THE DOORS - SANTA CLARA 11/3/1967: A JOURNEY THROUGH THE BOOTLEG

In late 1967, The Doors had a busy concert schedule. On 3 November, they performed in Santa Clara, California, approximately two months after the release of their second LP, "Strange Days".

They played at a city's dance hall called the Continental Ballroom and fortunately part of the performance was recorded.

The resulting bootleg (link here) is of fairly good audio quality thanks to those beautiful people who had the idea and ability to document this live performance by the Californian band.

In front of almost two thousand young men and women, The Doors performed a great concert, and the tracks that have survived from that evening are all from their debut album, "The Doors" (released in January 1967).

The show begins with "Soul Kitchen", which features a longer and more aggressive electric guitar solo than the LP version.

It is followed by "Break On Through (To The Other Side)". This wonderful song is sung with impetus by Morrison, who adds a short but sharp and incisive improvised section. Here, the accompaniment from the other band members drops in volume to make room for the expressive anger with which the singer shouts the words.

At almost six minutes long, the tune is twice the length of the original, thanks to the extended rough and swirling instrumental sections punctuated by Morrison's cries.

"Alabama Song" is the third song of the concert and is played at a slightly faster tempo than the vinyl version, resulting in a shorter length. It seamlessly introduces 'Back Door Man'.

Perhaps the most interesting song on the bootleg, “Back Door Man” is played with abrasive force. It is also enriched by Morrison's improvised abstract vocals and poetic verses over the jolting blues background provided by the rest of the band ("Names of the Kingdom" – "I've Got the Right"). Unfortunately, the audio fades out before the poem ends.

The tape then resumes from the middle of "The End", which also marks the end of the show. Here, we have nine minutes of this composition, starting from the most subdued part of the song, which is pervaded by a magical and theatrical atmosphere.

Compared to the original version, improvised and diversified parts follow one another in a storm of emotions that no other musical group at the time could evoke.

The part concerning the myth of Oedipus is strangely absent, but this is offset by a dizzying and disorientating electric dance with an oriental flavor.

Additionally, Morrison introduces an idea here, a fragment of a phrase that will evolve into the splendid song "Five to One", to be included on the next LP of The Doors ("Waiting for the Sun"). These are the famous words: "Get Together One More Time", addressed to the audience that evening before the finale of "The End".

The bootleg is only 26 minutes long, but it gives a good idea of the passion, mastery and involvement that characterized this memorable show.

It is an essential listening, bearing witness to the Doors' spontaneous improvisation combined with the disruptive sound that only this band could generate live in late 1967.

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”