The Very Best of the Doors

If, like me, you've been a Doors fan since high school, but never an "uberfan", you've probably had more than one of the studio albums and probably one of the anthologies/best ofs, etc. By first wife sto-, er, "permanently borrowed" and/or sold my copy of "LA Woman" (ironic, hunh?) and one of the anthologies.Now the discs that were "ex-wife'd", were discs made BEFORE the Industry decided there was a huge vein of gold to be mined by "remasters". So I've been able to replace long-lost discs without spending unnecessarily on albums I already have. (Even ex's have their uses, I suppose.)If you are a newb to the Doors, this collection is not only a great deal (39 tracks for $15), it sounds great. It has all of the "great" songs which made the Doors legends; tho' I agree only the most casual of fans isn't going to have some quibble with all the choices of any anthology (by any band).You're still encouraged to buy, at the very least, "L.A. Woman" if this collection confirms your taste for the Doors. The last studio album to be released before Morrison's death in Paris, Many of the greatest songs are on that album anyway.The "classics" are all here; as are some gems usually neglected by AOR--"The WASP: Texas Radio and the Big Beat" (now condescendingly called "Classic Rock" by these punk kids who think that "rock" began with Nirvana, "Oh ye of little knowledge (and less taste!)"As for the sound quality, I found it excellent (especially compared to the three or four songs I'd downloaded from iTunes @128kpbs AAC; good codec but at the bit-rate you can't expect much).Over all, the remastering benefits this set.In particular, the remaster of "Love Me Two Times" is exactly what a remaster should be. It brings out depths--and heights--here to fore missing in analogue-to-digital transfers of the material. I felt like I sitting at Robby Krieger's feet as he plucked out the jangling signature notes of the song's hook."People Are Strange", perhaps the most "perfect" song they ever recorded, sound wonderful clean and its sardonic refrain never cut more precisely.More generally,Manzarek's organ has gained a sharpness and a smoothness that I've never heard before on a Door's recording (and my first one was on vinyl--yes I know how I'm dating myself!). The often muddied passages on both analogue and digital media, have vanished, leaving this stop-gap for synthesizers (I'm almost happy that the Doors never had the chance to move into synths; Morrison's voice, as pointed out by another reviewer, WAS the band's primary instrument. The tendency of synths to become the centerpiece of a band's sound regardless of the vocalist's skill/charisma was never something that the Door's had to face.)The "imitation" bass used on some cuts sounds, unfortunately, even more "imitation." The tracks where session bass players were brought it are immediately noticeable. It's too bad that Krieger was the ace on bass that he was on guitar where he must be placed in the first row of the second tier of World's Greatest Guitarists.The drums, as they almost always do, gain from having as much of analogue's hiss (and vinyl's snap-crackle-and-pop) eliminated. Always properly-miked, I gained new respect for just how carefully the Doors crafted their sound. While not in the same league as Pink Floyd or Led Zeppelin in that department, neither of those two bands had a phenom as a lead singer (no slight intended to Robert Plant, but Morrison has an almost Sinatran [?] ability to control his phrasing; and when he's on his game, he could match Ol' Blue Eyes. A strange comparison, I'll admit, but if you're familiar with the Chairman of the Board and the Admiral's Son, then pick a few tracks of Sinatra's and a few Door's gems and listen to them. You'll see that the Southern California Navy brat had chops almost as polished as the working-class kid from Hoboken.One downside of the remasters' new clarity is the strain that can sometimes be heard in Morrison's voice, whether from over-singing (perhaps pushing to meet deadlines or simply conscious of how little time he had left) or the insane lifestyle that he led (anyone wanting a guide on how to "live young, die fast and..." and squander talent on loan from God, should check out, "No One Here Gets Out Alive" by Jerry Hopkins and Danny Sugarman, the title coming from the lyrics of "Five to One"; thankfully the book is still in print; search Amazon in books and look for the $10 paperback).On "Roadhouse Blues" I can hear Morrison straining to reach for the higher notes, probably the results, of drinking, smoking and his industrial promiscuity.A word on the whole phenomenon of remasters....which has been called one of the greatest rip-offs ever perpetrated by the record companies.Sometimes this has been true, sometimes not. Though I should think even the most experienced PR flack would be hard put to answer the question, "Why weren't the albums remastered when first converted to digital?The results haven't always been worth the wait or the extra cash. The Rush Remasters, over all, haven't done much to improve the sound--which was always excellent even the bad, old days of vinyl acetate (don't be fooled by the bellyaching of those pining for snap-crackle-and-pop of LP records: CDs are an improvement in everyway).The remaster of the Who's seminal classic "Who's Next" sounds almost identical to the first CD I ever bought of it. Apparently, they nailed it down the first time they recorded it; large applications of that questionable medication "Studio Magic" weren't needed.We can argue whether or not the Doors' NEEDED to issue this remastered set. I say yes. For the reasons I outlined for both newbs and for those of us whose collections went the way of "The Lizard King", this set fills in the crucial gaps for those bereft for those just beginning to explore Jim Morrison's "Doors of Perception." The "pre-remastered" Zep CDs sounded better, in my view, than Pagey's multiple remastering efforts. They were punchier, "warmer" (subjective as that term is), somehow more raw. The newer versions are sharper, clearer, colder, more precise. Something is gained , something lost.My BIGGEST complaint is that these discs ARE not SACD Hybrids. I know the format is generally considered to have failed to catch on with all but audiophiles (which, in Industry Speak means jazz and art--"classical"--music lovers), there are still plenty of us who know the Doors deserve the absolute best in digital reproduction and SACD is it!If you, like me, once had more extensive (music) collection and had it suffer from losses from poverty/fire/theft/ex-wife, etc, and don't particularly feel like buying all six of the studio albums or a hefty (price and other-wise) boxed set (what was the point of including duplicate DVD-As? in that set? the smart thing to do would have been to issue them as single, Hybrid SACDs, that way those interested in the highest fidelity available, would have the option while the SINGLE disc would still work in everyone of the 600M CD players on Earth, this gives you everything you loved about the Doors. After all, SACDs can travel with you and will play in your car stereo CD (or their copies, if you be wise enough to burn personal copies to protect the original--a must if you ask me: it keeps your CDDA collection in pristine condition).

Great stuff

One of my top musical groups. Love this compilation!

Fast delivery and sounding great!

Before buying this CD I read all the existing reviews here. I must say that there is a basis for both the positive and the negative opinions. I've now gone through and "A-B'd" the songs on this CD with prior releases. In general, I'd say that all of the songs on the 1999 re-master of the group's first album "The Doors" sound much brighter on that CD and Morrison's voice is much clearer and to the front on that CD than on this CD. Those same songs on this CD sound as though Morrison is singing through a wet blanket. This re-mix/re-master has buried his vocal on those tunes. And on this new CD "Light My Fire" has been speeded up just a hair. The running times listed for that song on the 1999 "The Doors" CD and this CD differ by 8 seconds. The version on this CD is admittedly clearer, but it's speeded up ever so slightly resulting in a tiny difference in the key. This version makes it sound like they are rushing.However, I do admit that compared to this newer version of "Light My Fire" the older version sounds more durge-like and it's a bit muddy. Perhaps this new version is the tempo at which the song was originally recorded and for some reason back in '67 when they did the original mix they slowed the tape. Other bands have speeded up or slowed down their tapes during the mixing process in order to achieve the sound they wanted, so I wouldn't be surprised if that was the case here. But, muddy or not, durge or not, I confess I'm used to the original version on "The Doors" album and will stick with that one. Some people may prefer this more "peppy" version.But having said all that, I must also say that not all of this CD is inferior to prior versions. Some of the band's later releases actually sound better on this CD. "Love Me Two Times," "Love Her Madly," "Riders On The Storm," "LA Woman," "Touch Me" and "Roadhouse Blues" all have benefited from the new treatment. Clean, bright and well balanced. Personally I could do without the moaning of the additional re-mixed harmonica at the beginning of "Roadhouse Blues," but the rest of the song sounds so good that I'll live with it.So, as I said, I think there's a basis here for both the positive and negative opinions. Don't let the negative reviews dissuade you from buying this "Best Of" compilation. The CD provides an admirable cross section of The Doors' work, offering both the radio hits and some good album cuts. If you're only going to use this for casual listening or if you're not that familiar with The Doors and are interested in a relatively comprehensive compilation of their recordings, then this would be a good purchase. Yes, some of the reviewers (including me) have some negative opinions about the sonic quality of some of the songs on this CD. But in all fairness I don't think the casual listener is going to be concerned about that. These are good songs by a great band that you'll enjoy listening to.

Another artist who left us way too soon. We do have this collection of top hits to enjoy though.

Great production, mix was great. Love this CD.

its okay

Bought it for my grandson aged 21 and he loves it!

Raccolta in due cd dei brani dei Doors. Sicuramente valida specie per chi non possiede altri album della mitica band. Quasi ogni brano é secondo me significativo ma avrei cercato di inserire il tutto in un unico cd perché a mio parere i due cd non sono dello stesso livello artistico. Articolo arrivato nei tempi previsti

Good Cd, some of the best songs of The Doors a must for the car if you still have CD player or at home if you still have this too! I still have them all CD, Vinyl, Cassettes but no 8 tracks and 78rpm!

Must have for all fans & a great double album for the person who doesn’t know them!!!

LPs y CDs