Hear the scream of the butterfly... (ahhhhhhh!)

Hailed as the group's darkest album, "Strange Days" revolves around the hippie movement of the '60s and the Vietnam war. Although most songs were made during the same time as their debut, both are completely different sounding albums. One shouldn't make the mistake by labeling this album as an album containing a bunch of leftovers (or just a "continuation") and saying their debut got the best. Try to picture the songs "Strange Days," "Moonlight Drive," "Horse Latitudes," or "People Are Strange" on their debut album. The flow of their debut album would sound weird. In other words, it wouldn't work.



Jim Morrison was a visionary and probably the most prophetic figure of his time. Look beyond his drunkeness, look beyond his good looks, look beyond his lovely voice and just hear what he has to say. This is an album about isolation, loss, and the loneliness that many people endured during the times of the Vietnam war. The title track could be about the drafting, which have "found" many men, "strange days" referring to the times of war, destroying "our casual joys," and people running away from it. Some of the tracks like "You're Lost Little Girl" and "Unhappy Girl" could center around the mind of the women, who are alone, sad, and confused, who were left behind while their men are away fighting. "Love Me Two Times," a song written by Robby Krieger, is a song about a man spending some time with his girl before he goes away to Vietnam. "Moonlight Drive," the song Jim first sung to Ray, could be about what a couple would do once the man comes back from the war. "People Are Strange" is another song about loneliness and feeling unwanted. "My Eyes Have Seen You" is perhaps a woman finding a new love, being liberated, and showing the whole world her beauty. "I Can't See Your Face" could be what's going on in a soldier's mind before he dies. "When the Music's Over," the grandioso rock epic alternative to "The End," a song of people fed up with what's wrong with the world (in this case, the war). An anthem for the hippie movement. An in-your-face statement. Sticking it to the man. As for "Horse Latitudes"? Hmm... I dunno... a bad dream about horses? Hey, I'm just trying to connect the dots here (and I do know that Jim wrote this in high school... all the more reason to explain why he's a prophet).



Jim Morrison's voice is still something that amazes me. Soft and romantic at one point, shifting into his chaotic and rebellious mode the next. Ray Manzarek... what more can be said about this brilliant organist? Damn fine talent. Robby Krieger, one of rock's underrated guitarists, adds more creativeness with his slide-guitar technique, making a unique sound. And John Densmore... the man that keeps the band together with his drumming.



"Strange Days" is probably not a "concept album" by any means whatsoever. It's probably not even like how I just described it. But that's just how I see it. And I'm showing why it's not just an album full of leftovers, but merely how it works as an album on its own.



"Strange Days" is the Doors' darkest album, but often misunderstood. And it comes close to being their best album.

Strange Days

This follow up to the first album really established the Doors as a force to be reckoned with back in the late 60's. Not only are the songs on this album great but i also love the cover on the album. In this album the songs are very psychedelic and groovy. This album also gives some of Jim's poetry some nice airtime with the little ditty Horse Latitudes, no instruments, just a bunch of people screaming in the background and banging on things while Jim does his thing, Cool! One of Jim's favorite songs is on this album, Love me two times (which was written by Robby Krieger). I highly recommend this album! Popular songs on this album include: Love me Two times, Moonlight drive, and People are Strange.

great cd

next to the doors' self titled album, this one is probally the best. Jim Morrison is truly "an american poet" and some of his best work is on this cd. my favorite, lyric-wise, is probally 'cant see your face in my mind'. i definetly recommend this cd.

A few gems amongst the leftovers on the second Doors album

"Strange Days" is just what you would expect to find in terms of a second album from a new group that has just put out a smash debut album. The self-titled first album of the Doors culled the group's best songs from their repertoire. Most of the songs here were written around the same time and if you had to reshuffle the tracks from the first pair of albums to make the debut effort even better you are talking about the title track, "Love Me Two Times" and "People Are Strange." The music is still the distinctive combination of psychedelic instrumentation and unconventional arrangements with the poetic visions of Jim Morrison, but the results are just not quite as great as that first outing.



The opening track is interesting because in addition to Ray Manzarek's organ, Robbie Krieger's guitar, and John Densmore's drum, they have actually added a session musician, Doug Lubhan, to play bass. Meanwhile, Morrison sings about how "Strange days have found us/Strange days have tracked us down/They're going to destroy/Our casual joys/We shall go on playing/Or find a new town." There is a point there and the youth culture and the Sixties, but I find it hard to believe most of the people listening to this album in 1967 were thinking deep thoughts. "Love Me Two Times" is the big blues-rocker on the album, distinguished by Kreiger's captivating guitar riff and the great harpsichord solo from Manzarek. I know Morrison was the photogenic front man for the Doors, Manzarek and Kreiger were just as responsible for the group's unique sound.



"Love Me Two Times" was a minor hit single off of the album, but its ascendancy was derailed when Morrison was arrested at a gig in New Haven, Connecticut. The first single released from the album was "People Are Strange," a rather simple song with Morrison singing about how "People are strange when you're a stranger/Faces look ugly when you're alone," starting off against Krieger's guitar playing before adding a bit of honkey tonk piano. Again there is a notion of Morrison singing about being outcasts and embracing the notion. The difference is this time the music stays out of the way so the lyrics stand out more.



Of the rest of the tracks on "Strange Days" the best are the weird "You're Lost Little Girl" and the funky "Moonlight Drive," which may well be the oldest Doors song around and which again features Manzarak's keyboard playing. "My Eyes Have Seen You" and "I Can't See Your Face In My Mind" are nothing special and then the album ends with the 11-minute "When the Music's Over." This was a big number when the group played live (the alternative last song to "The End"), but it loses something in the studio. There is a solid beginning and end, but in the middle everybody gets to improvise while Morrison screams about ecological issues. However, the jamming tends to detract from the song as a political statement. All things considered, "Strange Days" would probably be considered a better album if we did not compare it to "The Doors."

Their finest hour

Strange Days (1967.) Doors' second album.

In 1967 the Doors came onto the growing rock and roll scene with their self-titled debut, which has become known as one of the greatest rock and roll albums of all time. With that album, Jim Morrison, John Densmore, Ray Manzerek, and Robbie Krieger proved that they were musical masterminds with serious potential. Before 1967 had drawn to a close, the guys released their second studio album, Strange Days. How does this one measure up? Read on for my review.

The first Doors album was a classic rock masterpiece, and no fan of the band can deny that. But the whole truth is simple - their second album is even better! In my opinion, this is the band's best work. Two of the band's biggest hits of all, Love Me Two Times and People Are Strange, emerged from this album. These are two of the best rock songs of all time, no questions asked. But, as with any band, there is more to the Doors than the hits! You could call this the most psychedelic of all of the doors releases; it's even "darker" than their first album. The title track that kicks off the album grabs your attention, and holds onto it. It is immediately followed by You're Lost Little Girl, a track of similar stylings which is no less excellent. Unhappy Girl, track number four, features some of Ray Manzerek's finest organ usage, and it especially shows in one of the song's instrumental breaks. The only weak track on this album is Horse Latitudes, which is basically Jim Morrison giving a weird speech. Moonlight Drive, the next track, is one of the stranger tracks featured on this album, but it too is excellent. It's actually quite catchy. I Can't See Your Face In My Mind and My Eyes Have Seen You are severely underrated rockers that should have been bigger hits. And, of course, we have the album closer. When The Music's Over is one of the band's lengthy epics that fans of the band have come to know and love. Although it never gained the popularity of, let's say, The End, it is still excellent. All in all, a great album.

Sure, fans of the band would beg to differ, but I feel that this is the best Doors album overall. They'd release six excellent albums in their career, but in my opinion, one of them would ever exceed the extremely high quality of this one. This album is recommended to all fans of classic rock.

Highly emotive, richly mysterious, melodically astounding

The Doors broke new ground once again, this time releasing a collection of songs some may feel is uneven; but this one pays great dividends the more you listen to it; myself I only half-listened for years, but just recently, finally put forth the effort. Though initially not all the tunes seemed melodically accessible - after I invested a bit more time and sensibility, the dividends started to accrue in a dramatically meaningful fashion.

The way the engineer manages to allow all the instruments and the vocals to be heard and still maintain the Doors' signature murky sound is amazing. But it would be nothing if the musicians didn't allow every part/moment to dovetail together. Robby Krieger brilliantly re-invents the guitar (tonally, melodically, and harmonically) on every song, as well as on every instrumental break of "When the Music's Over", the long song/poem which closes out album. Ray Manzarek counters with mostly organ, but at times barroom piano or harpsichord. From him, also, you don't hear the same kinds of riffs or the same sound palette from song to song. And at times, each will be heard overdubbing a part with a different tonal setting, melody and rhythm, panned to the opposite side of the stereo field. So you'll have two organs, or else two guitars riffing off of each other, while Morrison's vocal pleads/saddens/exults/growls/hovers/screams somewhere in between.

On the cover is a blue-tinted photograph of all these animated circus performers (somewhat reminiscent of Picasso's more quiescent painting of the "Family of Saltimbaques" from his Rose Period - the record is indeed the quintessential dark metaphysical/emotional/visceral circus. 'Sergeant Pepper' and 'The United States of America' may have started the carnival ball rolling . . . 'Strange Days' and [Procol Harum's] 'Shine On Brightly' rolled the big sonic circus ball underground, undersea, into heaven and hell and all points between.

[The song ] "Strange Days" is the perfect beginning for what's to come [like a giant violet-and-gold-hued moth emerging from its chrysalis in the dead of night]. Ray Manzarek switches drawbars on his Hammond B-3 organ every four beats of the repeating ostinado introduction, creating a luscious viscerally appealing four-bar lead in. The three instrumentalists working in tandem generate an unbelievably inventive melodic/harmonic sound space. Morrison, when he reprises a verse does it differently each time, with intensely emoted melodic inversions, submersions, etc. His voice is fed through an electronic delay box (emerging ~½ beat late) and through some sort of weird combo algorithm of distortion/reverb/tremelo, then panned slightly left of his real vocal sound, the whole which further augments the already disjointed, mysterious atmosphere. The bassist has the main melody during instrumental breaks - the organ plays chord changes over his expressive (almost meandering) ostinado pattern. Even the drums are melodically impressionistic, in addition to providing the usual function of sonic timekeeping.

Every song has something very different to say, both musically and lyrically. And the message, the poetry is, to my mind, moving and profound. Listen to the meaning of the words with your heart - your mind and possibly your life will never be the same. When Jim is singing about something that enrages him, the emotion is obvious; and when he sings about something that is sad or saddening to him, you hear the empathy in his voice. This is no detached, lightweight ego-tripper. The Doors are totally involved, totally committed to their muse(s), and it implodes/explodes/seeps into you with every beat and every phrase. "We want the world . . . and we want it . . . NOW!!!!!"...