An American Prayer - Jim Morrison and the Doors

This 1978 release - 7 years after Morrison's death - received mixed reviews but I was pretty enthralled with it when it arrived. At this time Patti Smith and her mix of poetry and rock'n'roll - heavily influenced by Morrison - was pretty much at the height of her popularity and many punk rockers continued to praise Morrison even as they railed against most of the old guard. I was always a fan of the Doors and was becoming more interested in lyrical intricacies - whether or not any of my songs ever showed that - and I thought that this release truly showed the power of the spoken word.

Originally, Morrison recorded his poetry on his own, with the plan to eventually release it, some say without any input from the other members of the Doors. But, his death obviously prevented that and I think that everyone involved understood that this would reach a wider audience with the assistance from the other surviving members of the band.

The record ends up being a college of Jim's spoken words on their own, some backed with music from the band - I remember Manzarek mentioning Morrison's rhythmic, lyrical cadence that made his poetry feel like song lyrics (although I'm sure they were manipulated to some extent to fit with the music) - and some live cuts from the group at their peak, especially the classic live take of "Roadhouse Blues".

This is certainly not for everyone, not even every Doors fan, but if can appreciate the man's poetry and are open minded to a somewhat experimental record, than this is a pretty rewarding experience. At the time, some of the language seemed almost shocking, although now that is almost quaint, but this is certainly not safe for work.

(I don't know if there is a new reissue of this album, but something brought this to my attention again recently. I'm sure it is available in some format, although the LP has a nice booklet with the words included along with some excellent photos.)