NewCC0031: The Doors
- The Doors (67): **** 1/2
- Morrison Hotel (70): **** 1/2
- L.A. Woman (71): **** 1/2
- The Best of the Doors (85): **** 1/2
- 13 (70): ****
- Complete Studio Recordings (99): ****
- Strange Days (67): *** 1/2
- The Soft Parade (69): *** 1/2
- Waiting for the Sun (68): *** 1/2
- The Doors Box Set (97): *** 1/2
- Bright Midnight Records Sampler (00): *** 1/2
- In Concert (91): ***
- Classics (85): **
- American Prayer (78): **
This is a new entry in an up-dated series I'm calling the New Critical Consensus. Several people have requested updates of the older series, and since critical opinions shift, I am revamping the entire system. I am averaging the opinions of several excellent music critics to produce a list of each artist's albums. Rather than using a number system, which was perhaps a bit clunky, I will now be using a five-star system. The albums will be listed in a recommended purchasing order, so new fans will have an idea of where the best place to start buying an artist's work is.
These are not my opinions, although, since I have chosen the critics used (and I'm using many), my taste will perhaps seep through a bit.
Terribly nerdy, I know, but maybe this will help people only now beginning to dabble into certain artists' bodies of work.
Scale:
***** - Masterpiece
**** 1/2 - Classic
**** - Great
*** 1/2 - Good
*** - Above Average
** 1/2 - Average
** - Below Average
* 1/2 - Bad
* - Terrible
1/2 - One of the worst albums ever
Ok, what I don't get is how The Doors(67) isn't viewed as a masterpiece. What reasons would keep it from achieving that the elusive 5 star rating?
I'm not really sure, to be honest. The difference between a 5-star and a 4.5-star album is not a large one, and even though several of the very same critics who had years ago given the album a perfect rating have since lowered their assessment somewhat, they didn't really leave very many reasons for doing so. A few critics felt the album didn't live up to its highlights, such as The End and Break on Through, and a few mentioned an over-reliance on atmospherics (particularly Morrison's persona), but that's the best I can offer in way of explanation.
Sorry.
Shalom, y'all!
L. Bangs
It's definitely strange that The Doors' debut didn't get five stars. I think the album does live up to the highlights and does a great job of pulling together some amazingly disparate sources (German musicals and Chicago blues on the same album?!). Bad critics! Bad! Go to your rooms...
Johnny Waco