According to YouTube this is the dirty version, which was apparently recorded at a sound check with no audience, since if Jim sang such stuff about cocks to the crowd just months after getting arrested in Miami for exposing his own, well that would be stupid.
Whatever.
The power of this music is that the Doors, by plan or by psychosis, played every show differently. Morrison was obviously the wild card, but how the band adapted to his, um, excursions mattered a lot, too.
And the power of Morrison’s music cannot be underestimated. He’s the voice, the face, the vibe of this band, even if Manzarek and Densmore are super players. Which they are. They pale beside the mountain of good and bad news that is Morrison. We all would, wouldn’t we?
In any case, I love the video here, even though it obscures or maybe recontextualizes the song. It is old archival video, which is gold but doesn’t always suit the meaning of this particular audio.
At the same time, I know Patti Smith heard this, and good for her.
This is really great. Doors at their best, for certain, and you are also right that Densmore and Manzerak are really good.
Also correct on how Morrison went, so went the band. My friend Stephen Clayton (guy I met in pre-school, blah blah) saw them twice. Once, when Morrison wasn’t drunk and they were fantastic, and another time, when he was totally blasted, and they stunk.
Yes on Patti!