THE DOORS ENTRY INTO PSYCHEDELIA: THE ONLY LIVE VERSION OF "UNHAPPY GIRL"

Like some other tracks on The Doors' second LP, "Strange Days" (released in September 1967), "Unhappy Girl" was rarely played during the group's live performances. Even rarer are recordings that capture how it was performed live.

The only instance in which it was recorded seems to be the series of concerts held at "The Matrix", a famous San Francisco venue where The Doors played between 7 and 10 March 1967. At this point, the band was about a month away from the start of the studio sessions for "Strange Days", during which "Unhappy Girl" was recorded.

Developing songs during concerts was a well-established habit for the group in their early years. In fact, the live version of "Unhappy Girl" recorded in March 1967 (link here) dates from six months before the album's release. This allowed The Doors to experiment with different arrangements and receive immediate feedback from the audience.

Let's take a look at how this track was played months before the final studio recording.

Its appearance at the San Francisco concert in early March 1967 marks the period when The Doors became part of the psychedelic movement that had been animating the US and British pop-rock and rock scene for about a year.

After listening to some visionary records belonging to this musical genre, which were released that spring, the quartet developed their sound to include greater instrumental and sonic experimentation.

This artistic influence would prove decisive in creating the distorted and mysterious atmosphere that would characterize the album "Strange Days" six months later.

"Unhappy Girl", even in this early version, reveals some typical psychedelic elements, most of which also remain intact in the final track on the LP.

One of the most obvious differences is the instrumental introduction, which is played by Ray Manzarek on the electric organ. While on the vynil it is greatly reduced in length, here the keyboardist can let his imagination run free. He rambles for nearly a minute and a half, composing and undoing elusive abstract figures with the liquid notes of the electric organ before focusing on the song's opening phrase.

This brief musical journey is accompanied by Densmore's drums. He kicks in after about fifty seconds and gradually builds up the pace, punctuating Manzarek's lysergic excursion with the crash cymbal.

This segment resembles the instrumental interplay that characterizes the second part of the track "Spanish Caravan", which is included on the band's third record, "Waiting for the Sun" (released in 1968).

Having listened to this live version of "Unhappy Girl" from 1:02 to 1:22, we recommend listening to 'Spanish Caravan' from 1:57 to 2:11. This will give you an idea of some themes that the band will fully develop over the next year.

Regarding this live performance of "Unhappy Girl", one of the band's first fully psychedelic arrangements, Krieger's electric guitar is noteworthy. Using the slide technique, his long, melancholy flourishes boldly blend the blues with psychedelia.

The resulting guitar solo is an abstract canvas whose colors represent sad thoughts, fitting perfectly with the lyrics of the song.

In conclusion, 'Unhappy Girl' at "The Matrix" enables us to appreciate The Doors' transition to psychedelic rock, which resulted in the LP 'Strange Days' and led to further changes in their unforgettable career.

P.S.: My book "The Doors Through Strange Days"- The most comprehensive journey ever made through The Doors' second LP, is available on Amazon.com, .uk, .mx, .it, etc.

Here’s a link:

Amazon – “The Doors Through Strange Days”