5 stars for content, 1 star for value

$90 for 7 CD's = $13 per CD which is more than you would pay retail. No session info so you essentially pay for a cardboard box, a fawning essay from a Doors fan, and the nifty facsimile packaging. And some previously unpublished photographs in the rather cheap booklet (at least the booklet claims the photographs are unpublished). Shame on you if you buy this from a discount record club! How about Botnick's 24-bit remaster? Pretty nice, although "Unknown Soldier" still sounds like a bad source tape. The rarities disk is mostly good, although "Orange County Suite" is very boring.

A fitting set to an amazing band

A band like The Doors rarely ever comes around, a band so original, inspired and of such abstract thought that they cause your jaw to hit the floor in awe. Though you can get a mild interpertation of what the band is about through a greatest hits disc, your money is better spent investing in a box set as such, which contains all six of the bands stuido albums and a bonus sampler from another box set which contains several rarities including an unreleased song. The set itself is beautifully packaged, each CD in an LP like case including a protective sleeve around the disc complete with the artwork on it each disc cover is that of the original record label. Depsite what many have said and will say this is worth your money, and if you go and look at your local CD store the prices of these CD's individually are much more expensive contrary to the belief that this set is not even a value.

Complete?

Complete? Not very complete at all. It is only the six studio LP's plus some "not-so-studio" live/demo filler (fodder?).



I really wished to have seen Elektra release a "Complete Studio Recordings" of The Doors. Where are all the 45 rpm versions? Where are all the monophonic recordings? Other Voices and Full Circle albums (even if they are lousy)?



Did you ever wonder why the old monophonic LP's fetch good $$$$? They are different than the stereo versions we have been stuck with since the demise of "mono" records. The Doors recorded and/or mixed different takes in mono. (I bet the "kids" at Elektra were all born after the 1st mono pressings rolled off the stampers!)



So, fellow Doors fans (being one myself), I gave such a low rating because it is very much an incomplete collection of the Doors music; definately not because of musical content. Seeing the words "Complete Studio Recordings" gave such a rush...only to be let down. :(

Good but incomplete

The Doors are recognized as one of America's greatest classic rock bands of all time, and why not? Their music rules! Jim Morrison and the boys were some of the world's finest musicians, and although their days as the band were short, during those years they shelled out some of the finest songs in rock and roll history. And now the band has compiled a box set of their recordings! Read on for my review of this package.

PROS:
-All six of the band's classic studio albums are available in this set - The Doors, Strange Days, Waiting for the Sun, The Soft Parade, Morrison Hotel, and L.A. Woman.
-The compilation features an essential rarities disc, including an ultra-rare track, Woman is a Devil.
-The box includes a handy booket with a ton of useful and interesting liner notes.
-Buying this set is a better value than buying all of the band's material separately.

CONS:
-The band wasted a lot of CD space - they could easily have condensed this material to take up LESS THAN six discs.
-If you're a die-hard Doors fan, there's probably nothing here that you don't already own.
-As another reviewer stated, this IS NOT the Complete Studio Recordings - the albums that the band created after Jim Morrison's death aren't here. Also, the American Prayer album and many other previously unreleased studio sessions (such as Celebration Of The Lizard) aren't available here.

OVERALL:
Overall, despite minor flaws, this is an excellent box set for one of America's greatest rock and roll bands. If you're a classic rock fan, don't bother with hits compilations - be a man and shell out the cash for this set. It's a set worthy in the collection of every fan of classic rock.

Light My Fire!!!

I've been an admirer of The Doors' hit songs for as long as I can remember. Most of the songs are very catchy if you're not careful, particularly "Light My Fire". The vocals of Jim Morrison will always live on in the minds of Doors fans. I've always been impressed by some of the songs Morrison sang that sounded very touching since he lived in a world of drama during his short life. The last song he recorded with the band, "Riders of the Storm" ended with his voice fading away in the storm as if he was sadly saying good-bye. As I repeatedly listened to the end of that song, I realized right there he was on his way toward the world of immortality.

This is the one!

I saw the Doors with Jim twice live. No other group gives me such a visceral reaction as this band. I have every legal recording of the Doors music in duplicate. I also went to visit Jim's grave in Paris. I love the Doors.
In my opinion, this is the definitive set to have. The remastering is vibrant and rejuvenates the music. The packaging (cd sized original lp jackets with original inner sleeves) has allowed me to store my old lps for safe keeping. Talk about "desert island records"... get a second copy "for the road".