The Doors Top 50 Countdown (#50-46) & This Week's Statistics

We have now finished the long and interesting voyage (and quite frustrating to me, as finding the original versions of Dylan's songs on youtube was an impossible quest) through Bob Dylan's songs. It's time to start another; this time, we'll countdown the Top 50 songs of my favorite US band: The Doors.

The Doors were unlike any other US classic rock act of the 1960s. There was their instrumental make up, first of all: They bucked the default setting of lead guitar-rhythm guitar-bass-drums, instead featuring Robby Krieger on guitar, Ray Manzarek on organ and John Densmore on drums. There was also a dark undertow to the music, a darkness that remained even as the Doors left behind the psychedelia of 1967 for the raw blues of 1970. Finally, they were blessed — and cursed — by having one of the most charismatic lead singers in rock, Jim Morrison. In his prime, the self-proclaimed Lizard King showed off his handsome face and lean physique in a famous series of shots where he posed bare-chested or by wrapping himself in skin-tight black leather. But his determination to explore every byway of the road of excess led not to the expected palace of wisdom but an early death at age 27 (officially due to a heart attack, though drugs likely played a factor). Doors songs probed the mysteries of sex and death, and Morrison seemed to embody both of those primal forces, becoming a rock ‘n’ roll casualty to boot, himself. Spanning the range of those forces, here are my fifty favorite songs by the Doors.

At #50, we find The Changeling. This track from 1971’s L.A. Woman is a nice slice of funk. It rumbles along with the assistance of guest bassist Jerry Scheff (a member of Elvis Presley’s live band), as well as Morrison’s tough, muscular vocals. L.A. Woman was the last album released during Morrison’s lifetime, and shows the harder rock direction the band was pursuing - no more dreamy visions or lizard kings. However, the way Morrison drawls out the line “I’m a chaaaange-ling,” suggests some influence from John Lee Hooker’s Crawling King Snake, also on the album. Robbie's guitar at the start of this song is simple but amazing.

At #49 is Ship Of Fools, a song from the album Morrison Hotel (1970). A straightforward rock song, with mystical lyrics, not the best song in this album, but good enough to be in our Top 50.

At #48 we find Stoned Immaculate. In 1978, seven years after lead singer Jim Morrison died and five years after the remaining members of the band broke up, Ray Manzarek, Robby Krieger, and John Densmore reunited and recorded backing tracks over Morrison's poetry (originally recorded in 1969 and 1970). Other pieces of music and spoken word recorded by the Doors and Morrison were also used in the audio collage, such as dialogue from Morrison's film HWY: An American Pastoral and snippets from jam sessions. The album, called An American Prayer, received mixed reviews and still divides critics. My favorite track from this album is Stoned Immaculate:

Sitting pretty at #47 is Waiting For The Sun. Even if the song's title suggests otherwise, the song is not found on the album of the same name, but on Morrison Hotel (1970). Morrison once predicted: “A lot of people will go into theatre and musicals and opera and get further away from pure music, but rock, the primitive rock music, will reassert itself eventually.” Well, this is beautifully primitive. And cinematic. The shriek across the bridge matches one of Morrison’s finest lyrics, and the rest of The Doors mesh like clockwork.

At #46 is the only song that I included that is without Jim Morrison. It is The Mosquito, which is found on Full Circle (1972). On this album, Robby Krieger and Ray Manzarek share lead vocals. The Mosquito was their last single to chart (US: #85 - it did better internationally) and funnily enough, it was the first Doors' song I've ever heard. Having been too young when the Doors where at their peak, I was really getting into pop and rock music in 1972, and this was a thoroughly enjoyable summer song.

Before we go on with the statistics, here's a scheduling announcement: in order to have our weekly statisitics on their usual day, I decided that the third and final part of the Michael Jackson saga will come right after today's story. It will be followed by the presentation of another artist from that period, then we'll resume our Oscars list. I will try to stick to this schedule, but if I don't, don't shoot me... Because, you know, summer...

Now, let's continue with last week's statistics. No great change since last week - the visits are more or less the same, while this week it was Russia that experienced a small rise. Also on the rise are Cyprus, Spain and Italy. The United Kingdom has stopped rising, and is now stable; so are Greece and Canada. The United States are still falling, also the United Arab Emirates, as well as - but less so, France, Germany, and Belgium. Here are this week's Top 10 countries:

1. the United States

2. Russia

3. the United Kingdom

4. Greece

5. France

6. Cyprus

7. Spain

8. Italy

9. Germany

10. Canada

Here are the other countries that graced us with their presence since our last statistics (alphabetically): Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Czechia, Denmark, Ghana, Guatemala, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Jamaica, Japan, Kenya, Lebanon, Libya, Malaysia, Mexico, Myanmar (Burma), the Netherlands, Norway, Pakistan, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Slovakia, South Africa, South Korea, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Trinidad & Tobago, Turkey, Uganda, and Ukraine. Happy to have you all!

And here's the all-time Top 10:

1. the United States = 45.6%

2. Greece = 8.3%

3. France = 7.7%

4. the United Kingdom = 6.8%

5. Russia = 4.9%

6. Germany = 4.4%

7. Cyprus = 1.08%

8. Italy = 0.96%

9. the United Arab Emirates = 0.77%

10. Belgium = 0.74%

That's all for today, folks. Till the next one!