THE DOORS AT THE WINTERLAND BALLROOM: CONTEXT AND FIRST NIGHT
The end of 1967 came for The Doors after a year marked
by abrupt and astounding artistic evolution.
During that magical year, they transitioned from being
a California based band appreciated mostly locally to becoming rock icons recognized
in the U.S. album and singles charts.
By bringing theater and poetry to contemporary music
and through original sound experimentation, the group had distinguished itself
also for the transgression of frontman Jim Morrison, placed in support of the
growing U.S. cultural youth movement.
By the end of 1967, The Doors had moved into the realm
of psychedelic rock, as exemplified by their masterpiece album, “Strange Days”,
released in September.
Moreover, on December 9th, Morrison was
arrested onstage in New Haven, creating a massive media stir coated in both
outrage and excited interest.
Provocative, brilliant, and unpredictable, in this kaleidoscopic
context the quartet was hired for three nights (December 26, 27, and 28, 1967)
at the Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco.
Fortunately, a bootleg with decent audio quality of
two of the three concerts exists (the first and last dates), although its sound
quality is not ideal.
Nevertheless, a relevant and fascinating musical
record can be heard, framing the band on stage as it casts its electric spell.
As anticipated, the first performance took place on
December 26, 1967 (here's the link). We’re going to focus our attention exclusively on it for the
remainder of this article.
The live show opens with "Back Door Man" and
"Break on Through (To the Other Side)", two of the band's most
frequently performed concert pieces, both of which are included on their debut
album, "The Doors", released in January 1967.
Morrison's familiarity with this material, which is slightly
prolonged compared to the official tracks, enables him to unfold its aggressive
and deep tone.
The singer’s voice indulges in evocative, improvised
excursions: mad laughter, a transfigured fragment of "Don't Fight It"
(a 1965 Wilson Pickett soul tune) and screams that are sometimes mournful and
sometimes edgy, the latter serving as threatening accompaniments to Robby
Krieger's engaging electric guitar drawings.
The third song is the suite "When the Music's
Over" (from the aforementioned album “Strange Days”), which after undergoing an extended period of transformation was recorded about five months before
the performance we are going through.
Mostly adherent to the original vinyl version,
this splendid rendition stands out for the unexpected interlude Morrison
inserts before the tune's final section.
Indeed, over a stripped-down instrumental background,
we hear these words mysteriously hovering over the audience: "Poor Otis
is dead and gone, left me here to sing his song".
The reference is to Otis Redding, a paramount figure
in soul music (and more) who died tragically two weeks before this concert.
Redding had been scheduled as the opening
act for The Doors at the Winterland Ballroom those three nights and was quickly
replaced by Chuck Berry and Salvation (their self-titled album released in '67
is worth hearing).
Morrison embedded his touching remembrance of Redding in the rhythm and structure of
"When the Music's Over". To do this he used the verse of a folk-blues
song recorded by the renowned Lead Belly in 1939 and titled "Poor Howard";
the name in the title duly modified to pay homage to Otis Redding: "Poor
Otis...".
The next verse reads, "Pretty little girl with
the red dress on, left me here to sing his song".
Also extrapolated from the same Lead Belly composition,
this poetic musical quote will be reprised more than one year later in the
introduction of "Runnin' Blue", written by the band's guitarist,
Robby Krieger and included on the LP "The Soft Parade" (released in
July 1969).
Next is "Close to You", a cover of a 1958
Muddy Waters blues written by Willie Dixon. Here, Ray Manzarek showcases his
vocals with energy and enthusiasm while Morrison rests a bit.
However, Manzarek abruptly interrupts the song just
before the end, seemingly repeating "We lost it!" multiple
times.
This temporary oversight is quickly forgotten and the determined stop-and-go pattern traced by the opening notes of "I'm a Man" takes the stage. It’s a 1955 rhythm and blues song by Bo Diddley that is once again sung by Manzarek.
This second cover is definitely more interesting than
the previous one, significantly expanding Bo Diddley's hit from 2:44 to more than 7 minutes.
We witness here an extended crescendo of intensity and
spontaneous lyrics created verse after verse by the keyboardist. This leads to
an almost angry chant that dissolves into a pervasive electric organ solo.
The audience’s handclaps introduce the last song on
the December 26 bootleg from the Winterland Ballroom: "Light My Fire"
(which reached No. 1 as a single in late July 1967, five months before this
live performance).
This classic of the band is performed
straightforwardly. The highlight is the final fifty seconds of Manzarek's
electric organ solo, where his tight, high-pitched chords accelerate gradually to create a bewitching cacophony of sound.
The Doors were regulars on the San Francisco music
scene, playing some 35 concerts in the city in 1967 alone.
It should be noted that the bootleg we just reviewed is
probably not exhaustive of the setlist played that night in San Francisco.
However, in it we can find the spirit of a group at the height of its musical expressiveness, capable of transitioning from electric blues to instrumental abstractions and ager to delve into rock poetry. The latter being an attitude for which The Doors will never be celebrated enough.
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, ca, etc.
Here’s the link:
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