The Doors "Other Voices" 1971***

In March 1971, Jim Morrison met with his bandmates Ray, Robbie and John for the last time. He gave them each a book of his poems and told them he was moving to Paris, France. Although the future of the group was not discussed, it was understood that the album they had just finished recording would probably be their last. The rest of the band weren't too happy about it. Financial reasons aside, the bad was obviously still on top form: the songwriting in "L.A. Woman" is inspired, the singing  is passionate and the musicianship superb. By all accounts the sessions for the album were very productive and the usually difficult Morrison was at his best behavior. I suspect it happened exactly because he knew it'd be the band's last, but you can't blame the other guys for wanting more. So after Jim left, they stayed in the studio preparing more songs, thinking ahead and hoping he'd get bored with Paris and return to the California sunshine and his rock group. As we all know, Morrison's French adventure lasted only a few months. In July 3 of the same year, he was (supposedly) found dead in his bathtub, from a heart attack. Some say drugs and more still believe he just faked his own death and performed the ultimate escape. Such a prank would have suited his character, though I daresay he would have surely returned to gloat afterwards. But for the sake of the believers, let's call it a mystery and leave it at that. The news of his death found the rest of the band with a lot of material in their hands. They quickly decided that, despite what everybody thought, they were still The Doors - with or without Morrison. They finished the album and by October it was out on the stores. It had a simple cover with a photo of the trio and I'll be damned if it didn't look like the "L.A. Woman" cover, with Morrison cut out of the picture.

Other Voices, my vinyl cover

L.A.Woman cover, minus Jim 

Maybe they were signifying that nothing has changed, other than the singer. Musically they do stay close to the previous album's earthy blues rock. I remember that my thought on first listen (a worn-out 2nd hand vinyl copy, bought 25 years ago) was "These songs would be great if Jim was singing them". And, true enough, these songs are vintage Doors, so one can easily picture how they'd have sounded with Jim - unlike with their next album, the jazzier "Full Circle". Opener "In The Eye Of The Sun" would be a perfect vehicle for Morrison, it's a strong blues-rocker with funky bass, neat slide guitar and Manzarek's trademark electric piano. Kinda like "The Changeling" meets "L.A.Woman" at Morrison Hotel. Ray's pedestrian blues delivery fails to lift the song from the ground, but even so it's quite good. Robbie takes over for "Variety is the Spice of Life" and "I'm Horny, I'm Stoned", two upbeat humorous blues/country numbers. His voice is OK for this lighter stuff. Personally I like it better than Manzarek's, which is sometimes annoying but a better match to Morrison's. They say that, when Jim was too drunk to sing, Ray would sometimes take over the vocals - one can see why. Ray and John Densmore share vocal duties on "Ships w/ Sails", a long, atmospheric song with a light jazzy feel and beautiful understated piano and guitar - quite similar to last album's "Riders On The Storm". Not only the highlight of the album, but one of the best songs The Doors ever recorded. "Tightrope Ride" is an upbeat rocker that reminds me of "Touch Me". Unfortunately instead of Jim's lion's growl we get Ray's frog's croak, but it's nevertheless still good rock'n'roll with a nice solo by Robbie. "Down On The Farm" combines two styles: half gentle psychedelic ballad and half twangy country complete with mouth organ. Ray and Robbie take turns on the vocals. Both this song and the following "Wandering Musician" reminded me of the Grateful Dead, except that the latter is slower and much more piano-based. "Hang on to Your Life" starts nicely with jazzy guitars and latin percussion Santana-style, then continues with a harmony vocal a la CSN&Y, and keeps changing style until it becomes a complete mess. Oh well, sometimes they were that way, even in the old days ("Soft Parade" anyone?). Had Jim survived and returned to sing these songs, this'd be a slightly less-than-average Doors album. As it stands now, it's an average-to-good blues/rock album with great musicianship and mediocre singing. When I had my record player around, I'd give the old vinyl a spin now and then. I suspect the same will happen with the CD reissue.

**** for In The Eye Of The Sun, Ships W/ Sails, Tightrope Ride

*** for Variety Is The Spice Of Life, Down On The Farm, I'm Horny I'm Stoned

** for Wandering Musician , Hang On To Your Life