Although the Doors fourth album "The Soft Parade" (1969) had sold well and produced the smash hit "Touch Me," both fans and critics alike felt as though the band sold out. Compared to "The Doors" and "Strange Days" (both 1967) the band's more recent work had been viewed as overtly commercial. In the eyes of the Doors faithful, both "Waiting for the Sun" (1968) and "The Soft Parade" seemed to pale in comparison to the Doors first two albums. "The Soft Parade" in particular, with its strings and pop compositions, seemed to rub Doors fans and critics the wrong way. The negative feedback, however, ultimately worked to the Doors advantage. In response to the negative buzz, the Doors released what would ultimately be hailed as one of their finest albums "Morrison Hotel" (1970).

"Morrison Hotel" is neither a return to the sound of the Doors early albums nor is it a follow-up to the styling of its immediate predecessor "The Soft Parade." Rather, "Morrison Hotel" opens a new chapter in the Doors history all together. Gone were the psychedelic trimmings of the first two albums. Gone was the commercialism of the last two. "Morrison Hotel" is distinctly stripped down, and edgier. It was akin to what Credence Clearwater Revival were doing at the time. All in all, "Morrison Hotel" is an album of unadulterated, meat-and-potatoes, no-nonsense, blues-tinged, rock n' roll.

Although "Morrison Hotel" embraces a new sound, all the elements of the Doors are firmly in place; Jim Morrison's soulful baritone, John Densmore's jazzy percussion, Robbie Krieger's bluesy guitar, all the while peppered with Ray Manzarek's wholly unique signature organ and piano. So while "Morrison Hotel" sees the Doors exploring new ground, they do so in a way that doesn't forget what made the Doors, the Doors.

Some of Morrison's best poetry is on "Morrison Hotel." While all his work is good, with "Morrison Hotel," he was just starting to blossom as a writer and was becoming more refined.

In some respects, "Morrison Hotel" is a precursor or sister album to its more renowned follow-up, "LA Woman" (1971). Both albums are cut from the same cloth in the sense that they are both blues-tinged hard-rock, but "Morrison Hotel," while hardly cheerful, is distinctly less dark, perhaps because the listener knows that Morrison's death is not imminent.

The straight-forward "Roadhouse Blues" was the most rocking song the Doors recorded since "Break on though (to the other Side) from the Doors debut. John Sebastian of the Lovin' Spoonful (though not credited by name) adds the perfect touch of harmonica to give the song a gritty edge. "Waiting for the Sun," which was originally penned for the album by that name, begins slowly and serene, with an underlining pressure slowly building up beneath the surface, as forceful keyboards pierce their way though from time to time. Then, as the chorus sets in, the song yields to Morrison, demanding to know "what went wrong." The upbeat "You Make Me Real," while not bad, lacks the grit of the rest of "Morrison Hotel," and is not one of the albums better songs. The highly underrated melodic "Peace Fog" gets the album back on track and features one of Krieger's best solos. The serene "Blue Sunday" is simply enchanting, and Morrison had never given a more soulful delivery (although by now his voice was not what it had been). Cut from the same cloth, the jazzy "Ship of Fools" and the bluesier "Land Ho!" acts effectively as a semi-medley. On the low-key, serene, "The Spy," one really believes that Morrison is omni-present, as he states he is. The easygoing "Queen of the Highway" follows nicely, keeping up the momentum. "Indian Summer" is simply one of the most beautiful Doors compositions ever. More than just another balled, Morrison never sounded so vulnerable or sincere. Though Morrison's voice is nearly shot for the closing "Maggie Mc'Gill," this bluesy rocker makes for a good finale.

Unfortunately for Morrison and the band as a whole, by the recording of "Morrison Hotel," Morrison's heavy drinking and drugs were beginning to take a toll on his voice. While his voice isn't a ghost of its former glory as it is in the follow-up "LA Woman," Morrison does sound strained.

Upon its release, "Morrison Hotel" was greeted with a warm reception among fans and critics alike, and the album was praised as the groups' best work since "Strange Days." While "Morrison Hotel" is held in high regard today, it is unfortunately sometimes overlooked due to the fact that fans and critics alike tend to cite the Doors first two albums, and Morrison's swan song, "LA Woman" as the bands best work. And while "Morrison Hotel" boasts such classics as "Roadhouse Blues" and "Waiting for the Sun," many other songs like "Indian Summer" and "The Spy" are overlooked and remain lost treasures.

Some critics will tell you only die-hard fans need to buy the Doors studio albums and that the casual fan is best served sticking to a "best of" CD. If you are on a budget, sure, otherwise, go ahead and buy all six classic Doors albums. While a hits album is good, each Doors album has its own unique flavor and flow, and one is best served experiencing the album as a whole, rather than just getting the highlights from a "greatest hits" or a "best of." If you followed the advice of critics who will tell you "all you need is a `best of'" you'd miss out in many of their best songs, like the aforementioned "Indian Summer" and "The Spy."

The Doors make yet another classic hard rock album here. They were getting pressured by new groups like Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, and the revamped Mach II Deep Purple. The Doors started moving away from the acid rock sound into bluesy hard rock in the vein of mid 70's Stones. Morrison is at his peak, and his lower voice is a nice change of pace from the other shreiking hard rock singers of his day... Check out this album, you can't lose.

The original pressing (AFZ 037) was defective as there were crackles on Roadhouse Blues. The replacement pressing (AFZ 037-X) suffered the same issue. The second replacement pressing (AFZ 037-2) does not have the defects of the previous two.

If you purchase this disc from any retailer, be sure to contact AF to get the replacement.

There is just one song on "Morrison Hotel" that reminds very much to their early phase ("The Doors" album), and this is "Waiting for the Sun". The other songs are very blues-related, although in different ways. "Roadhouse Blues", "Maggie M'Gill" and "You Make Me Real" are strong blues-rock songs, "Land Ho!" sounds like a shanty, "Blue Sunday" is a sentimental (too sentimental!) love song. "Indian Summer" is in a way similar to it, it's very slow, but also more simple. Altogether, the Doors have made a very versatile album. Clearly, Morrison is the boss, and all the songs are centered on his lyrics, so they all last only between two and four minutes and it's a pity that the other band members did not have the opportunity for more instrumental parts and perhaps improvisation. But I would advice anyone who likes the blues to buy this album, although I don't rate it five stars.

This album came in 1970, a year after The Soft Parade debacle. They dropped the orchestra and decided to do some decidedly bluesy songs. The result is an AWESOME comeback. Jim Morrison had his legal problems still, but the band really got it together this time. This is their best since Strange Days, 3 years earlier.

"Roadhouse Blues" is always a bar favorite, even if it's not a Doors version. "Waiting For The Sun" seems to be a scrap from the album of the same name that did not originally make the cut. It is a good song that features great guitar work. "You Make Me Real" features some great keyboard work while Morrison really belts his voice out. "Peace Frog" and "Blue Sunday" have separate tracks, but flow as one song. The former is about blood and death, while the latter is a song devoted to Jim's love Pam. Both are a fantastic listening. "Ship of Fools" is a good one featuring good Manzarek keyboard. "Land Ho!" is a great one about the sea. "The Spy" features some great solo guitar work. "Queen of the Highway" is a strange but enjoyable one (a classic "This is great, but what's it about?" Doors song, one of many). "Indian Summer" is a second slow love song, equally enjoyable as "Blue Sunday". "Maggie M'Gill" finishing off the album, is a very bluesy song that has Jim throwing his alcohol-strained voice with all his might.

This is an album to own if you want a great Doors experience. Like I said, it certainly has a blues theme laced through most of the tracks. The band has its instrumental expertise at full-throttle once again.