THE DOORS
Philadelphia Arena
Philadelphia, PA
1968-08-04
Format: mp3 320kbps
Tracklist:01 - When The Music's Over 13:47
02 - Alabama Song (Whisky Bar) 1:47
03 - Back Door Man 4:02
04 - Five To One 6:41
05 - Spanish Caravan 3:50
06 - The WASP (Texas Radio and the Big Beat) 1:31
07 - Hello, I Love You 2:15
08 - Wake Up! 1:25
09 - Light My Fire 10:29
From Greg Shaw's book The Doors On The Road:After a brief introduction, the Doors lead off with "When the Music's Over." The show that follows is very fast paced, almost rushed. Police are scattered around the front of the stage, facing the audience as if in anticipation of difficulties. Their imposing presence seems to provoke the crowd. Midway through the first song, someone in the audience begins to taunt one of the officers. Morrison, observing the situation, speaks to the person in the audience saying, "Oh, leave the poor kid (referring to the policeman) alone! He's just doing his job. Just think what would happen! All those criminals and assassins!" Then after a brief pause, Morrison leads into his poetry, "The Royal Sperm."
Robby Krieger's guitar playing is phenomenal tonight. As "Back Door Man" moves into "Five to One," he takes a commanding solo that screeches with wild distortion, while John Densmore attacks his drums with equal fury. After this medley, they pause long enough for Jim to make a request for a cigarette and a beer from the audience. Then Krieger vaults into what must be one of the most dramatic versions of "Spanish Caravan" he's ever performed, complete with piercing loops of feedback that reverberate throughout the arena.
Before their finale, Morrison asks the crowd, "What do you guys want to hear?" and everyone began shouting at once. Jim barks in response, "One at a time, I can't hear you!" but to no avail. He settles the matter by beginning to recite "Texas Radio and the Big Beat." This leads directly into "Hello, I Love You," and without missing a beat they jump into "Wake Up!" and then "Light My Fire." By the time this final medley arrives at "Light My Fire," Morrison is going wild. He shouts and grunts throughout the song, while the police, visibly disturbed, begin to form a dense semicircular barricade in front of the stage. At the end of Ray's solo, Jim maniacally calls out to no one in particular, "Yeah! Have you got anything to say?" Before there is a chance for any response, Krieger bursts into an incredibly loud and wildly distorted solo. The Doors finish "Light My Fire" and swiftly exit the stage, determined to avoid any suggestion of an encore.
One reader of Philadelphia's Distant Drummer writes these comments on the show in a letter to the editor: "The Doors' concert Sunday night at the Arena was one time which the long hot wait really paid off. When the Doors' performance finally did get underway (around 10:30), the result was one of the finest, if not the greatest, shows I've ever seen. Between the tremendous vocal talent of Jim Morrison, and the musical competence of the entire accompanying group, the night was well worth the sweat and discomfort." (G. Dangel, "Readers' Feedback," Distant Drummer, Aug. 1968)
My notes:
The sound is crackling at times, but this audience tape is an outstanding example of The Doors performing at their best, both lyrically and musically, before the transition into the more bluesy groove of 1970. A must have recording.
Download:
http://nkmrsm.link-protector.com - mediafire
