THE DOORS' "RIDERS ON THE STORM": DEMO AND WORK IN PROGRESS VERSION

 

After the promotional tour for the LP “Morrison Hotel”, which lasted throughout the first half of 1970, and their performance at the Isle of Wight on August 29, ‘70, The Doors returned to Los Angeles for a few months of rest.

The familiar surroundings and free time inspired the band to start working on songs that would eventually be included on their next album.

In autumn 1970, the band met with producer Paul Rothchild, who had worked with them since their debut album, to see how he would react to these new compositions.

Among them was "Riders on the Storm", an idea from singer Jim Morrison that the band developed collectively.

At this early stage, the song was four and a half minutes long, shorter than the seven minutes of the final version. However, it was essentially complete in terms of instrumentation and lyrics (link here).

The structure of the tune was also finalized: a verse, a bridge, and a short chorus that reprises the verse. Two solos punctuate the piece: one on electric guitar and one on electric piano.

The "demo" version of this composition is slightly faster than the original and exhibits an engaging pace thanks to John Densmore's insistent drumbeats.

While not entirely devoid of the dark magic displayed in the original track, Morrison’s vocals are still in an unfinished state. From min. 2:07 to min. 2:33, The Doors’ frontman tries a different vocal line for the verse and chorus (on the words "Love your man"). However, this evocative attempt would soon be abandoned.

The hypnotic and mysterious bass line is temporarily handled by the Fender Rhodes Piano Bass, played with Manzarek’s left hand.

Although it needed refinement in certain passages and studio effects, the first version of "Riders on the Storm" had its own fluid coherence, demonstrating the song's remarkable potential.

Nevertheless, this composition and the other songs that the band presented to Rothchild, including "Love Her Madly", written by guitarist Robby Krieger, failed to convince the producer. Consequently, he decided to end his artistic partnership with The Doors.

The events described above took place between October and early December 1970 and must be considered in the context of a more detailed explanation to clarify the rift that developed between the band and Rothchild.

In addition to finding the music for The Doors' new album lacking in substance, the producer had recently expressed strong interest in an artistic direction incompatible with the one the band had been pursuing in 1970. His focus had shifted toward Soul-influenced Rock-Blues characterized by dynamic, incisive horn sections.

This direction took shape in October 1970, just one month before he turned down The Doors, with the production of Janis Joplin’s final LP, "Pearl", which was released to considerable success in January 1971.

The producer's preference for this style of expression was confirmed when Rothchild decided to oversee a different album in December 1970 instead of "L.A. Woman": "Sometimes I Just Feel Like Smilin'" by the Paul Butterfield Blues Band. Not surprisingly, this commendable work is based on the same musical framework as "Pearl", namely, Rock-Blues tinged with Soul and permeated by energetic horn sections.

It was the divergent musical directions taken by The Doors and Rothchild respectively that ultimately led to the producer’s departure from the band after about four years of fruitful collaboration.

So, in December 1970, The Doors were left on their own for the first time in the recording studio. In the rehearsing space of their office, the group began refining and recording the songs that would make up "L.A. Woman".

Supporting them as the new producer and technical supervisor was the outstanding sound engineer Botnick, who, like Rothchild, had been working with the Californian quartet since the summer of 1966.

Among the "work in progress" tapes from the sessions for this LP, we also find "Riders On The Storm" (link here). Throughout the eighteen minutes that have survived, we can hear a transitional version of the song.

In it, we can appreciate Jerry Scheff’s electric bass (he was hired as a session musician for the making of "L.A. Woman") and the final rhythm, which has a more relaxed tempo than the demo.

Additionally, the track features the band trying out a series of takes of varying lengths, ranging from a few seconds to four minutes, interspersed with comments from Morrison. It is precisely the singer’s remarks between takes that offer two particularly interesting moments.

The first, from min. 7:40 to min. 8:00, features Morrison singing the theme song of a 1950s children's variety show based on "Ridin' Down the Trail in Albuquerque" (a Western song from the 1930s). Shortly afterward, he mentions "Rawhide", another Western theme from a late-1950s television series.

In this way, Morrison reaffirms the origins of "Riders on the Storm", written in the fall of 1970 while The Doors were experimenting with the riff from the 1948 Western song "Ghost Riders in the Sky" by Stan Jones.

Another noteworthy moment occurs from min. 13:54 to min. 14:20, when Morrison suggests adding thunder and rain sounds to the song. The frontman's idea is immediately welcomed by everyone present, and it will be later implemented on the official track.

The demo and the "work in progress" version of "Riders on the Storm" take us behind the scenes of one of The Doors' best-known and most beloved compositions.

Using this blog’s search function, you can read five other articles exploring the official recording of this song: the bass–drum interplay, the use of the rain, R. Krieger’s guitar, J. Morrison’s vocals and lyrics, and R. Manzarek’s electric piano solo.

My book "The Doors Through Strange Days"- The most comprehensive journey ever made through The Doors' second LP, is available on Amazon.com, .uk, .it, .mx, .ca, etc.

Here’s a link:

Amazon – “The Doors Through Strange Days”