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 took place 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 exceptional musicians were present to embody a pivotal moment in musical 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, as well as 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).

Considering the circumstances in which the recording was made, the audio quality is satisfactory. However, it should be noted that the electric guitar is the instrument that suffers the most in terms of sound quality, and Ray Manzarek's short solo in 'Break On Through' is unfortunately barely audible.

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

The frontman's new look symbolized the band's desire to move on from two recent events that had caused them trouble.

Firstly, there were the legal issues arising from the Miami concert on 1 March 1969. Secondly, there was the disappointment caused by the poor chart performance of their latest LP, The Soft Parade, which had been released just two months prior to 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 often found 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. It exhibited a biting strength combined with a deep, penetrating intonation.

On the Toronto stage, fascinating and intense vocals, driven by unparalleled charisma, were unleashed alongside sharp, abrasive cries and sporadic yet pungent verbal provocations.

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

Following the two thrilling opening songs, 'When The Music's Over' and 'Break On Through', which remain largely 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, titled 'The Doors').

The central section of the tune features an extended poetic improvisation by Morrison. After a minute of sinuous wandering, it 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 by The Doors two months later (in November 1969) 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.

Once the last notes of “Back Door Man” had faded away, it’s time for “The Crystal Ship”, another song from the album “The Doors” (released in January 1967).

The only difference from the official track is the use of an electric organ instead of a piano. However, here the tune 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 have been replaced by an underlying sense of disillusioned suffering in Morrison's voice.

Nevertheless, in this instance, "The Crystal Ship" serves as a vibrant and moving transition 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 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 these two minutes of avant-garde improvisation carry the listener to the highlight of the bootleg: Ray Manzarek's electric organ solo during “Light My Fire”.

This remarkable four-minute-and-ten-seconds instrumental digression never loses its creativity or appeal and is divided into four distinct sections.

In the first part (lasting one and a half minutes), 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 section (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, saturating 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 the solo four phases.

The concert ends with “The End”, which was originally the extraordinary closing track of the album “The Doors”.

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 event’s set list. The singer refers to them as “illustrious musical geniuses”, and briefly recounts how his first experience with the Rock‘n’Roll genre, which he 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 new poetic or instrumental inventions.

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

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

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