Ray Manzarek - The Golden Scarab
Mercury Records, 1974




White label promo copy of Ray Manzarek's debut solo album.

Recorded after the breakup of The Doors, this is a fairly odd concept album that features some top-notch talent. Not only is Manzarek in fine form on the keyboards, but there's also Larry Carlton on guitar, Tony Williams on drums, Jerry Scheff on bass (a great session player who also appeared on several Doors albums), and a guest appearance from Patti Smith who contributes some bizarre vocals to "I Wake Up Screaming."

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The Doors - The Soft Parade
originally released by Elektra, 1969 - this pressing by Analogue Productions, 2012



The fourth studio LP from The Doors. There's been so much written about the making of this album that I can't really add anything new. What I can say is the pressing in the photo above is by far the best sounding of the ones I have heard, and I've heard almost all of them. This one is cut at 45 RPM and spread out across two LPs. The detail in the sound absolutely blows away any other version you're likely to find.

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Gordon Rekcikssa
Ray Manzarek - The Golden Scarab
Mercury Records, 1974

Never heard this before and listening to those two tracks, odd is a good description. I'm not too keen on Ray's vocals but the music seems interesting - definitely some big players involved there.

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The Doors - Miami 69
Living Theatre Records, 1969



Bootleg LP with audio taken from The Doors infamous show that took place in Miami on March 1, 1969. This is the gig that would cause their entire US tour to be cancelled, and end up with Jim Morrison being brought up on several charges ranging from public drunkenness to indecent exposure.

The events of that night vary from person to person, though the most reliable accounts are the ones from the band members themselves. Ray Manzarek and John Densmore wrote extensively about the night in their respective autobiographies, and I would refer anyone interested in what actually led to this shitshow to those books.

The sound on this LP is clearly taken from an audience recording, and can charitably be described as "pretty poor." There are other bootlegs around from this show, none of them sounding any better than this does. They tend to be produced in very limited quantities (this one is from a pressing run of 100), and are insanely expensive when you consider the quality of the recording. Buy at your own risk.

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