives of The Doors' unmistakable rock.

The sinister laugh, somewhere between malice and drunkenness, with which Morrison opens the piece, announces the originality of a brief journey that is as unusual as it is evocative.

The introduction (which coincides with the first 40 seconds of the track) is vividly reminiscent of how the band used to start some of its songs during concerts, especially thanks to the singer's abstract, elongated vocals.

In this first section, the instruments sketch out chords and phrases, projecting them forward and then repeatedly interrupting their development, like a train warming up its engines and preparing for its imminent acceleration.

At min. 0.40, a deep glissando traced by the electric guitar launches the band into the rolling, resolute pace of the verse, propelled by the determined convergence of all members of the lineup (including the vocals) on the same insistent rhythmic-melodic figure.

Soon the rock theme thus conceived reaches its climax in the chorus (for example from min. 1.00 to min. 1.04), where the vocals suddenly stop their dark, engaging march with a harsh upward screwing.

Both Robby Krieger (electric guitar) and Ray Manzarek (keyboards) overdub two parts each, enriching the arrangement with well-integrated layers of sound.

The first guitar is the fuzz pedal distorted one, which repeats the main riff of the composition with its low tones during the verse and intervenes in the other sections with incisive brush strokes.

A second guitar is recorded by Krieger with a purely rhythmic purpose, this time settling on higher notes, slightly dulled by the reverb applied to them.

The two electric organs played by Manzarek (a Hammond C3 and a Gibson K101, respectively) overlap almost constantly throughout the song, suggestively combining the fluid texture of the former with the robust flow of the latter’s chords.

The Hammond organ emerges from this double sound texture especially from min. 1:33 to min. 1:52, when the introduction is brought back, in the absence of a true middle eight, as a musical transition intended to diversify the song.

The best performance within the composition, however, turns out to be that of the rhythm section: the drums of John Densmore and the electric bass of well-known and highly respected sessionman Harvey Brooks.

Their role seems to remain in the background, but it should be noted how the pattern constructed by the two musicians is dynamic, exciting and pleasantly complex.

Densmore's percussive line is characterized by a fragmented and irregular shuffle, subject to variations, stops and restarts that enhance its inherent originality.

The drummer leads the track with ease along a rhythmically bumpy and pleasantly articulated rock path, adding technique and experimentation while remaining accessible.

Also noteworthy is Harvey Brooks' intriguing electric bass theme, which unfortunately is barely audible in the final mix, but is nonetheless noteworthy for its elastic creativity.

The overall structure of the song is rather atypical, unfolding in an unconventional sequence: introduction, chorus - verse (x2), return of the introduction, verse, transition, verse, coda.

Coupled with the unusual instrumentation just described, Morrison's lyrics are extremely concise, essentially limited to two lines: "Please please listen to me children" in the verse and "You are the ones who will rule the world" in the chorus.

Despite the few words used, the meaning of "Do It" takes the form of an appeal to the social consciousness of young people, especially those who animated the cultural protest movement in the United States in the late 1960s.

It is a call to be aware of the responsibility that is inherent in the youth themselves, to whom the economic and political power will be passed on in a not too distant future.

Too often underestimated, this lyrics demonstrate Morrison's interest in the events of his time as well as his hope for a better society’s future, turning this tune into a poet’s heartfelt exhortation to his own generation.

As a whole, "Do It" deserves to be reevaluated, not as a piece of great beauty, but as an inviting opportunity to appreciate one of the most unusual and unique episodes in The Doors' discography.

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