The Soft Parade

[Must_B_Free]

Is his a damn good album or what?

I didn't like the Doors that much from their frist two albums until I just discovered this album.

This must be their best one, no?

[Squeech]

1. Depends

I like Soft Parade best from a purely musical standpoint: I think the compositions are exceptionally well written, I love what they did with the horns, "Touch Me" is a damned catchy song and so is "Runnin' Blue," and the title track in its varied episodes is magnificent.

On the other hand, I think Strange Days has better lyrics and does a better job of capturing the weird vibes of the '60s.

With the sole exception of the Grateful Dead, all the great bands of the Summer of Love peaked early, and then lost it somehow. If they were lucky, they broke up when they realized they'd run their course (e.g. Cream), or somebody they couldn't live without quit and/or died (e.g. Big Brother and the Holding Company). It was worse to see an excellent band plug on when it was clear they no longer had any inspiration: my favorite band of the era was the Jefferson Airplane, until they recorded the laughable Long John Silver album.

I mention this because the Doors went out on a relatively high note, LA Woman. If Morrison had gone to Paris and died in the bathtub after Morrison Hotel, history would have been considerably less kind.

[oustemnow]

7. you don't like Morrisson Hotel?

Roadhouse Blues?
Spy in the House of Love?
Peace Frog?
You Make Me Real?

I like LA Woman too, but I think you might be selling Morrison Hotel short.

Oh, and to the point of the thread, I do like Soft Parade; it has a real haunting quality to it.

[Squeech]

9. What I like about the Doors

is their depiction of the mysterious, the sense that things are not what they seem.

Morrison Hotel is the album most clearly grounded in reality. Most of the songs are exactly what they seem-- as you note, there's even a song called "You Make Me Real." The love songs are straight moon/june love songs (Robbie probably wrote them, especially "Indian Summer"), and the big hit, "Roadhouse Blues," is about drinking, which was Mr. Mojo Risin's chief preoccupation at the time.

So the song I like best-- the one that's most aligned to what I like about the Doors-- is "Queen of the Highway," which on any other Doors album would be obvious filler. I also like "Peace Frog" and "Ship of Fools" because their jaunty music is so at odds with their apocalyptic lyrics. And I like the odd timing of "The Spy"-- world's first 14-bar blues.

My opinion, and worth what you paid for it.

[oustemnow]

10. Well, it's a well-stated opinion anyway

and thanks you for it.

Given your criteria, I can see why you're not so much into Morrsion Hotel, it is a very different animal than the first two albums or even the Waiting for the Sun album.

Though I would say the LA Woman album seems to me more like a grounded-in-reality album than MH; aside from "L'America," it's not a particularly mysterious offering. At any rate, most of their stuff was pretty damn good. I just wish they weren't pulling this BS Doors of the 21st Century thing that they're doing now.

[Toby109]

2. Really?

I think their first album is one of the best as far as first albums go and for its time(1965 or 1966?).

[Norbert]

3. Not my absolute favorite but...

I like it just the same. They got away from the Willie Dixon type blues on this one. Touch me has to be one of the most upbeat songs of all time. I like how the added orchestration to songg like Touch Me and Wishful Sinful. The orchestration didn't take over the song but adorned it very well.

[ZoCrowes]

4. Wow

You're the first I've met who likes that album lol

I think it has a few good songs on it (Wild Child) but in my opinion they released much better

[Coffee Coyote]

8. my best friend the Doors fanatic

Actually, my best friend back in WA, who considered the Doors by far his favorite band growing up, considered it his favorite album of theirs. But I will admit, it's rare when you consider how most (including myself) prefer others.

Still, "Soft Parade" deserves some praise for varying the writing and production. "Running Blue" is one of the most original tribute songs to any dead artist in any era.

[mitchum]

5. Jimbo is really pretty on the cover shot

[Ishoutandscream]

6. Wishful, Sinful

Beautiful song. This album is considered by many critics as the Doors and Morrison at their most lethargic. I like some of it personally, but Morrison Hotel, Hard Rock Cafe is the best in my book.

[Aristus]

11. Strange Days and Morrison Hotel are both better albums,

all things considered. But The Soft Parade has a lot going for it.

"Can you give me Sanctuary?
I must find a place to hide,
A place for me to hide.

Can you give me soft asylum?
I can't make it anymore,
the Man is at the door."

the anguish and despair of that, plus the beautiful harpsichord accompaniment,is just mind-boggling.