Morrison Hotel

On March 1, 1969, Jim Morrison performed while intoxicated at the Dinner Key Auditorium in Coconut Grove, Florida, in front of a crowd of nearly 12,000; he was charged for his performance and behavior with indecent exposure, on April 4.[3] The incident negatively reflected on the band's publicity, sparking a "March for Decency" at the Miami Orange Bowl.[4]

Consequently, twenty-five dates on the band's next tour were cancelled, and their records were blacklisted from radio airplay, resulting in the band abandoning the rest of their potential tour, costing what John Densmore characterized as "a million dollars in gigs."[5] Nevertheless, the band gradually regained momentum by playing concerts throughout the rest of the year, including the Toronto Rock and Roll Revival;[6] they played alongside John Lennon, among others, who later said, "supposedly the Doors were top of the bill."[7] In July, the Doors released their fourth album, The Soft Parade, a heavily orchestrated affair that augmented the band's sound with horns and strings.[8] Around early 1969, Morrison traded in his stage leathers for more conventional attire, grew a beard and gained weight as he attempted to live down his "Lizard King" image; however, his worsening alcoholism often undermined his efforts.[9]

In November, a drunken Morrison caused such a disturbance on a flight to Phoenix, Arizona, to see a Rolling Stones concert that he was charged with a new skyjacking law that carried up to a $10,000 fine and a ten-year prison sentence.[5]

Morrison Hotel's back-to-basics approach largely stemmed from the group's dismay over the protracted sessions for The Soft Parade, which took nine months to record and cost $86,000 (equal to $686,283 today), far more expensive than any previous Doors record.[5] The band had also been stung by the critical reception to the record. On Morrison Hotel, there is a slight steer toward blues, which would be fully explored by the band on their next album L.A. Woman.[10] Morrison Hotel was recorded between November 1969 and January 1970, with the exception of "Indian Summer", which was recorded on August 19, 1966[11] for The Doors,[12] while "Waiting for the Sun" actually originated during the sessions for the band's third album.[13]

Although Morrison Hotel contains no major hit singles, it features some of the band's most popular songs, including "Roadhouse Blues" and "Peace Frog", which would go on to become staples of classic rock radio. "Roadhouse Blues" took two days to record (November 4–5, 1969) with Paul Rothchild striving for perfection. Several takes from these sessions were included on the 2006 remastered album, with Morrison repeating the phrase "Money beats soul" over and over again.[14] The sessions only took off on the second day, when distinguished blues guitarist Lonnie Mack (also signed to Elektra Records) joined in on bass[15] and former Lovin' Spoonful bandleader John Sebastian (appearing under the pseudonym G. Puglese due to the constraint of his Reprise Records recording contract)[16] joined in on harmonica. Over the course of the session, keyboardist Ray Manzarek switched from his Wurlitzer electric piano to a tack piano previously used on the Beach Boys "Good Vibrations".[16]

The hook of "Peace Frog" is a distorted G5 chord played three times by Krieger, followed by a brief percussive wah-wah effect.[17] Morrison, who took the words from a notebook entitled Abortion Stories, begins nearly every line with the word "blood", often referring to "Blood in the streets",[18] which is perhaps "addressing the civic unrest then gripping the nation".[2] A brief musical interlude is next, followed by a guitar solo, and a spoken word verse ("Indians scattered on dawn's highway bleeding"). The song ends with a final chord as it segues into the next track, "Blue Sunday".[19]

"The Spy" and "Queen of the Highway" celebrate Morrison's intense but troubled relationship with longtime girlfriend Pamela Courson. Originally "The Spy" was called "Spy in the House of Love", as shown on the Master Reel Control File, a line borrowed from A Spy in the House of Love, a novel by Anaïs Nin published in 1954.[20] Both songs are tinged with ambivalence; on "The Spy," Morrison cautions, "I know your deepest, secret fears", while on "Queen of the Highway" he sardonically concludes, "I hope it can continue a little while longer". According to the 1980 Doors biography No One Here Gets Out Alive, it was during the Morrison Hotel sessions that Morrison and Courson had a violent argument after she drank his bottle of liquor so he could not drink it, with engineer Bruce Botnick recalling: "So here were the two of them, completely out of their minds and crying. He started shaking her violently. I think he was putting me on. She was crying out of control, telling him he shouldn't drink anymore and that's why she drank it. And I'm cleaning up and I said, 'Hey man, it's pretty late.' He looked up, stopped shaking her, said, 'Yeah, right', hugged her and they walked out arm in arm ... he'd always give you a funny look afterward, to see your reaction."[21]

A mimicry of the Morrison Hotel building in 2012.

The cover photo was taken by Henry Diltz at the Morrison Hotel on South Hope Street in Downtown Los Angeles. The band were not given permission to photograph, so they did it while the clerk was called away from the desk. The band jumped right behind the windows and hit their places without shuffling as Diltz took the shot.[22] The rear cover features a photograph of the Hard Rock Café at nearby 300 East 5th Street. The building is now home to a convenience store. It has been vacant for years. However, a new development plan to restore the building was announced in 2018,[23] which happened for the annual "Day of the Doors" fan event in 2019.[11] In early 1983, thirteen years after the album's release, parts of Michael Jackson's music video for the song "Beat It" were filmed inside the former Hard Rock Café on 5th Street.[24]

Details are taken from the 2007 Rhino Records CD 40th Anniversary Edition liner notes with Bruce Botnick's and David Fricke's accompanying essays, which may differ from other sources.[16]

The Doors

• Jim Morrison – vocals
• Ray Manzarek – piano, organ, tack piano on "Roadhouse Blues" and "You Make Me Real",[37] guitar on "Maggie M'Gill"[38]
• Robby Krieger – guitar
• John Densmore – drums; with brushes on "The Spy"[39]

Additional musicians

• Ray Neopolitan – bass guitar[40]
• Lonnie Mack – bass guitar on "Roadhouse Blues" and "Maggie M'Gill"
• John Sebastian (as "G. Puglese") – harmonica on "Roadhouse Blues"
• Paul Beaver – moog synthesizer programming on "Waiting for the Sun"[37]

Technical

• Paul A. Rothchild – production
• Bruce Botnick – engineering
• Gary Burden – art direction, sleeve design
• Henry Diltz – sleeve photography

• Morrison Hotel at Discogs (list of releases)