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Absolutely Live (The Doors album)

Absolutely Live is the first live album by the American rock band the Doors, released on July 20, 1970, by Elektra Records. The double album features songs recorded at concerts held in 1969 and 1970 in several U.S. cities. It includes the first full release of the performance piece "Celebration of the Lizard" and several other tracks that had not previously appeared on any official Doors release. The album peaked at number eight on the Billboard 200 in September 1970.

Recording

Many shows were recorded during the band's 1970 Roadhouse Blues Tour to create the Absolutely Live album. The Doors' producer and longtime collaborator Paul A. Rothchild claimed to have painstakingly edited the album from many different shows to create one cohesive concert. According to Rothchild, the best part of a song from one performance may have been spliced together with another part of the same song from another performance, in an attempt to create "the ultimate concert". Rothchild said, "I couldn't get complete takes of a lot of songs, so sometimes I'd cut from Detroit to Philadelphia in mid-song. There must be 2,000 edits on that album."[1] However, most of the tracks were taken from the Doors' performances at the Felt Forum in New York City on January 17 and 18, 1970.

Absolutely Live marks the first release of the Doors' performance piece "Celebration of the Lizard" in its entirety, which had originally been attempted in the studio during the Waiting for the Sun sessions but was eventually abandoned.[2] The album also included several new songs: "Love Hides", "Build Me a Woman", "Universal Mind", "Dead Rats, Dead Cats" (performed as a preamble to "Break on Through") and cover versions of Bo Diddley's "Who Do You Love?" and Willie Dixon's "Close to You" (the latter featuring lead vocals by keyboardist Ray Manzarek).

Album cover

According to the biography No One Here Gets Out Alive, Morrison reportedly hated the album cover for Absolutely Live. He had changed his appearance dramatically since the band's early days, growing a beard and discarding his onstage leather attire in an attempt to overcome his "rock god" image, but was dismayed to find that his record label opted for an earlier photograph of him for the cover.[3]

Release and reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic2/5 stars[4]
Christgau's Record GuideB[5]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide2.5/5 stars[6]
Virgin Encyclopedia of Popular Music2/5 stars[7]

Absolutely Live sold only 225,000 copies, half of what their previous studio album Morrison Hotel had sold.[3] Gloria Vanjak of Rolling Stone magazine wrote a scathing review of the album, singling out Morrison's performance in particular and referring to "Celebration of the Lizard" as "rancid".[8]

Robert Christgau of The Village Voice gave a more favorable review, praising its "strong performances and audio," but concluded that "I don't happen to be into reptiles when the music's over, much less while it's on."[9]

Reissues

Absolutely Live was reissued as a single CD by Elektra in 1996, featuring new artwork different from the original LP. In 2010, it was reissued on 180 gram vinyl in its original double LP format and original artwork by Rhino Records in 2010, in both the U.S. and UK.

Track listing

Songwriters and LP side total lengths are taken from the original 1983 Elektra Records album (individual song timings are not listed) and may differ from other sources.[10]

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Who Do You Love?"Ellas McDaniel
2."Medley":
  • Kurt Weill, Bertolt Brecht
  • Willie Dixon
  • Jim Morrison
  • Morrison, the Doors
    		•
    Total length:19:17
    Side two
    No.TitleWriter(s)Length
    1."Build Me a Woman"Morrison, the Doors
    2."When the Music's Over"Morrison, the Doors
    Total length:18:33
    Side three
    No.TitleWriter(s)Length
    1."Close to You"Dixon
    2."Universal Mind"Morrison, Robby Krieger
    3."Break On Thru, #2"Morrison, the Doors
    Total length:18:00
    Side four
    No.TitleWriter(s)Length
    1."Celebration of the Lizard"Morrison, the Doors
    2."Soul Kitchen"Morrison
    Total length:21:42

    Personnel

    [10]

    The Doors

    Technical

    Remote recording facilities: Fedco Audio Labs and Wally Heider Recording

    Charts

    Chart (1970) Peak
    position
    Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[11] 10
    UK Albums (OCC)[12] 69
    US Billboard 200[13] 8
    Chart (2014) Peak
    position
    Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ)[14] 31

    Certifications

    Region Certification Certified units/sales
    Australia (ARIA)[15] Gold 35,000^
    Austria (IFPI Austria)[16] Gold 25,000*
    Canada (Music Canada)[17] Gold 50,000^
    France (SNEP)[19] Gold 200,000[18]
    United States (RIAA)[20] Gold 1,000,000^

    * Sales figures based on certification alone.
    ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

    References

    1. ^ Jackson, Blair (July 3, 1981). "BAM Interview with Paul Rothchild" – via waiting-forthe-sun.net.
    2. ^ "Revisiting the Doors' Only No. 1 LP, Waiting for the Sun". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved July 31, 2020.
    3. ^ a b Hopkins & Sugerman 1980, p. 318.
    4. ^ Ruhlmann, William. "Absolutely Live – The Doors | Review". AllMusic. Retrieved July 2, 2011.
    5. ^ Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: D". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved February 24, 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
    6. ^ "The Doors: Album Guide". Rollingstone.com. Archived from the original on January 6, 2013. Retrieved August 31, 2015.
    7. ^ "The Doors Absolutely Live". Acclaimed Music. Archived from the original on September 22, 2015. Retrieved August 31, 2015.
    8. ^ Vanjak, Gloria (October 1, 1970). "Absolutely Live, Doors". Rolling Stone. Retrieved November 17, 2018 – via Thedoors.com.
    9. ^ Robertchristgau.com
    10. ^ a b Absolutely Live (Liner notes). The Doors. Elektra Records. 1970. LP labels. EKS-9002.
    11. ^ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 4449". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 21 June 2016.
    12. ^ "Doors | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved 21 June 2016.
    13. ^ "The Doors Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 21 June 2016.
    14. ^ "Album Top 40 slágerlista – 2014. 07. hét" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ. Retrieved 21 June 2016.
    15. ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2001 Albums". Australian Recording Industry Association. Archived from the original on 10 August 2020.
    16. ^ "Gold & Platinum Awards 1986" (PDF). Music and Media. December 27, 1986. p. 34. Retrieved September 13, 2020.
    17. ^ "Canadian album certifications – The Doors – Absolutely Live". Music Canada.
    18. ^ "Les Albums Or". infodisc.fr. SNEP. Archived from the original on 18 October 2011. Retrieved 31 August 2011.
    19. ^ "French album certifications – The Doors – Absolutely Live" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique.
    20. ^ "American album certifications – The Doors – Absolutely Live". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH.

    Sources

    External links

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