THE DOORS' "HYACINTH HOUSE": FROM THE DEMO TO THE LP VERSION

 

“Hyacinth House” by The Doors is a sadly prophetic song when it comes to the life of Jim Morrison, the band's lyricist and lead singer.

In fact, the final verse reads: “I need a brand new friend, the end”. This kind of ending came with the singer's death, which occurred about seven months after the song was recorded and only three months after it was released on the album “L.A. Woman” (April 1971).

Some of the lyrics are clearly autobiographical, showing the inner suffering and loneliness that characterized Morrison's life at that time.

It was a sad and mournful statement of intent that Morrison anticipated as early as 1969 when the band rehearsed a demo of “Hyacinth House” at guitarist Robby Krieger's house (link to demo here).

The resulting home recording features Krieger on acoustic guitar, Morrison on vocals, and John Densmore on bongos.

Krieger's structure is already complete at this stage: verse – chorus – middle eight.

The demo, which is shorter than the “L.A. Woman” LP version that would be recorded a year and a half later, is essential, dry and almost austere.

This leaves room for spontaneity and emotion to emerge painfully from Morrison's deep, jagged, melancholy voice.

Faithfully reflecting the band's fading internal cohesion and Morrison's personal anguish in 1969, the demo is imbued with bleak straightforwardness and bare bitterness.

After waiting for more than a year, 'Hyacinth House' was revived in soft rock form in December 1970, while the aforementioned sessions for “L.A. Woman”, the last Doors album with Jim Morrison, were underway.

The first change made in the recording studio was to slow down the tempo of the demo performance.

This gives the LP version a relaxed and airy atmosphere that is sometimes at odds with the meaning of some of its lyrics.

Additionally, Morrison's vocals appear less pronounced than in the demo, due to being immersed in a lavish instrumental arrangement and the slower tempo of the vinyl recording.

During the second verse-chorus sequence, Morrison doubles the vocals by overdubbing a second, higher-pitched vocal line (listen from min. 0:45 to min. 1:15).

“Hyacinth House”, the seventh track on the “L.A. Woman” LP, opens with an evocative riff by Krieger consisting of two closely alternating guitar parts.

The first is made up of chords, while the second is built up of single notes. These two patterns complement each other and continue throughout the tune, creating a sound gently extended by the reverb applied to it.

Perhaps the most interesting role in this track is that of The Doors' keyboardist, Ray Manzarek. He plays an electric organ called Hammond organ, whose fluid vibrations fill every space in the arrangement.

Midway through the track, during the middle eight (from min. 1:18 to min. 1:43), Manzarek inserts a creative flourish.

The smooth path laid down by the Hammond organ suddenly fragments into short, dissonant touches that are cleverly sprinkled to punctuate the middle eight.

While this passage stands out for its remarkable originality and innovation, the brief solo that Manzarek performs from min. 2:09 to min. 2:30 is also noteworthy.

Most of the solo consists of an erudite quotation of the main theme from Frédéric Chopin's 1842 piano composition Polonaise in A-flat major Op. 53 (belonging to the Romantic period of classical music). 

You can hear Chopin's theme at min. 1.11, 1.21, 6.05 and 6.15 at this link).

This is a touch of creative elegance that fits into the musical framework of the experimental blend of rock, progressive rock and classical music, which began around three years earlier thanks to English keyboardist Keith Emerson.

The band's work in the recording studio is remarkable in terms of quality, especially due to the wide, spacious and intelligently refined atmosphere featured in the arrangement.

However, the final result envelops the feelings that the lyrics are supposed to convey in a blanket of sound, inevitably diminishing their intensity.

While the LP version is fascinating, listeners are left with the feeling that the demo better represents the human and musical message that 'Hyacinth House' originally intended to convey.

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

Here’s a link:

Amazon – “The Doors Through Strange Days”