Morrison Hotel

After the production effort of ‘The Soft Parade’ this record saw a return to basics. A bluesy, rocking sound. An effective sound. The material doesn’t always support it, but its a return to something, though I’m not quite sure what that is. In any case, ‘Roadhouse Blues’ is simply stupendous! A fantastic sound, no question. You can drink to it, dance to it, sing along with it. It thumps and pounds along its groove. Its good, I like it! Jim gives a fantastic performance, as does everybody actually. ‘Waiting For The Sun’ follows, left over from the album of the same name. Its absolute classic Doors and by this stage you are getting quite excited! A classic album beckons, surely? Well. ‘You Make Me Real’ is little more than a thrash. ‘Big Sunday’ is doomy and miserable and lacking in atmosphere. ‘Ship Of Fools’ is good, supported by a happy melody and interesting lyrics. ‘Peace Frog’ has such a funky guitar line, its hard to believe its The Doors! The keyboard comes in and you smile. A wonderful song, no question.

The record continues with a basic rock sound but the playful nature of the melodies also continues. ‘Land Ho!’ is a fine, fine song! Its entertainment! Its groovy and funky! This is a fine album. ‘The Spy’ is a failed ‘Crystal Ship’ but more bluesy in tone. The piano here is pretty good though and provides the main hook in the song. ‘Queen Of The Highway’ isn’t a highlight but ‘Indian Summer’ is classic Doors. A Morrison vocal that sends a chill up your spine and a lovely guitar figure. The closing ‘Maggie M’Gill’ is more blues influenced rock and perfectly fine. As you may have gathered, I consider this a fairly inconsistent album. The thing is, the good songs are so hugely enjoyable, on a basic level. And, that’s all they need to be. This is a return to basics, past and before even the ideas and ambitions for their debut. The playing is great throughout the album and holds even the weaker songs together. Their best for a while. Yes! Even though half the actual songs are no good!