Out today (December 3rd) is the Doors‘ L.A. Woman: 50th Anniversary Deluxe Edition. The set, which was the band’s final work with frontman Jim Morrison prior to his death on July 3rd, 1971, includes the original album newly remastered by the Doors’ longtime engineer and mixer Bruce Botnick, two bonus discs of unreleased studio outtakes, and the stereo mix of the original album on 180-gram virgin vinyl. The tracks are all available from digital and streaming services along with a new Dolby Atmos mix of the original album by Botnick.
The legendary original album has been expanded with more than two hours of unreleased recordings taken from the sessions for L.A. Woman, “allowing the listener to experience the progression of each song as it developed in the studio.” An early demo for “Hyacinth House” recorded at Robby Krieger’s home studio in 1969 is also included.
According to the press release: “Among the outtakes of album tracks, you can also hear the band joyously ripping through the kinds of classic blues songs that Morrison once described as ‘original blues.”’ There are great takes of Junior Parker‘s ‘Mystery Train,’ John Lee Hooker’s ‘Crawling King Snake,’ Big Joe Williams‘ ‘Baby Please Don’t Go,’ and ‘Get Out Of My Life Woman,’ Lee Dorsey’s funky 1966 classic, written by his producer Allen Toussaint.
The tracklisting to the CD version of The Doors’ ‘L.A. Woman: 50th Anniversary Deluxe Edition’:
Disc One: Original Stereo Mix Remastered
1. “The Changeling”
2. “Love Her Madly”
3. “Been Down So Long”
4. “Cars Hiss By My Window”
5. “L.A. Woman”
6. “L’America”
7. “Hyacinth House”
8. “Crawling King Snake”
9. “The WASP (Texas Radio And The Big Beat)”
10. “Riders On The Storm”
Bonus Tracks
11. “Hyacinth House” – Demo
12. “Riders On The Storm” – Sunset Sound Version – Original Demo*
Disc Two: L.A. Woman Sessions, Part 1
1. “The Changeling” *
2. “Love Her Madly” *
3. “Riders On The Storm” *
4. “L.A. Woman” (Part 1) *
Disc Three: L.A. Woman Sessions, Part 2
1. “L.A. Woman” (Part 2) *
2. “She Smells So Nice” *
3. “Rock Me Baby” *
4. “Mr. Mojo Risin’” *
5. “Baby Please Don’t Go” *
6. “L.A. Woman” (Part 3) *
7. “Been Down So Long” *
8. “Get Out Of My Life Woman” *
9. “Crawling King Snake” *
10. “The Bastard Son Of Jimmy & Mama Reed (Cars Hiss By My Window)” *
11. “Been Down So Long” *
12. “Mystery Train” *
13. “The WASP (Texas Radio And The Big Beat)” ** Previously unreleased
SOURCE: Press release
FAST FACTS
- The Doors‘ L.A. Woman was the band’s sixth studio album and was released on April 19th, 1971.
- The album, which was their last with Jim Morrison, topped out at Number Nine on the Billboard 200, and scored the band two Top 20 hits — with the album’s lead single “Love Her Madly” peaking at Number 11 and “Riders On The Storm” hitting Number 14.
- Later that year, as a trio, the Doors released Other Voices, featuring songs that band had written while Morrison was in Paris and were prepping for his return. The album stalled at Number 31.
- The following year the trio released Full Circle, which limped to a disappointing Number 68.
- The band regrouped for a final time in 1978 for An American Prayer, which featured new music set against Jim Morrison’s poetry readings.
- An American Prayer only got as far as Number 54, but was nominated for a Grammy in the Best Spoken Word category.
CHECK IT OUT: The Doors’ “Riders on the Storm (Sunset Sound Version – Original Demo)”: