Morrison Hotel - Dark Publications

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Editorial Reviews:

Album Description
MORRISON HOTEL, released in 1970 in the wake of Morrison's infamous indecency bust, hit #4 and introduced "Waiting For The Sun," "Roadhouse Blues," and "Ship Of Fools." Insightful liner notes from David Fricke. Ten bonus tracks include eight previously unissued takes of "Roadhouse Blues, a run-through of Chuck Berry's "Carol," a jazz version of "Queen Of The Highway," and the previously unreleased "Money Beats Soul."

Customer Reviews: Read 10 more reviews...

5 out of 5 stars

Worth 10 times the price!!!!! March 30, 2007
9 out of 14 found this review helpful

I bought this primarily for the Roadhouse Blues outtakes, just one of those favorite songs , hoping to hear some new guitar riff or keyboard solo , but knowing fully well a drunken Jim could render them worthless.
I jumped right to the bonus tracks and was half right, Jim was still out there and pretty difficult to work with and get the best out of him, you can just see by how many takes it took for this cut to evolve, solely because Jim coudn't find a groove or his brains for that matter.
I first purchased this as an lp in the early seventies, it was my 1st doors lp and my favorite, getting countless spins on the turntable and Morrison was a God, little did I know what a jackass he really was and all the credit should go to Robbie, Ray and John for making this lp the classic that it is.
So then this is one of those things I should be reviewing with all the listening time I put into it. Again I purchased it primarily for the bonus material, I thought that Manzarek had done a great job with all the previous remasters and that the original lp would have little or no improvement. I was dead wrong and not prepared for how amazing this album sounds ,truly remixed and remastered, this is what the doors really wanted to put out, hands down. All the cool harmonica, guitar licks and keyboards , and Jim screams, edited out of the original album inserted to give this a much harder and rocking edge than any version ever produced, my hats off again to the living Doors for this gem. I will be wearing out this copy. You won't believe your listening to the same album , I mean it!
Side note, while purchasing this cd in the store it would not scan to register the sale, the girl asked for assistance and remarked how all the doors 40th anniversary cds were not scanning properly, I remarked it must be the ghost of Jim upset about not getting any of the royalties, too bad Jim, you should have hung around a little longer.Hope the other 40th anniversary cds are just as amazing, I'll be waiting for your reviews,oh hell with it why don't I just get a couple more tomorrow.

Let it roll , baby, roll, allnight long!

5 out of 5 stars

I think I know the reason but I cant spell it April 17, 2007
7 out of 13 found this review helpful

I've always loved the DOORS, have their albums, their LIVE shows, sheet music, books, poems, DVDs, reunion films, offically licenced products, you name it. But, here comes a remix/remaster of one of their best works, with NEW bonus tracks, outtake photos, and the lyrics. So, more product the Door's fans are going to grab. On one of the outake photos from the photoshoot for the cover, JIM wrote in chalk behind him, "I think I know the reason but I cant spell it." WOW. I'd put the money out just for these outtake photos, cos of the little bits of insight even they reveal. (A picture is worth a thousand words, but i'll limit it to 20-30.) However, let's look at the whole product objectively, if such a thing is possible, after fourty years of books, band reunions, the various films, and modern pop mythology clouding our reaction to changing the sound on songs, that for some of us, are sacrosanct in the canon of rock and roll history. The biggest change in the mix, is that the bass parts are VERY loud, and Jim's yips and yelps during the instrumental parts of the songs, are not edited out. I wonder if Jim would have wanted all that personal yelping in place, or if he might have wanted some of his handclaps, (The Spy), guide vocal bleed thru (Blue Sunday?), or pre-take chatter (Land Ho!) removed? On one take, I think it's Ship of Fools, you hear Paul Rothchild say "16" at the beginning of the song. (meaning take 16 obviously.) Its said over the instrumental vamp that starts the song, and hardly ads anything noteworthy to the song, other than a Cinema veritie vibe. I like to look for the outtakes, and alternate takes, for my Cinema Veritie view of work process. Also, on another song, for some strange reason, the organ and the guitar parts were interchanged between channels. Again, i cant for the life of me figure out WHY that would have been nessacary. I hope, i really do, that this remix wasnt just balanced, leveled, and then allowed to run, without editing out extraneous noise and studio sounds, unconsidered guitar lines, or vocalizations by Jim, which were mixed out when the offical mix was made for valid esthetic reasons. This remixed version, as good as the sound density becomes from the louder bass part, shouldn't replace permenantly the mix made for the album when it was first released. After all, the time, and consideration put into the mix at the time, is just as important, as any other part of the recording process. So, does Jim want his extra vocalizations in the mix? Obviously he is not around to give his imput on this, and personally, I'm tired of hearing Ray tell people what JIM wanted. Only Jim understood Jim, or should ever be expected to speak for him. Think I'm wrong? Dont forget how Jim reacted to the car commercial that the other Door members allowed LIGHT MY FIRE to grace back in the late 60s, and how betrayed Jim felt over that. Jim almost seems to be commenting on the situation, in one of the outtake photos. In it, Jim is in a closet posed over a TV set, that is playing HOLLYWOOD SQUARES. I'm sure that Jim had a lot of conflicts in his life, with "Hollywood Squares".
As for the song alternate takes and outtakes, I can only say that, at least for this edition, they are fantastic. Everyone of them is worth listening to, and definately show the process involved in the band's creative process. As far as I know, no bootlegs have EVER surfaced of the DOORS unused studio outtakes. So this is definately a welcome addition. I do have one last criticism, and it's a big one. With the technology of DUALDISC, I cant understant why the Doors didnt allow the 5.1 DVD mix of these songs, which were included on their third, and latest box set from last year. It would have been nice, to have the 5.1 remix, along with some videos, included with the CD. I have no idea how those 5.1 remixes sounded. Maybe they were not very good, except for those albums recorded on 8 or 16 tracks. I would have gladly paid a couple extra dollars to have that DUALDISC technology involved with this project. Overall, for a true Door's fan, I suppose you are suppost to shell out $200 for the newest BOX SET to get those 5.1 DVD mixes, or live with the 2007 version. Well, fine for the famously rich. So, why did the band release these album remixes, with alternate takes? "I THINK I KNOW THE REASON BUT I CAN'T SPELL IT". ($$$-how do you THAT?)

1 out of 5 stars

Remixed!!!! April 2, 2007
5 out of 16 found this review helpful

Yes, the sound is great but the tracks are remixed, often with new vocal and instrumental parts. These are NOT the original mixes. Caveat emptor!!!

5 out of 5 stars

Remixed, remastered, extended and awesome. April 14, 2007
4 out of 4 found this review helpful

If you want the same version of Morrison Hotel you had way back when, you might avoid this version. You might be better off with the remastered edition from 1999. But if you want to hear this classic Doors album with some unused vocals and instruments mixed back in, pick up this latest release from Rhino/Elektra. If you're a longtime fan you'll probably want to have both in your collection. I have been digging these in a big way. Highly recommended!!!

5 out of 5 stars

Here's an idea April 25, 2007
4 out of 6 found this review helpful

I am a Doors nut. The movie came out when I was 13 and I have been addicted from that point on. I digress. I wanted to suggest to those Doors fans who are angry about the music being re-mastered to buy the re-mixes because they are interesting and pretty affordable. You probably already have the 1999 re-masters, (and for that matter records, reel to reel, 8-tracks, cassettes, and the 1990 cd versions), well maybe you're not that much of a Doors nut, anyway I digress again. What I have done when I have bought these re-masters is to listen to the re-mix version first, then listen to the 1999 re-masters immediately afterwords. I have always been interested in music production and engineering and I love the new re-mixes, but I will not get rid of my 1999 re-masters because I want to have both versions of these great albums. I know it sounds crazy, but I would like to have re-masters of "Other Voices" and "Full Circle" too.
Why not, they are not bad albums, just without Jim. I think that if you're going to re-master and re-mix your album catalog, you should complete the task.

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