THE DOORS strange days NM LP ORIGINAL GOLD Elektra ACID PSYCH ROCK PSYCHEDELIC

	£		45
	$		60

Doors 2nd Album. Original US pressing on the gold Elektra label EKS-74014. VERY hard to find in this condition: The sleeve is in EX condition. The record is NEAR MINT condition. 

The Doors’ second album redefined their uncompromising art. The disturbing sounds of Ray Manzarek’s organ work provided the musical cloak through which guitarist Robbie Kreiger and vocalist Jim Morrison projected. Few singers in rock possessed his authority and emotional intensity, even after his premature death in 1971, he remains one of rock’s most charismatic and iconic vocalists. Last year, me and my wife Suzanne, visited his grave at Père Lachaise Cemetery, Paris – a journey long overdue. Strange Days contains some of the quartet’s finest work, from the apocolyptical vision of ‘When the Music’s Over’ - with it’s famous chilling line The Scream of the Butterfly - to the memorable quirkiness of ‘People are Strange’ and ‘Moonlight Drive’. The graphic ‘Horse Latitudes’, meanwhile, confirmed Morrison’s wish to be viewed as a poet, a stance ensuring The Doors were always more than just another rock band. This masterpiece, their second in the greatest year in music – 1967 – the ‘Summer of Love’, is an astonishing work and boasts a very famous and surreal cover with it’s bizarre circus type characters. To find one of these this clean and unsplit is near impossible these strange days. How this wonderous album did not even make the charts in the UK is a complete mystery: a nation engrossed in ‘Peppermania’ and competition was intense with so many classics issued that great year. Many of America’s finest were largely overlooked. Initially selling poorly here and copies that were bought often being subjected to heavy playing on basic 1960s record players with thick stylus and heavy arms that probably rendered many copies unplayable. To find an American early stereo issue making it’s way to the UK in this barely played condition and surviving without cover damage or splits is almost remarkable. Many audiophiles also consider American pressings of American bands superior to all others as well. Well this one sounded fantastic to my ears also, this is a record for the connoisseur collector. Finding an example wherever it was made will prove immensely difficult, this up there with the very best Doors albums I have ever seen or heard.

Side one
"Strange Days" – 3:11
"You're Lost Little Girl" – 3:03
"Love Me Two Times" – 3:18
"Unhappy Girl" – 2:02
"Horse Latitudes" – 1:37
"Moonlight Drive" – 3:05

Side two
"People Are Strange" – 2:13
"My Eyes Have Seen You" – 2:32
"I Can't See Your Face in My Mind" – 3:26
"When the Music's Over" – 10:58

A dark moody affair that electrifies as it emerges into vast unknown of rock territories in the late 60's headed by an on 'on the edge' Jim Morrison; the teaser, the poet, the stoned immacuate comet that burned across skies 40 light years away...as witnessed at the West Covina Theatre, January 19, '68, Jim leaning over taunting chicks in the front row to perform strange things on his body (..."S*ck me baby" ) and soon falling over his own sheepskin coat he had thrown to the floor where he continued to sing, sprawled flat on the floor ... The DOORS, from Los Angeles California ...

"Strange Days" partially consists of songs that did not make it onto their debut album, such as "Moonlight Drive", which was one of the first songs written by Jim Morrison for The Doors. The song was recorded in 1965 (demo) and 1966 (intended for their first album). In 1967 a final version was recorded and released on this album. Strange Days contains some of The Doors' most psychedelic songs. It includes songs such as "Strange Days", "People Are Strange", "Love Me Two Times" and "When the Music's Over". The latter is an epic poem that is comparable to the famous "The End".

The cover photo was taken in Sniffen Court, a small residential mews in New York City. Jim Morrison refused to appear on the cover, so photographer Joel Brodsky decided to use a circus-like photograph for the cover image. However, most carnivals were out on summer tours so it was a struggle for Brodsky to find professional circus performers. The acrobats were the only ones he could find; the dwarf Lester Janus and his younger brother Stanley Janus (who appeared on the back cover) were hired from an acting firm; the juggler was Brodsky's own assistant; the trumpet player was a taxi driver; and the strongman was a doorman at a club. On another note, the back cover depicts a robed woman standing in one of the house doorways looking down at one of the dwarf brothers. She has since been identified by People Magazine as the stylist of Joel Brodsky's wife, Zazel Lovén. In addition to this, the original idea for the front cover was a reflection of the group in a mirror which the dwarves would carry. Jim Morrison stated that he did not want to be on the cover at all, so a poster of the band members was discretely shown on the right end of the sleeve.

NOTE! Postage indicated in the auction is not the actual postage as ebay doesn't allow a higher postage then 4 GBP in this category. Postage for this item is 8 GBP to most countries within Europe and 16 GBP for the rest of the world. This is up to 2kg, so you can add up to 6 more LP's for the same postage. Postage for 7 LP´s is the same as for 1 LP, so buy more to save on postage!

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