407 - The Doors - Strange Days

[csberry]

Pop this album on and you might as well drop some acid, too. Strange Days at times feels like The Doors were trying to make their own version of Alice in Wonderland. The trip begins with "Strange Days" with the distorted vocals and spiraling organ. Next comes "You're Lost Little Girl" with its slow loneliness. Soon comes "Unhappy Girl" with a brighter feel, musically, but still containing some dark elements in the lyrics. Then the acid kicks in BIG TIME with the theatrical spoken word and sound effect track - "Horse Latitudes." The remainder of the album doesn't reach the peak of trippiness of "Horse Latitudes," but maintains the theme of psychedelic oddities through to the last note of "When the Music's Over."

While there aren't many "WOW" songs on Strange Days, the album is very cohesive and is one of the better examples I've come across so far in the Rolling Stone list where the album is seen as a whole work of art and not just a collection of smaller works of art (songs). "Love Me Two Times" is the only song that seems to wander a bit from the other songs, but it isn't a distracting distance for me.

What really grabbed my attention when I wasn't following the light streaks that hovered around my hand like glowing gnats, were the organs. It are the keys that undulate and dance around with the melody. The guitar really doesn't dominate these songs, at all, and serve to reinforce the organ much of the time. "I Can't See Your Face in My Mind" is really the only song that the guitar seems to lead...and it does so in such a delicate manner, it is pretty.

Songs I knew I liked: "Strange Days," "Love Me Two Times," "People Are Strange," and "When the Music's Over"

Songs I didn't know but now like: "You're Lost Little Girl" and "My Eyes Have Seen You"

Songs I can go the rest of my life without hearing again: "Horse Latitudes" gets filed away in the same WTF!?! folder as Kubrick's Eyes Wide Shut.