Absolutely Live
	Produced by Paul A. Rothchild
	Released on July 1970
	US CHART POSITION #8 . . . GOLD RECORD (7/24/70) . . . UK CHART POSITION #69
	Find it at GEMM
61972-2 cover [high resolution scan]

T roughs where the pandemonium becomes unbearable, peaks of majestic poetic beauty, senseless brutality, sexuality and tension bubbling just beneath the surface. Just some of the things you’ll find on Absolutely Live. The revulsion factor runs high, from a flinty call for control at the beginning to a battle between raging egos during “When The Music's Over” that affords a window into what Hell must be like. The music takes a back seat, unfortunately, as The Doors deliver their hits in loose medleys interspersed with performances from Jim Morrison. The live versions of “Back Door Man,” “Alabama Song” and “Soul Kitchen” are good, but the studio versions smoldered with as much intensity. When it was released, Absolutely Live was notable for inclusion of previously unreleased songs and covers -- “Who Do You Love,” “Universal Mind,” “Build Me A Woman,” “Close To You,” “Love Hides” -- none of it essential (well, maybe “Universal Mind”). Throughout, Morrison is the center of the storm, though Robby Krieger does slip in some stunning leads. His voice is rough and rich and wonderful, his readings of “Petition The Lord With Prayer” and “Celebration of the Lizard” flooded with dark charisma. In a sense, the disc (originally a double-elpee set) plays out like a multimedia experience. You don’t hear the performances so much as feel them. It’s a visceral, vicarious pleasure for those who buy into the band’s mythology, but a powerful musical statement it’s not. The Doors were becoming The Jim Morrison Show, and Absolutely Live is absolutely the product of his vision. Because it was spliced together from different shows, it’s unfair to suggest that this is what all their shows sounded like. But you get the sense that this is what Jim wished they sounded like: intense, unpredictable, petulant. Music fans may find this more of an historical supplement to the band’s achievement, Doors fans will stare at it in a mix of horror and fascination.

61972-2 back cover	EKS-9002 cover

TRACK LISTING

1. HOUSE ANNOUNCER    2:40
2. WHO DO YOU LOVE    (McDaniel)    6:03
   MEDLEY:
   
3. Alabama Song    (Kurt Weill/Bertol Brecht)    1:51
4. Backdoor Man    (Willie Dixon)    2:22
5. Love Hides    1:49
6. Five To One    4:35
7. BUILD ME A WOMAN    3:33
8. WHEN THE MUSIC'S OVER    16:16
9. CLOSE TO YOU    (Willie Dixon)    4:04
10. UNIVERSAL MIND    4:55
11. PETITION THE LORD WITH PRAYER    0:53
    MEDLEY:
    
12. Dead Cats, Dead Rats    1:54
13. Break On Through #2    4:41
    CELEBRATION OF THE LIZARD
    
14. Lions In The Street    1:14
15. Wake Up    1:24
16. A Little Game    1:10
17. The Hill Dwellers    2:35
18. Not To Touch The Earth    4:19
19. Names of the Kingdom    1:24
20. The Palace of Exile    2:25
21. SOUL KITCHEN    7:11
    
    Alll songs written by The Doors unless noted

CREDITS

JOHN DENSMORE -- drums
ROBBY KRIEGER -- guitar
RAY MANZAREK -- organ, bass, vocals
JIM MORRISON -- lead vocals
Bruce Botnick -- engineer
Alli -- art direction + design
David Sygall -- shots of Jim
Ed Caraeff -- inlay shots of Ray, John and Robby

return to THE DOORS discography

For more discographies visit...

© 2005 Connolly & Company. All rights reserved.