THE DOORS LIVE IN TORONTO (SEPTEMBER 1969): BOOTLEG ANALYSIS

In September 1969, The Doors flew to North America’s East Coast for a series of concerts in Canada and the United States.

The first of these was held in Toronto on September 13^th as part of the “Toronto Rock ‘n’ Roll Revival”, a festival dedicated to celebrating some of the biggest names in the 1950s Rock ‘n’ Roll scene.

Five superb musicians were there representing the spirit of one decisive turning point in music history: Little Richard, Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Gene Vincent.

The Toronto event also featured several new bands (including Chicago Transit Authority and Alice Cooper), plus a group formed by John Lennon for the occasion.

Fortunately, The Doors' performance is available in its entirety thanks to a fifty-six-minute amateur bootleg recording (link here).

The audio is satisfactory considering the fortuitous conditions in which the recording was made. However, it should be noted that the electric guitar is the instrument most penalized in terms of sound quality, and that Ray Manzarek's short solo in “Break On Through” is unfortunately barely audible.

The Doors' singer, Jim Morrison, appeared at the festival with a freshly cut beard and hair, in stark contrast to the wild and unkempt image he had presented of himself during the summer of '69.

The frontman's look, marked by greater composure, symbolized The Doors' desire to put two recent, delicate, and troublesome events behind them.

Firstly, the legal issues arising from the Miami concert on March 1, 1969. Secondly, the disappointment caused by the poor chart performance of their last LP (“The Soft Parade”, released just two months earlier than this gig).

Looking ahead to their artistic future, the Californian band hurled six songs on the Toronto audience with electrifying vehemence.

This approach took away some of the unpredictable flair that we often find in the quartet's live shows, but added immediacy and incisiveness in return.

Morrison’s voice was the most impetuous and enthralling element of the entire live set, exhibiting a biting strength combined with a deep, penetrating intonation.

Sharp, abrasive cries, sporadic but pungent verbal provocations, and vocal parts performed with fascinating intensity follow one another on the Toronto stage, unleashed by an unparalleled charisma.

Here, the singer confidently immerses himself in a historical and musical context of enormous significance: the liberating transgression that pervaded the cultural landscape of 1969 meets the focused energy required by rock.

After the two exciting opening songs (“When The Music's Over” and “Break On Through”), essentially faithful to their original versions, comes a passionate and extended rendition of “Back Door Man” (a cover of Howlin' Wolf's 1961 blues song, written by Willie Dixon and included on The Doors' debut LP entitled “The Doors”).

The central section of the tune features an extended poetic improvisation by Morrison, which, following a minute of sinuous wandering, unveils two consecutive surprises.

The first consists of four verses taken from the middle eight of “Maggie M'Gill”: “Well, I'm an old blues man” / “And I think that you understand” / “I've been singing the blues” / “Ever since the world began”.

The composition from which Morrison extracts these lines will be recorded two months later (in November 1969) by The Doors as track number eleven on the “Morrison Hotel” LP (later released in February 1970).

Immediately afterwards, the singer performs the first verse of “Roadhouse Blues” (“Keep your eyes on the road, your hands upon the wheel” x2 + “Yeah, we're going to the Roadhouse / Gonna have a real / Good time”) to the ten thousand spectators in Toronto. This song will also be recorded during the “Morrison Hotel” sessions, shortly after this concert.

Following “Back Door Man”, it’s time for “The Crystal Ship”, another song from the album “The Doors” (released in January 1967).

It differs from the official track only in the use of an electric organ instead of a piano. However, it lacks the enchanting and poetic atmosphere that the group created in the early days of their career.

In fact, the original version's voluptuous soundscapes are replaced by a clear undertone of disillusioned suffering in Morrison's voice.

Nevertheless, in this case, "The Crystal Ship" serves as a vibrant and touching transition point between the two halves of the Toronto concert.

The second part of the gig consists of two extended songs, both of which are brilliantly executed.

The first one is “Light My Fire”. As was often the case in The Doors' shows, this famous composition is masterfully introduced by the dramatic, poetic-theatrical section called “Wake Up”.

The arcane seduction and delightful bewilderment produced by the two minutes of this avant-garde improvisation carry the listener to the highlight of the bootleg: Ray Manzarek's electric organ solo during “Light My Fire”.

This remarkable instrumental digression stretches for four minutes and ten seconds without ever losing creativity or appeal, and it’s divided into four distinct sections.

In the first part (lasting a minute and a half), we witness a flowing and luminous parade of notes, alternately elongated and brought back together in short whirls steeped in Hard Bop Jazz.

In the second part (one minute and twenty seconds), the high-pitched sound of the electric organ is boldly concentrated into an exciting and thoughtful cacophony. Here, tight and disorienting sound figures clash with each other, spreading a vivid light whose profile is as experimental as it is compelling.

In the third segment of the solo (one minute), Manzarek employs isolated notes, shaping their lively and expressive flow into original and engaging themes derived once again from Hard Bop Jazz.

The solo concludes with a twenty-second explosion. A powerful electric organ chord spreads out rapidly into a succession of overflowing and agitated phrases, which saturate the air in Toronto with excitement before giving way to the continuation of “Light My Fire”.

Of particular interest is the dynamic, imaginative, and effective rhythmic accompaniment provided by drummer John Densmore throughout all four phases of the solo described above.

Marking the end of the concert is “The End”, originally placed as the extraordinary closing track of “The Doors” LP.

At the beginning of the song, Morrison himself crowns the spirit of the festival by honoring the legendary Rock‘n’Roll artists present in the set list of the event. The singer calls them “illustrious musical geniuses”, and he also briefly recounts how his first experience with the Rock‘n’Roll genre, heard on the radio as a teenager, was a cathartic experience that opened new horizons for him.

Contrary to what usually happened in The Doors' live shows, the performance of “The End” in Toronto excludes poetic or instrumental inventions.

Despite this, the magnificent song is performed by the band in a more than convincing manner. Morrison's voice stands out: he does not deny the audience any of the intrepid and bewitching facets typical of his singing style.

This September 13, 1969 bootleg recording is less well-known than it deserves to be. It features unmissable, dazzling musical passages and confirms The Doors' authoritative stage presence beyond any doubt.

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