Strange Days (album)

Strange Days
Studio album by The Doors
Released	September 25, 1967
Recorded	March–May 1967 at Sunset Sound Recorders, Hollywood, CA
Genre	Psychedelic rock, acid rock
Length	35:25
Label	Elektra
Producer	Paul A. Rothchild
The Doors chronology
The Doors (1967) Strange Days (1967) Waiting for the Sun (1968)

Strange Days is the second album released by American rock band The Doors. The album was a commercial success, earning a gold record and reaching No. 3 on the Billboard 200 albums chart. Despite this, the album's producer, Paul Rothchild, considered it a commercial failure, even if it was an artistic triumph: "We all thought it was the best album. Significantly, it was also the one with the weakest sales. We were confident it was going to be bigger than anything The Beatles had done. But, there was no single. The record died on us." Nonetheless, the album managed two Top 30 hits, a Top 3 placing on the US charts, and a platinum certification. Furthermore, the album certainly did nothing to derail the overall success of The Doors, as demonstrated the next year by their chart-topping follow-up Waiting for the Sun.

Strange Days consists of songs that were written in 1965-1966, but did not make it onto their debut album, such as "Moonlight Drive", which was one of the first songs written by Jim Morrison. The song was recorded in 1965 (demo) and 1966 (intended for their first album). In 1967 a final version was recorded and released on this album. Strange Days contains some of The Doors' most psychedelic songs. It includes songs such as "Strange Days", "People Are Strange", "Love Me Two Times" and "When the Music's Over".

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic
George Starostin
Music Box
Slant Magazine
Rolling Stone

Strange Days reached #3 in the US in November 1967, while the band's debut, The Doors, was still sitting in the Top 10. "People Are Strange" shot to #12 on the US chart, and "Love Me Two Times" followed it, going to #25, thus proving The Doors' staying power after the runaway success of their debut. In the UK the band had yet to score a big hit single and Strange Days became one of two Doors studio albums not to chart, despite subsequent strong sales. In 2003, Strange Days ranked #407 on Rolling Stone's The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.

Track listing

All songs written by The Doors (John Densmore, Robby Krieger, Ray Manzarek and Jim Morrison).

Side one

1. "Strange Days" – 3:11
2. "You're Lost Little Girl" – 3:03
3. "Love Me Two Times" – 3:18
4. "Unhappy Girl" – 2:02
5. "Horse Latitudes" – 1:37
6. "Moonlight Drive" – 3:05

Side two

7. "People Are Strange" – 2:13
8. "My Eyes Have Seen You" – 2:32
9. "I Can't See Your Face in My Mind" – 3:26
10. "When the Music's Over" – 10:58

40th Anniversary Edition CD bonus tracks

11. "People Are Strange" (False Starts & Dialogue) – 1:57
12. "Love Me Two Times" (Take 3) – 3:19

Personnel

The Doors

• Jim Morrison – lead vocals, Moog synthesizer on track 1
• Ray Manzarek – Vox Continental, Fender Rhodes Piano Bass on tracks 4 and 10, harpsichord on track 3, backwards piano on track 4, marimba on track 9, backing vocals
• Robby Krieger – guitar, backing vocals on "People are Strange"
• John Densmore – drums, backing vocals on "People are Strange"

Additional musicians

• Douglas Lubahn – bass guitar on tracks 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 9

Technical staff and artwork

• Bruce Botnick - engineer
• Joel Brodsky - cover photography
• William S. Harvey - cover concept & art direction
• Jac Holzman - production supervisor
• Paul A. Rothchild - producer, backing vocals on "People are Strange"

Chart positions

• Billboard Music Charts (North America)

Album

Year	Chart	Position
1967	Pop Albums	3

Singles

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1967	"People Are Strange" B-side: "Unhappy Girl"	Pop Singles	12
1967	"Love Me Two Times" B-side: "Moonlight Drive"	Pop Singles	25

External links

• Guitar tabs