Morrison Hotel
| Untitled | |
|---|---|
Morrison Hotel (sometimes referred to as Hard Rock Café from the title of the first side of the LP, with the second side titled Morrison Hotel) is the fifth studio album by American psychedelic rock band The Doors, recorded from between August 1966 and November 1969 and released by Elektra in February 1970.
Background
After the previous year's more experimental album The Soft Parade was not as well-received as anticipated, the group went back to basics and back to their roots. On this album, there is a slight steer toward blues, which would be fully explored by the band on their next album, L.A. Woman.
Recording
Morrison Hotel consists of music recorded between August 1966 and November 1969. "Indian Summer" was recorded in late August 1966 during sessions for The Doors. "Waiting for the Sun" began during sessions for Waiting for the Sun in 1968.
Additional session musicians include John Sebastian (credited as "G. Puglese" for contractual reasons)[1] on harmonica and Lonnie Mack on bass and guitar.
Album cover
The cover photo was taken at the actual Morrison Hotel located at 1246 South Hope Street in Los Angeles. The band asked the owners if they could photograph the hotel and they declined, so the band went inside when nobody was looking and took the photograph.[1] The rear cover features a photograph of the Hard Rock Café on 300 East 5th Street, Los Angeles.[2] The founders of the later and otherwise unrelated Hard Rock Cafe chain used the name, having seen it on the Doors' album. The original cafe is no longer open for business.
Release
Even though no major hit singles were drawn from the album, Morrison Hotel reestablished the Doors as favorites of the critics, peaking at No. 4 on the US album chart. The album also became the band's highest charting studio album in the UK, where it peaked at No. 12.
For the 40th anniversary the album was re-released in completely remixed and remastered form. This practice extended to incorporating vocal and instrumental components which were not part of the original album. According to Ray Manzarek, "There are background vocals by Jim Morrison, piano parts of mine that weren't used and guitar stingers and solos by Robby Krieger that never made the original recordings that can now be heard for the first time."[citation needed]
Reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [3] |
| Robert Christgau | B+[4] |
| Rolling Stone | mixed[5] |
| Slant Magazine |  [6] |
Morrison Hotel was, upon its release, seen by many as a comeback for the Doors following the critical failure of The Soft Parade and the Miami incident of 1969. Dave Marsh, the editor of Creem magazine, called the album "the most horrifying rock and roll I have ever heard. When they're good, they're simply unbeatable. I know this is the best record I've listened to [...] so far",[7] while Rock Magazine called it "without any doubt their ballsiest (and best) album to date".[7] Circus praised it as "possibly the best album yet from the Doors" and "Good hard, evil rock, and one of the best albums released this decade".[7]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Roadhouse Blues" | The Doors | 4:03 |
| 2. | "Waiting for the Sun" | Jim Morrison | 3:58 |
| 3. | "You Make Me Real" | Morrison | 2:53 |
| 4. | "Peace Frog" | Morrison, Robby Krieger | 2:51 |
| 5. | "Blue Sunday" | Morrison | 2:13 |
| 6. | "Ship of Fools" | Morrison, Krieger | 3:08 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7. | "Land Ho!" | Morrison, Krieger | 4:10 |
| 8. | "The Spy" | Morrison | 4:17 |
| 9. | "Queen of the Highway" | Morrison, Krieger | 2:47 |
| 10. | "Indian Summer" | Morrison, Krieger | 2:36 |
| 11. | "Maggie M'Gill" | The Doors | 4:23 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 12. | "Talking Blues" | 0:59 |
| 13. | "Roadhouse Blues (Takes 1–3)" (recorded November 4, 1969) | 8:47 |
| 14. | "Roadhouse Blues (Take 6)" (recorded November 4, 1969) | 9:26 |
| 15. | "Carol" | 0:56 |
| 16. | "Roadhouse Blues (Take 1)" (recorded November 5, 1969) | 4:32 |
| 17. | "Money Beats Soul" | 1:04 |
| 18. | "Roadhouse Blues (Takes 13–15)" (recorded November 5, 1969) | 6:21 |
| 19. | "Peace Frog (False Starts & Dialogue)" | 2:00 |
| 20. | "The Spy (Version 2)" | 3:48 |
| 21. | "Queen of the Highway (Jazz Version)" | 3:36 |
Personnel
- The Doors
- Jim Morrison – lead vocals, maracas, tambourine
- Ray Manzarek – tack piano on tracks 3 and 8, Gibson G-101 organ on tracks 2 and 5, Vox Continental organ on tracks 4, 6, 7 and 10, piano on tracks 1 and 8, Wurlitzer electric piano on track 9, Fender Rhodes Piano Bass on track 10, Hammond C-3 organ on track 11, Rocksichord on track 2, Moog modular synthesizer on track 2
- Robby Krieger – guitar
- John Densmore – drums
- Additional musicians
- Lonnie Mack – bass guitar on tracks 1 and 11
- Ray Neapolitan – bass guitar on tracks 2 to 9
- John Sebastian (as "G. Puglese") – harmonica on track 1
- Technical personnel
- Paul A. Rothchild – production
- Bruce Botnick – engineering
- Gary Burden – sleeve design
- Henry Diltz – sleeve photography
Chart positions
- Billboard Music Charts (North America)
Album
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | Pop Albums | 4 |
Singles
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 | "You Make Me Real" B-side: "Roadhouse Blues" |
Pop Singles | 50 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United States (RIAA)[8] | Platinum | 1,000,000^ |
| Canada (Music Canada)[9] | Platinum | 100,000^ |
| France (SNEP)[10] | Platinum | 300,000* |
| Poland (ZPAV)[11] | Platinum | 100,000* |
| Spain (PROMUSICAE)[12] | Platinum | 100,000^ |
| Austria (IFPI Austria)[13] | Gold | 25,000* |
| Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[14] | Gold | 25,000^ |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[15] | Gold | 100,000^ |
|
* Sales figures based on certification alone. | ||
References
- ^ a b Densmore, John (1991). Riders on the Storm: My Life with Jim Morrison and The Doors. London: Bloomsbury, Arrow. pp. 234–237, 244. ISBN 0-09-993300-4.
- ^ "The Doors Original "Hard Rock Cafe" in Downtown Los Angeles | FeelNumb.com". FeelNumb. November 17, 2009. Retrieved December 22, 2014.
- ^ Unterberger, Richie. "Morrison Hotel – The Doors | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved December 22, 2014.
- ^ Christgau, Robert. "Robert Christgau: Album: The Doors: Morrison Hotel". robertchristgau.com. Retrieved December 22, 2014.
- ^ Bangs, Lester (April 30, 1970). "[Morrison Hotel review]". Rolling Stone. Retrieved December 22, 2014.
- ^ Cinquemani, Sal (April 18, 2007). "The Doors: Morrison Hotel | Album Review | Slant Magazine". Slant. Retrieved December 22, 2014.
- ^ a b c Hopkins, J.; Sugerman, D. No One Here Gets Out Alive. p. 284.
- ^ "American album certifications – The Doors – Morrison Hotel". Recording Industry Association of America.
- ^ "Canadian album certifications – The Doors – Morrison Hotel". Music Canada.
- ^ "French album certifications – Doors – Morrison Hotel" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique.
- ^ "Wyróżnienia – Platynowe płyty CD - Archiwum - Przyznane w 1980 roku" (in Polish). Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry.
- ^ "Solo Exitos 1959–2002 Ano A Ano: Certificados 1991–1995". Solo Exitos 1959–2002 Ano A Ano. ISBN 8480486392.
- ^ "Austrian album certifications – The Doors – Morrison Hotel" (in German). IFPI Austria.
- ^ "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards ('The Morrison Hotel')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien.
- ^ "British album certifications – Doors – Morrison Hotel". British Phonographic Industry. Select albums in the Format field. Select Gold in the Certification field. Type Morrison Hotel in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
External links
- Morrison Hotel at Discogs (list of releases)
- Morrison Hotel Goes on the Market - Information about the Morrison Hotel/Hard Rock Cafe photo shoot
- Stream album] on Radio3Net a radio channel of Romanian Radio Broadcasting Company
