The early version was recorded at Sunset Sound Studios in Los Angeles in November 1970 as The Doors worked on new material for their sixth album with longtime producer Paul Rothchild before he quit the project and the group relocated to the Workshop – the band’s rehearsal space on Santa Monica Boulevard – and partnered with engineer Bruce Botnick.
While overseeing the 2021 reissue, Rolling Stone reports Botnick recently discovered the long-forgotten demo on what he called a hub, the aluminum center of a reel that the tapes wound around; that one take was all that was on the unlabeled hub.
“We came upon that and went, ‘Oh, my God,'” explains Botnick. “And the funny thing is, when it got transferred, it got transferred backwards. So I had to flip it electronically, and when I heard it, I went, ‘Holy tamales, look what we’ve got.’ We had no idea there was even any aural record of the (original) sessions.”
Due December 3, “L.A. Woman: 50th Anniversary Deluxe Edition” is a 3CD/1LP set that includes the original album newly remastered by Botnick, two bonus discs of unreleased studio outtakes, and the stereo mix of the original album on 180-gram virgin vinyl; the music will also be available from digital and streaming services the same day, as will a new Dolby Atmos mix of the original album by Botnick.
For this new collection, the original album has been expanded with more than two hours of unreleased recordings taken from the sessions for "L.A. Woman", allowing the listener to experience the progression of each song as it developed in the studio. An early demo for “Hyacinth House”, recorded at Robby Krieger’s home studio in 1969, is also included.
The outtakes feature Jim Morrison, John Densmore, Robby Krieger and Ray Manzarek working in the studio with two additional musicians: the first was rhythm guitarist Marc Benno, who worked with Leon Russell in The Asylum Choir; the other was bassist Jerry Scheff, who was a member of Elvis Presley’s TCB band.
In the studio, Botnick says the band took a more organic approach to recording instead of starting and stopping repeatedly to achieve technical perfection.
“The previously unreleased reels here – serial takes of ‘The Changeling,’ ‘Love Her Madly,’ ‘Riders On The Storm,’ and ‘L.A. Woman’ – depict a band obsessed with groove while executing turns and flourishes with the precision of a well-drilled soul combo…The idea was to go from song to song, to let it flow.”
Among the outtakes of album tracks, fans will also hear the band jamming on a series of blues classics, including Junior Parker’s “Mystery Train,” John Lee Hooker’s “Crawling King Snake,” Big Joe Williams’ “Baby Please Don’t Go,” and “Get Out Of My Life Woman,” Lee Dorsey’s 1966 classic, written by his producer Allen Toussaint.
Recorded over six days at the Workshop, “L.A. Woman” reached No. 9 on the US Billboard 200 and went on to sell more than 2 million copies in the region; three months after its release, Morrison died in Paris, France at the age of 27.
The 2021 project follows previously-released expanded 50th anniversary reissues of The Doors’ self-titled 1967 debut, 1967’s “Strange Days”, 1968’s “Waiting For The Sun”, 1969’s “The Soft Parade”, and 1970’s “Morrison Hotel.”
With sales of more than 100 million records worldwide, The Doors were inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 1993.
The Doors
“L.A. Woman: 50th Anniversary Deluxe Edition”
Release date: December 3
Disc One: Original Stereo Mix Remastered
01. “The Changeling”
02. “Love Her Madly”
03. “Been Down So Long”
04. “Cars Hiss By My Window”
05. “L.A. Woman”
06. “L’America”
07. “Hyacinth House”
08. “Crawling King Snake”
09. “The WASP (Texas Radio And The Big Beat)”
10. “Riders On The Storm”
Bonus Tracks
11. “Hyacinth House” – Demo
12. “Riders On The Storm” – Sunset Sound Version – Original Demo *
Disc Two: L.A. Woman Sessions, Part 1
01. “The Changeling” *
02. “Love Her Madly” *
03. “Riders On The Storm” * 04. “L.A. Woman” (Part 1) *
Disc Three: L.A. Woman Sessions, Part 2
01. “L.A. Woman” (Part 2) *
02. “She Smells So Nice” *
03. “Rock Me Baby” *
04. “Mr. Mojo Risin'” *
05. “Baby Please Don’t Go” *
06. “L.A. Woman” (Part 3) *
07. “Been Down So Long” *
08. “Get Out Of My Life Woman” *
09. “Crawling King Snake” *
10. “The Bastard Son Of Jimmy & Mama Reed (Cars Hiss By My Window)” *
11. “Been Down So Long” *
12. “Mystery Train” *
13. “The WASP (Texas Radio And The Big Beat)” *
The remastered LP track listing reflects that of the original release
* previously unreleased
See also:
Robby Krieger of The Doors to publish memoir
The Doors host Day Of The Doors virtual film festival
The Doors revisit unreleased version of Roadhouse Blues
The Doors stream Queen Of The Highway from Morrison Hotel reissue
Search The Doors at hennemusic
