I was always a fan of The Doors. Not a Doors nut, and not so much a casual fan, either. But, casual fans of any band usually look for single-disc greatest hits packages to satisfy their desire to own a certain group. This disc is perfect for those people.

Up until about 5 years ago, the only greatest hits package that The Doors released was the two-disc "Best of". In the mid-90's, there was a single-disc enhanced Greatest hits disc. That disc satisfied my thrist for Doors music, but "The Very Best of The Doors" blows that (and all other previous Doors compliations) out of the water.

"The Very Best of..." satisfies all the criteria for what casual fans are looking for: 1 disc, digitally remastered songs, and 16 album-length songs. It has all the songs that "Greatest Hits" does (with the exception of 'The Ghost Song') and more. Also, it doesn't cost quite as much as the 2 disc set "The Best of..."

This disc also has some non-familiar songs, like "Twentieth Century Fox" and "Peace Frog", which are two of my personal favorites. I, personally, would've included "The Alabama Song" with this package, considering that there is some extra time remaining at the end of the disc, but I'm not too upset. Out of all the Doors' compliations (and there are many), this is the best one yet.

"The Very Best of The Doors" is a wonderful little compilation of some of the best songs by one of the most influential of all bands. The only problem is, it's not worth anything when you have the other version, the Canadian import available. This sucker is only 1 disc. The import, simply titled, "The Best of The Doors," is a two disc set packed with almost 19 tracks each. I don't see why the American release is so much weaker, they both even have the same covers with the exception that the letters here are red and those for the import are gray. It includes classics missing here like "When The Music's Over," "Soul Kitchen" and "You're Lost Little Girl." Still, I must be clear, for those STARTING to get into The Doors, this is a nice sample. The sound is incredibly superior to that of the original 1985 Best Of release and it includes some truly timeless pieces like "Light My Fire," "Break On Through," "People Are Strange," "Love Her Madly," "The Crystal Ship" and "Backdoor Man." The Doors have a unique, hypnotic and poetic style and this is a good showcasing of it. Here you get a basic idea of the band, it's music and the mythic rock icon Jim Morrison. But...if you want a better deal, purchase the Canadian import which was all the rage before this set was released to wider distribution (as in Wal-Mart, where even the tribute album, "Stoned Immaculate" is barely available). Whatever the case, these will always be great songs.

This is a great place to start if you are just getting started with the Doors, but for those of us who who are old fans this is just another "best of" package.
Let's take a look...
"Break On Through"-a staple of "greatest hits" packages since 1972's "Weird Scenes Inside the Gold Mine". This is a great addition also, because it doesn't have those annoying edits in the middle (Jim says "she gets high" on this disc but the others are edited to just "she get")
"Light My Fire"-another radio/greatest hits staple ever since "13" released in 1970(now out-of-print).
"People Are Strange"-another fan favorite since "13".
"Riders On the Storm"-long hailed as one of the band's signature "epics" this is another greatest hits staple.
"LA Woman"-the rorsach test of Door's fans: if you love this song, you'll love the Doors; if you hate it you're likley just a casual fan.
"Love Her Madly"-another popular tune-heard on "Forrest Gump" from the "LA Woman" album.
"Back Door Man"-a rare Doors' cover tune popular in concert and on greatest hits sets.
"Touch Me"-the only hit single from the "Soft Parade" album. Another radio/greatest hit.
"Hello,I Love You"-by far the most over-played Doors' song- and deservedly so.
"Love Me Two Times"-also very popular, a greatest hits favorite.
-up until this point the songs have been mostly staples of greatest hits discs and radio favorites, but this part is what makes this CD unique-
"Twentieth Century Fox"-a relitavely unknown song, this is its first greatest hits apperance, but also a great song.
"The Crystal Ship"-a great song that is also a nice change of pace, very psychadellic, very good.
"The WASP"-a nice addition to this set, a great example of Jim Morrison's better poetry put to music.
"Peace Frog"-a rare occurence on best of sets. Arguably the best track from "Morrison Hotel/Hard Rock Cafe" thankfully, however the semi-connected "Blue Sunday" was left off.
"The End"-here in all eleven minutes and fourty-four seconds of its glory, unlike the origional "Greatest Hits" disc which had the "Apocalypse Now" version.
"Roadhouse Blues"(live)- a great example of the Doors' onstage power. This is the edited version from a New York concert, on the "Box St" (on the un-edited version, Jim tells the audience that, "everything is ... up, as usual" right before the start.
This is, like I already said, a good starting point, but there were some questionable exclusions,as there were about 9 minutes left at the end of the disc here are some songs that were left out:
"When the Music's Over"
"Unknown Solidier"
"Ship Of Fools"
"Moonlight Drive"
"Roadhouse Blues"(studio version)
"Shaman's Blues"
"Waiting For the Sun"
"Spanish Caravan"
but still a good compilation!

does the remaining doors have ANYTHING better to do than to keep on REHASHING the same songs over and over?

come on now how many times have YOU heard "break on through" through one of these albums?

this band makes metallica look non-greedy!

i'll just be getting the IMPORTS OF ELEKTRA RE-ISSUES OF "THE BEST OF THE DOORS" WHICH CONTAINS TRACKS OF THE ORIGINAL NOW DELETED VERISON OF "THE BEST OF THE DOORS" WHICH WAS RELEASED ON VINAL IN 1973! WITH TRACKS THAT WERE NOT ORIGNAIALLY ON THERE IN THE FIRST PRESSINGS!

Elektra continues to shove a great original square-peg band into a dime-a-dozen round-hole world of Best ofs and Very Best ofs. The Doors' consistently brilliant music soars and astounds, of course, but this repackaging does them no justice, especially under this title.

The album is dominated by tracks from the group's still-incredible first outing, but that means the other albums are more woefully neglected than ever. And which tracks are included? Excuse me? The Very Best of the Doors with no Unknown Soldier? The Very Best of the Doors with Twentieth Century Fox?

The latter track makes its first appearance on a Doors' compilation. While Elektra understandably wanted to include something not on the others, what a waste to pick a bopper song like TCF, while blowing the opportunity to include some of the band's neglected masterworks like Moonlight Drive and Wild Child.

The other big problem with this collection is that it's half of what the label offers Europe and Canada, a 38-track double-CD with the same cover, replete with an utterly mindless third use of the Best of the Doors title. This is the one, if any, that should get the Very Best moniker.

Some great music by one of the greatest bands, but more corporate idiocy from a once-great label that has long since outlived its artistic usefulness. Get the Canadian version if you want a good compilation.