LPCDreissues: Looking forward to the past

When The Doors were hard at work on L.A. Woman they received an inquiry from a Toronto-based writer who worked with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Most interviews were denied at this point in time, especially if there wasn't anything new to talk about, like a new album hitting the stores. But this person, Tony Thomas, wanted to talk intelligently about something other than The Doors and Jim's iconic status. He wanted to talk about Jim's poetry and the upcoming publication of The Lords And The New Creatures, Jim's first published poetry book, of which he was very proud.In May 1970, Jim Morrison sat and talked with Thomas at The Doors’ West Hollywood office. The interview was reportedly aired as a brief news excerpt, but the interview in its entirely has never broadcast or published. Also included is one of The Doors’ earliest radio interviews. Booked to play a gig at the University Of New York at Oswego in upstate New York, the band agreed with Elektra's East Coast Radio Promotion Man to do an interview to promote their debut album. Just prior to showtime, backstage, in walks the interviewer, carrying a small reel-to-reel tape recorder on loan from the University's Audio/Visual Department. Confronted by what Manzarek today recalls as "a short, sophomoronic, chubby geek," the band was clearly disappointed by what they learned to be true reason for the interview -- that it was to be broadcast only on a local radio station with "a range of approximately thirty yards," to quote Manzarek again, and about as many watts, that the radio station prohibited the broadcast of rock 'n' roll, and, finally, that this guy only had an interview show that was to feature "locals and guests." Given the context, this interview may be more revealing for what it doesn't contain than what it does (which is not to say the interview is not entertaining -- far from it!)-- Doors manager Danny Sugerman(Each interview has been mastered from the best available surviving source. Please note, however, that the 1967 Oswego interview contains several audio anomalies -- as can be heard at the start of the The Ed Sullivan Show excerpt -- which are inherent in the original recording). Bright Midnight ArchivesThis is the real thing, as The Doors played it, without intrusive overdubs or fixes. While technical glitches remain, and the tape sound is sometimes primitive, the performance quality and historical significance make Bright Midnight Archives releases essential in any Doors collection. Most Bright Midnight Archives releases are neither individually numbered nor limited editions.
TRACK LISTING 1. 1970 CANADIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION INTERVIEW (26:49) 2. 1967 UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK AT OSWEGO INTERVIEW (28:22)