THE DOORS’ BOOTLEG ANALYSIS: WINTERLAND BALLROOM'S THIRD NIGHT

 

The three performances for which The Doors had been hired at the Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco on December 26, 27, and 28, 1967, represented a fitting conclusion to a year marked by remarkable artistic progress and positive commercial results.

The band's original musical formula developed through 1967, a blend of rock, poetry, and theater, had earned them substantial approval from the American public.

The controversial lyrics and daring sound experiments had also elevated the group to a cultural and symbolic reference point for the most rebellious and nonconformist American youth.

San Francisco thus welcomed the band to an ecstatic celebration of a year that would prove to be the best of The Doors' career.

The bootleg of these concerts includes only the first night (here is the link to the article that provides an in-depth analysis of the 26 December show) and the third one (December 28^th).

Unfortunately, the second performance (December 27^th) was not recorded, so this article will focus solely on the third and final show.

The December 28 tape (here’s the link to the tape) includes only twenty-two minutes of audio, suggesting that it does not include the entire live performance.

However, it allows us to listen to six high-quality tracks, showcasing the unique creative perspective through which The Doors pierced the history of music.

The recording opens with the medley "Alabama Song" — "Back Door Man", two covers included on the band's first LP ("The Doors", released in January 1967).

This combination, which is presented as separate tracks on vinyl instead, was a frequent feature of the quartet's live performances. It cleverly aligns Bertolt Brecht's 1920s musical theater with the Chicago blues of Willie Dixon and Howlin' Wolf.

Morrison's convincing vocals, full of dark and abrasive charm, top off a group performance that meets the high-quality standards The Doors displayed during this period of their career.

Robby Krieger's electric guitar solo during "Back Door Man" stands definitely out (before the audio breaks down).

Here, the guitarist unleashes energy and inspiration superior to what can be heard on the record. These qualities are channeled with exuberance, resulting in remarkable spontaneity and incisiveness. Tight, high-pitched, scratchy notes generate a dynamic phrasing that never loses touch with an evocative and engaging melodic line, making it one of Krieger's best solos ever recorded.

The bootleg resumes halfway through "You're Lost Little Girl", released just three months earlier as the second track on the album “Strange Days”.

At the Winterland Ballroom, the band played the song essentially as it was recorded on the aforementioned vinyl, but it fades away after only a minute due to audio problems. Nevertheless, it leaves behind one of the rare live statements of this tune.

Next is "Love Me Two Times," which is unfortunately also cut short before ending. The song was released just a month before this concert as the second single (after "People Are Strange") from the LP “Strange Days”.

Noteworthy is Ray Manzarek's flowing solo on the electric organ (he plays the harpsichord on the record), whose fluid evolutions describe an enveloping and luminous pace, less lively and urgent than the official version.

Next is the sequence "Wake Up” - “Light My Fire": a crucial moment in many concerts of The Doors since late spring of 1967.

The initial poetic section, recited by Morrison with vehemence that is sometimes persuasive and sometimes edgy, unfolds against a backdrop of avant-garde music.

The music oscillates unpredictably between arcane percussive minimalism, gloomy electric guitar moans, and dreamlike, thunderous sound assaults.

This surprising and wonderful crossroads of experimental theater, rock, and poetry is suddenly shattered by drummer John Densmore's sharp snare drum strike, like an abrupt awakening from a surreal, viscous dream.

Immediately afterward, the instrumental introduction of "Light My Fire" bursts in, quickly shifting the focus to a broader horizon and paving the way for one of the greatest rock songs ever written.

The song remains essentially faithful to the masterpiece recorded on the band's debut album (“The Doors”). The exceptions are two lines, "Persian night babe / See the light babe", taken from another great song by The Doors: "When the Music's Over" from the freshly released LP “Strange Days”.

Morrison improvises these two lines between the electric organ and electric guitar solos that occupy the extended central part of "Light My Fire."

Furthermore, in the second half of Krieger's solo segment, he ventures into imaginative, virtuoso explorations that lead listeners down fascinating and pressing guitar paths rarely explored by rock music up to that point.

The last composition is "The Unknown Soldier," still unreleased at the time, but soon to be published as a single in March 1968 and on the LP "Waiting for the Sun" in July '68 (here is the link to an article with more information on "The Unknown Soldier").

Although the first minute is missing due to recording problems, it's clear that the tune was already complete and played in its final form at the Winterland Ballroom on December 28, 1967.

Morrison emerges with all his dramatic vocal power in the finale: a minute of free fall that grows progressively more intense in the festive vortex evoked by the other three musicians. It ends with the significant phrase: "The war is over!".

Following The Doors' three memorable concerts, the Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco continued to amaze for the remaining three days of 1967 with performances of considerable artistic depth.

Chuck Berry performed as the main attraction on December 29 and 30 (with Big Brother and the Holding Company and Quicksilver Messenger Service as supporting acts), and the two Californian bands just mentioned played on New Year's Eve in a bill also comprising the Jefferson Airplane.

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