THE DOORS AT THE WINTERLAND BALLROOM: CONTEXT AND FIRST NIGHT

For The Doors, the end of 1967 came after twelve months marked by abrupt and astounding artistic evolution.

During that magical year, they transitioned from a California-based band with mostly local recognition to rock icons with chart-topping albums and singles.

Through original sound experimentation and by bringing theater and poetry to contemporary music, the group distinguished itself, also thanks to the transgressive frontman Jim Morrison, who was setting the growing U.S. cultural youth movement on fire.

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 9^th, 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.

A bootleg with decent audio quality of two of the three concerts fortunately exists (the 26^th and 28^th performances), although its sound quality is not ideal.

Nevertheless, relevant and fascinating music can be heard, which frames 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 two of the band's most frequently performed tunes: "Back Door Man" and "Break on Through (To the Other Side)," both of which are included on their debut album, The Doors, released in January 1967.

Morrison's familiarity with this material, which is slightly longer than the official tracks, allows him to bring out its aggressive, deep tone.

The singer’s voice indulges in suggestive, improvised excursions: mad laughter, a transfigured fragment of "Don't Fight It" (a 1965 Wilson Pickett soul composition), 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 album "Strange Days". After an extended period of transformation, it was recorded approximately five months before the performance we're going through.

This splendid rendition mostly adheres to the original vinyl version, but stands out for the unexpected interlude Morrison inserts before the final section of the tune.

Indeed, with a stripped-down instrumental background, these words mysteriously hover 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 for those three nights. After his untimely death, he 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 was duly modified to pay homage to Otis Redding: "Poor Otis...".

The next line Morrison sings on stage 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, 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 improvised 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 and overflowing cacophony.

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, here 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 eager 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: Amazon – “The Doors Through Strange Days”