The Door’s sixth studio album, L.A. Woman celebrates its 50th anniversary this year. It was the biggest album of the band’s career on the strength of the singles Riders On The Storm, LA Woman and Love Her Madly. It was also the Doors’ last album to feature their iconic lead singer, Jim Morrison who died at the age of 27 just three months after the album’s release.
L.A. Woman was co-produced by the band and longtime sound engineer Bruce Botnick after a fallout with producer, Paul A. Rothchild over the quality of the band's studio performances. With the Doors at the helm, the album ultimately became their best-seller.
Botnick set up with a makeshift recording studio at the band's private rehearsal space in L.A. to record the album. Morrison famously recorded his vocals in the studio bathroom to compensate for the lack of a vocal isolation booth. The songs were completed in a few takes, committing their shaministic pefromances to tape in just six days. In contrast to the lush orchestration of 1969’s Soft Parade, the Doors continued the blues-rock trajectory of 1970’s Morrison Hotel, and their stripped-back arrangements were celebrated by critics who lauded the Doors' return to their blues roots. Despite the troubles in Morrison's personal life at the time, his stunning vocal delivery on the record is remembered as one of his best, making for a fitting final bow.
The Doors | 'Love Her Madly'
The album release was proceeded by the single “Love Her Madly” followed by “Riders on the Storm” which remains one of the Doors’ most iconic tracks of all time.
The Doors | “Riders on the Storm”
“Our last record turned out like our first album: raw and simple,” drummer John Densmore wrote in his autobiography. “It was as if we had come full circle. Once again we were a garage band, which is where rock & roll started.”
To commemorate the 50-year anniversary of L.A. Woman, a 3-CD/1-LP deluxe set will be released on December 3rd. L.A. Woman: 50th Anniversary Deluxe Edition includes the original album newly remastered by The Doors’ longtime engineer and mixer Bruce Botnick, two bonus discs of unreleased studio outtakes, and the stereo mix of the original album on 180-gram virgin vinyl. The music will also be available from digital and streaming services the same day, as will a new Dolby Atmos mix of the original album by Botnick. Pre-order, here.
In the collection’s extensive liner notes, veteran rock journalist David Fricke explores the whirlwind making of the album, which would be the last with Morrison, who died in Paris a few months after its release. “Morrison may never have come back to The Doors,” he writes. “But with his death, L.A. Woman became rebirth, achievement, and finale, all at once. It’s the blues too – original blues, as Morrison promised. Fifty years later, there is still nothing like it.”
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