THE DOORS LIVE IN BOSTON MARCH 17, 1968: A GUIDE TO THE BOOTLEG

One of The Doors' lesser-known bootlegs allows us to hear the group performing live in Boston on 17 March 1968 (here's the link).

While the sound quality of the recording is less than perfect, this is more than compensated for by the first-rate performance of all the band members, captured at one of the best moments of their career.

It was early 1968, and the fame that The Doors had achieved the previous year with the single "Light My Fire" and their debut album "The Doors" had been confirmed by a long series of live performances.

Furthermore, since the second half of 1967, the group's concerts have taken a bold, experimental direction.

Therefore, in Boston we see a group that is confident in its artistic achievements and ready to reinforce its pioneering role at the intersection of music, poetry, and theatre.

The Doors were in the midst of recording their third album, "Waiting for the Sun", which was released in July 1968 and reached number one in the US and number 16 in the UK.

The live show on 17 March 1968 opens with "When the Music's Over", a song that immediately highlights Morrison's deeply passionate and biting vocal performance.

This continues throughout the bootleg, showcasing the distinctive qualities of the frontman's singing, which could be simultaneously instinctive and restless, fierce and charming, mysterious and seductive.

Morrison's vocals are a hallmark of the entire concert and also forcefully characterize "When the Music's Over", taken from "Strange Days", the band's second album, released about six months before the Boston live date.

Next, the group bursts into a long version of "Back Door Man" from their debut album.

The tune contains one of the most exciting surprises of the entire bootleg: Morrison inserts almost all of the lyrics from "Five to One", a song that was still a work in progress at the time and would later appear on the aforementioned "Waiting for the Sun" LP.

These two songs would often be played in sequence at subsequent concerts, forming a famous medley.

Here in Boston, however, the instrumental background was still that of "Back Door Man", with the lyrics of 'Five to One' flowing sinuously and provocatively over it.

This was perhaps an improvisation by Morrison himself that would soon lead to the popular "Back Door Man"/"Five to One" medley, which was later included (in an extended version) on the group's only live album, "Absolutely Live," released in July 1970.

"Break On Through (To The Other Side)" is the next track, with Ray Manzarek standing out with his pleasantly irregular solo. His electric organ then gives way to some improvised verses from Morrison before returning to finish off the final verse-rhythm sequence.

"Love Me Two Times" maintains the electrifying atmosphere, largely sticking to the original vinyl version (again, from "Strange Days").

Also from the same LP is "You're Lost Little Girl", which is rarely performed live. Here, it is faithful to the studio recording (this is the part of the concert with the worst sound quality).

Morrison's voice dominates the song, showcasing its deepest and most poetic tones.

An abrupt interruption to the bootleg tape brings us to "Light My Fire" (unfortunately, the intro is missing).

Manzarek's electric organ solo begins with broken, diverging lines that have a strong jazz flavor, somewhere between Thelonious Monk and Jimmy Smith. Immediately afterwards, the keyboardist ramps up, saturating the theatre with high, frenzied chords.

The concert ends, as it often did, with "The End", a composition which also closed the aforementioned 'The Doors' album.

The piece meanders between dream and nightmare, featuring evocative and interesting instrumental contributions from all the band members.

Once again, Morrison's role in this masterpiece must be emphasized. He mesmerizes and shocks the audience by alternating extremely powerful and expressive singing with authentic poetic-theatrical performances.

Much of the original lyrics has been replaced by an impressive sequence of poems, declaimed with astonishing intensity. Their titles are as follows: 'Across the Sea', 'The Accident', 'The Holy Sha', 'The Crossroads' and 'Ensenada'.

Without any loss of musical quality or innovation, 'The End' concludes with a sonic explosion that sums up the fantastic 53-minute journey of this gig.

It should be noted that R. Krieger's electric guitar is almost completely inaudible on this bootleg, which has inevitably affected this listening guide.

Nevertheless, this bootleg remains a memorable electric trip conducted by The Doors on the simultaneously dark and flaming sea of their unforgettable music.

A few days after the Boston concert, the band will play two nights (22 and 23 March 1968) at New York's Fillmore East.

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”