Waiting for the Sun
There is another album that I would like to recognise here, as one of my favourites.
Currently, there are 7 songs from it that are part of my SHoF list... That's 7 songs out of a total of 11... pretty good, pretty neat. And that number will likely go up in time.
The album is the Doors' third, from 1968... Waiting for the Sun.
I became quite interested in the Doors early on during my university years at UMass. I bought the records, read the Jim Morrison biography No One Here Gets Out Alive. Even went to visit his grave when I went to Paris. So, the Doors have an important part in my life in the 1980's.
Some info about the album...
It became the band's only no. 1 album (topping the charts for four weeks) and included their second US no. 1 single, "Hello, I Love You" (for two weeks starting August 3, 1968).
Although the Doors had made several attempts at recording their theatrical composition "Celebration of the Lizard" and intended the piece to occupy the second side of the album, this was later shelved. However, a recording of the "Not to Touch the Earth" segment was included and the full lyrics to "Celebration of the Lizard" were printed inside the album's gatefold sleeve.
A studio run-through of "Celebration of the Lizard" (subtitled "An Experiment/Work in Progress") and two early takes of "Not to Touch the Earth" were included as bonus tracks on the 40th anniversary expanded edition release of this album.
Oddly (to me), the critical reviews for Waiting for the Sun are OK but not great...
AllMusic 3.5/5 stars
Rolling Stone (mixed)
The Rolling Stone Album Guide 3.5/5 stars
Slant Magazine 4/5 stars
Virgin Encyclopedia of Popular Music 3/5 stars
Most cited the album as a step down in quality from the band's earlier work. In his retrospective review, Richie Unterberger of AllMusic wrote, "The Doors' 1967 albums had raised expectations so high that their third effort was greeted as a major disappointment. With a few exceptions, the material was much mellower, and while this yielded some fine melodic ballad rock [...] there was no denying that the songwriting was not as impressive as it had been on the first two records." In his review of the 2007 reissue, Sal Cinquemani of Slant wrote "Despite the fact that Morrison was becoming a self-destructing mess, Krieger, Ray Manzarek and John Densmore were never more lucid - perhaps to compensate. This was a band at its most dexterous, creative, and musically diverse ..."
Despite the reaction of some critics, it's definitely a favourite album of mine...
Currently, there are 7 songs from it that are part of my SHoF list... That's 7 songs out of a total of 11... pretty good, pretty neat. And that number will likely go up in time.
The album is the Doors' third, from 1968... Waiting for the Sun.
I became quite interested in the Doors early on during my university years at UMass. I bought the records, read the Jim Morrison biography No One Here Gets Out Alive. Even went to visit his grave when I went to Paris. So, the Doors have an important part in my life in the 1980's.
Some info about the album...
It became the band's only no. 1 album (topping the charts for four weeks) and included their second US no. 1 single, "Hello, I Love You" (for two weeks starting August 3, 1968).
Although the Doors had made several attempts at recording their theatrical composition "Celebration of the Lizard" and intended the piece to occupy the second side of the album, this was later shelved. However, a recording of the "Not to Touch the Earth" segment was included and the full lyrics to "Celebration of the Lizard" were printed inside the album's gatefold sleeve.
A studio run-through of "Celebration of the Lizard" (subtitled "An Experiment/Work in Progress") and two early takes of "Not to Touch the Earth" were included as bonus tracks on the 40th anniversary expanded edition release of this album.
Oddly (to me), the critical reviews for Waiting for the Sun are OK but not great...
AllMusic 3.5/5 stars
Rolling Stone (mixed)
The Rolling Stone Album Guide 3.5/5 stars
Slant Magazine 4/5 stars
Virgin Encyclopedia of Popular Music 3/5 stars
Most cited the album as a step down in quality from the band's earlier work. In his retrospective review, Richie Unterberger of AllMusic wrote, "The Doors' 1967 albums had raised expectations so high that their third effort was greeted as a major disappointment. With a few exceptions, the material was much mellower, and while this yielded some fine melodic ballad rock [...] there was no denying that the songwriting was not as impressive as it had been on the first two records." In his review of the 2007 reissue, Sal Cinquemani of Slant wrote "Despite the fact that Morrison was becoming a self-destructing mess, Krieger, Ray Manzarek and John Densmore were never more lucid - perhaps to compensate. This was a band at its most dexterous, creative, and musically diverse ..."
Despite the reaction of some critics, it's definitely a favourite album of mine...