The Doors: L.A. Woman (EU pressing, Bernie Grundman cut) [RHINO/ELEKTRA]

Why you'll love it

Bernie Grundman cut these lacquers under the eye of original Doors engineer Bruce Botnick and Elektra founder Jac Holzman, on 180g vinyl with the original artwork and inner sleeve. The album gave the band "Love Her Madly," a Top 20 hit, and "Riders on the Storm," and reached No. 9 on the Billboard 200.

This edition

• 180g vinyl
• Cut at Bernie Grundman Mastering
• Original stereo mix
• Die-cut window jacket
• Pressed in the EU
• Lyrics included

About the album

When their longtime producer walked out, the Doors didn't book a fancier studio. They dragged a mixing desk upstairs at their own rehearsal space on Santa Monica Boulevard, put Jim Morrison in the bathroom doorway with his live microphone, and cut the whole album in about six days with engineer Bruce Botnick co-producing.

Morrison called the last session "blues day," and you can hear it on "Crawling King Snake," "Cars Hiss by My Window" and the rolling title track. Elvis Presley's bassist Jerry Scheff locked in with John Densmore, Marc Benno added rhythm guitar, and Ray Manzarek's electric piano drifts through the rain on "Riders on the Storm." It's raw, loose and very nearly live, a return to the band's blues roots. Overdubs were mostly limited to extra keyboards, which is why it still sounds like four musicians in a room. The writer Eve Babitz is cited as the inspiration for the title song.

Critics including Richie Unterberger have called it one of the Doors' best, and it was the last album Morrison made with them. The bathroom, sadly, has never been credited.

Also at Kops: more The Doors on vinyl · browse Rock

Tracklist

Listen

On Elektra / Rhino (cat# 8122-79865-5), a reissue of the 1971 album.