Ray Manzarek is like the engine of this band. The fact that he plays the keyboard on one hand and does the bass on the other is just mind-boggling.

It doesn’t feel like the Doors get enough love these days.

Unhappy girl is one of the best 60’s songs. Probably one of the best psychedelic rock songs period.

...women seem wicked, when you're unwanted, streets are uneven, when you're down...when you're strange...

Strange Days, I believe, has had a greater influence on what music was to become several years later. Especially when it comes to 80s underground music. Just think of bands, such as The Cure, Echo and the Bunnymen ,Siouxsie and the Banshees, etc...

Brilliant album. Robby for me makes the album, hes such an underrated guitarist

I think the debut is the better of the two but i consider both albums just part one and two. They are both so good.

My favourite Doors album and for me, their masterpiece. Followed by the debut and L.A. Woman. Love the outfit. Makes me think of Jon Pertwee from early 70's Dr Who. Excellent as always!

"When the Music's Over" is a trip and a song for tripping, too.

I grew up in the 60's and really love your show, the memories of my ill spent youth. Thanks.

It's cool to see a lot of love for Strange Days in these comments. It's my favorite Doors album since it maintains that moody & ethereal theme. I was lucky to get a Record Store Day mono edition of the album. It sounds so frickin awesome on my turntable. So glad you did a review for this masterpiece. Thanks Abby.

The small man on the front and back cover of Strange Days I'm certain he is the same small guy who welcomes everyone on the Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus 🎪 about a year later. When the music's over is definitely the best song on the album 🙌 thanks for covering Strange Days it deserves more love ❤ Hope your hand ✋ gets better ❤ soon

Drop dead classic! I played so much Doors back in the 80s, still have the records. Speedy healing with your hand.

And Yes Abby, I must add that “ When the Music’s Over “is not only the best song o the album it’s easily one of my absolute favorites. What a strong, psychedelic finish.

Strange Days was the very first rock release to feature inner sleeve lyrics.

When I was (barely) a teen, my father took me with him across town to meet someone on business in their house. When we got there, I was introduced to the man's daughter, my age, who took me in her room and asked me if I knew The Doors. I did, and she said, here's their new album. Yep, this was it.

Yes! Strange Days is a monumental achievement for the band musically. So much great songs and performances.. But When the Music's Over is an absolute 'Oh my God!' moment in so many ways.. lyrically profound to the Nth degree and Jim and Co screamed to the rest of the world that they are indeed a force to be reckoned with and admired.

This is my favourite Doors album, at least the one I've listened to the most

Another great Vinyl Monday! “What have they done to the Earth??”

I and a lot of the other uni students I knew got into the Doors in the early '80s because of The End in Apocalypse Now. For a while the debut album became a cult object and few of us ventured beyond it. I was browsing in a record shop sale and saw this one. Well within my budget I got it thinking that even if it was some bland attempt at reproducing the first one that the cover art was worth a bookshelf ledge. But then I played it. My take isn't as grand as their response to Sgt Pepper but what I heard was a greater concentration of what I liked about the first one but with much better sound (the debut still sounds muddy to me now). If the first one felt like a big boundless desert night this one is more urban, cold and rainy, skyscraper gothic. There is so much spookiness from track to track it's like whispers among the megastructures. I do like I Can't See Your Face in my Mind with its eerie vocal and "insanity's horse adorn(ing) the sky". It's like a weird confession. But, yes, When the Music's Over kills and keeps on killing. I was comparing records with a new girlfriend years later and put this on. She pointed out the huge wailing guitar soundscape and I appreciated it all over again. Funny you should mention Jeff Beck as it sounds a lot like what he might make of that space: not flashy shredding just compelling textures and emotive harmonies. While I will always have a preference for The End as one of their Vistavision closing epics, I will always listen to this one all the way through. The first album sounded like a good approximation of the band's live act but Strange Days sounds like a record of the one to come. Another great celebration of a classic (also informative, I didn't know that about Ray's backwards piano part). Many thanks.

"Carefully refined, and sealed over".....God I love Morrison

Densmore is such a visual player, truly a great drummer.

No ‘second album syndrome’ with these guys. I agree it’s a big leap forward from their debut record. Another very enjoyable video.

STRANGE DAYS is a masterpiece !!!!! Period !!!!!!!!!!

O the nights and parties when we played this LP. It's a masterpiece. And Yes, When the music's Over is absolutley their best song.

Hi Abby, As much as I love Jim...It was Ray's keyboard sound that made me love The Doors. The first song I heard was "Light My Fire" ,it was blasting on every transistor radio way back when. I can't remember any other group at that time that had that special sound. I love the song "Moonlight Drive"...the guitar, the organ, and Jim's voice are everything ! All the members of The Doors were great at what they did,but the lead singers/front man always get the most attention. Happiness, Cindy

My favourite band!!! Strange Days includes my favourite Doors song!!! UNHAPPY GIRL😢😢☮️☮️☮️

when the musics over was a juggernaut when it came out.... it opened the door for punk, dark metal & even some of what floyd would later do. .... very potent for the time period & considering they were actually playing it as early as '66, far ahead of the industry curve.

Strange Days is probably the quintessential Doors album in my mind. There's sort of a blossoming of the sound that was pioneered on the first album. There aren't any real stinker tracks, and there's at least two on the debut. The production is more advanced, if not actually better to my ears. The debut is somewhat more primitive sounding but there's still tracks like "Soul Kitchen" and "Alabama Song" that just sparkle with atmosphere. Strange Days has its own atmosphere of course, but I don't find it significantly better in that regard. I love "Horse Latitudes" and I think that anyone who dislikes it doesn't really "get" The Doors. The poem is brilliant with vivid, brutal imagery and the sonic treatment is (I think) intentionally comical. They were having fun doing this. It's a perfect intro to "Moonlight Drive." Similarly, "I Can't See Your Face In My Mind" is a perfect intro to "When The Music's Over." The transition is wonderfully dramatic. The song itself is one of Jim's very best vocals, crooning better than anyone else in rock'n'roll at the time. My opinion on "When The Music's Over" has changed though: I think "The End" is superior. Nothing else the Doors ever did sounds quite like "The End", but "When The Music's Over" features a keyboard riff that the Doors used more than once. Plus, "The End" gives the pleasing illusion of being a spontaneous jam, while WTMO sounds more calculated. I won't quibble though, both albums comprise the height of the Doors' powers and I don't think they ever equaled Strange Days again.

A wonderfully typical doors sound. So different from any other group. That is why I loved them. Again, we’ll done.

Of course there are perfect albums. Not many, fortunatelly. When The Doors discography was being reissued in the early 80's, this was the one I most anticipated.... by the cover alone. No album can be bad with a cover like that. It has a universe, a Fellini like ambience, And the music delivered it in full. Oh, and I love «I Can't See Your Face...», because it's so unusual for the time, so laid back. Music and cover are one. That album is a work of art. Yes, a perfect album.

Great review, and cool story about Ray's backward/forward keyboard part! Fun fact: I was hanging out with a friend of my dad's from his work one afternoon, and she mentioned that her parents were regulars at the Troubadour back in the early '70s. Ray also happened to be their next-door neighbor, and she remembers him coming over to their house all the time to hang out and play the piano!

Strange Days is still my favorite Doors record.

I agree that Unhappy Girl is underrated. It's my third favorite Doors song

Joel Brodsky also shot the cover photo for Kiss' self titled debut album (1974). also "Moonlight Drive" was rumored to be the first song Jim sang to Ray which inspired them both to start a band.

It's cool ya youngsters are gettin' the Doors. Like Blake said, to paraphrase: Your mind will awaken when you open the doors of perception. Something like that. Always, cool, Abby. Peace on earth.

Great choice for Vinyl Monday Abby. And I’ll always come out of the woodwork for a Doors album. I think “ Strange Days “ is an excellent follow up to their epic debut which was obviously a very hard act to follow. Plus ‘67 was an amazingly competitive year with all of those legendary bands releasing 2 to 3 albums within. But i never knew about the intricate work Manzerak had done with “ Unhappy Girl. “ Leave it to Ray, that brilliant musician who really kept this band together through their difficult times.

The psychedelia genre is both inspirational and awesome. 🕺🏻

Abby. Strange Days is easily the best Doors record. Nailed it...

Great album especially the deeper tracks You’re Lost Little Girl, Unhappy Girl and Strange Days. Densmore’s drum pattern in Strange Days is compelling too

We want the world and we want it now, now? NOW!!!!!!!!!

🎼"Strange Days have Found us, There going to destroy our casual Joy's"🎼 Great Video.🤘

My favourite band, track and album. The band recorded When The Music's Over without Jim when he didn't turn up. Left the gaps where he would come in with the lyrics. He turned up a day or two later and sang his parts perfectly inbetween. Bruce Botnick and Paul Rothchild merged 2 takes of the song into the final finished track. Awesome.

Right?! I’ve always wondered why Strange Days is always slept on. So good!

To me Strange Days has always felt like the most Doors of Doors albums, as well as the one with all the hits. And I would agree it's stronger and more cohesive than their debut. I would also agree that When the Music's Over is more impressive musically than the End, and far superior lyrically. Not to mention Morrison's vocal performance being miles ahead of where it was when he recorded the End. Nevertheless, I still prefer the End. Honestly though, they're both masterpieces of Gothic rock that invoke the feeling that death may take you in the night. Despite Strange Days having more good songs overall, I think I'll always prefer their self-titled for its scrapiness and borderline garage qualities, but most importantly because it has Break on Through. I think Strange Days most underrated track is You're Lost Little Girl. I mean, it's easily just as eerie as People are Strange and Strange Days. Allegedly it was inspired by Frank Sinatra's relationship with Mia Farrow. It's a shame Frank never cut a version of it.

"Five to One One in Five No One Here Gets Out Alive" ----JDM---- 🖤

Enjoyable review of the Doors early greatness. Groovy moody strange stuff. The Doors stating that the world 🌎 and life can be challenging and dark. They were a superb live band to boot 👢 The European tour after Strange Days release in early 1968 with Jefferson Airplane gave us Doors fans some great black and white video footage 😀

The Doors are such a strange mashup of styles and personalities that somehow melded together wonderfully to make something orders of magnitude greater than the sum of its parts. Jazz drummer, shy flamenco guitarist, pretentious bluesy organ player, and then whatever the hell (in the best way) Jim was. Who knew? Absolutely killer live band and equally good in the studio. A band, like Floyd, that understood the power of silence and space. And PLEASE do Maggot Brain! That album is like a special gift from the universe.

You can still see Robby perform that 3 minute guitar solo from When the Music's Over if you ever catch Robby live. Still amazing.

The best songs are the ones nobody knows: You're Lost Little Girl, I Can't See Your Face, My Eyes Have Seen You. Unhappy Girl too.

Hello Abigail! I absolutely love your videos; the stories of these albums is done in such a thorough yet engaging and entertaining way, plus I always love seeing your A+ outfits and makeup 😁 Might I suggest a video on Love’s “Forever Changes” album? It’s such a gorgeous record that I feel doesn’t get *quite* as much… love… and recognition as some others from this period, outside of enthusiasts of this specific period in music.

The 1st 2 tracks on the 'strange days' album are the most demonstrably ethereal & chilling songs to ever open any pop album,period.

As a young adult just starting to find what I love in the world of music, your videos have been very helpful to me. I think it's fab what you're doing. You work so hard and have fun with it at the same time. It's so inspiring. Love the doors!! And I really dug your blonde on blonde episode. My favourite band is the Talking Heads. Maybe one day we'll see an episode dedicated to new wave! Stay groovy!

there is nothing wrong with the rawness of their debut....break on through is a superior track

Very good, young Lady. I wasn't expecting this well researched history lesson.

I have just recently come across the channel. When I viewed the collection videos, I had at least heard of most of them. When you held up the Mary Hopkin record, I wondered, "Who is that?" As I am no longer a productive member of society, I could look that up. It turned out to be a complicated question, leading me to read about her, listen to her music, and even videos by her daughter covering Mary's music. Thanks.

Strange Days has always been my favourite Doors album, though my favourite Botnick/Harvey twofer is David Ackles first album from 1968. Strange Days paling in the popular consciousness reflects Sabbath's Heaven and Hell / Mob Rules, where the similarity in album structure probably worked against MR for people already familiar with H&H, but for anyone coming to them out of order, MR (and Strange Days) can shine

Thank you so much Miss Courson.

I love the Doors.

Sorry your reprint didn't replicate the original gatefold; which I think works better for the cover photo (one of my favorites). This was a favorite college album for me, too. I would sit in the car and listen to it at lunch between classes. Krieger's beautiful, lyrical solo on Lost Little Girl is masterful. Often overlooked and underappreciated guitarist.

Strange Days IS a greater re-working of the first album. Both have their strengths, and many songs parallel each other. You're Lost, Little Girl is one of the most adult songs, paralleling the Alabama Song. I Can't See Your Face in my Mind recaptures the sadness of End of the Night, and the Marimba is used to good advantage. One of my fave lyrics "I can't seem to find the right lie. comes from this song as well. Horse Latitudes is pure genius. No chords or song structure, it is almost a radio drama acting out Jim's powerful poetry. " Mute nostril agony" how descriptive is that? As good as "People Are Strange"is, My Eyes Have Seen You" is even stronger. Great guitar work from Robbie on that one. Finally "When ?The Music's Over". You are right to point out the two guitar solos. The dual guitars after the first chorus is a masterwork. Ray's keyboard bass is rock solid throughout, and I love how the bass breaks up into smaller pieces later on, until it's just two notes, and literally nothing else, and Jim still has plenty of roomto hear that gentle sound. The way the band crescendos before that ultimate climax is a ear-sight to behold. We might disagree on" I Can't See Your Face in my Mind. That will always be a beautiful song to me, but we do see eye to eye on the rest of Strange Days. Society may vote for L.A, Woman, but Strange Days will always have my best vote.

It’s my favorite line too 22:44

StrangeDays all day!

I finally feel like I'm not crazy now that I know I'm not the only person out there who is reminded of the tunnel scene from Willy Wonka whenever I hear "Horse Latitudes". Also, good to see more appreciation for "When The Music's Over". One of the best and most underrated songs of the entire 1960s, full stop.

Probably the record I have heard the most along with Morrison hotel

Love the channel Abby.Thanks for all the hard work you obviously put into the albums you review.

I read the book called: The Door's. That book, and the book Elvis, were the two most influential books; of the 1979, 1980 California punk scene. In the book; The Door's; it mentioned that: when someone (a square) gave them a dirty look; Jim, and Ray liked to say this: "hey get the Snoid" (ref. R.Crumb cartoon, features Snoids; as cartoon characters)

Here again! Subbed from In The Aeroplane. From one VC channel to another, great work & also great fun!

WTMO is the quintessential Doors song, and my favorite. It took me 30 years of listening to settle on that conclusion.

Yes!!! Strange Days is eternal. Very happy that you, a millennial (?), are so conversant with the great vinyl of the 60s. Your album choices are boffo!

The day they tracked When the Music's Over Jim didn't come in to the studio so they put a mic on Ray who, in addition to playing the left hand bass / right hand organ setup, laid down a guide vocal. According to lore, Jim came in the next day and hit every vocal cue perfectly, in the same spots as Ray had done. I wish they had a copy of that take with Ray, they should have released it on the deluxe re-release.

I really think their first album is their best, then second, and their third is their third best

This is my Doors favorite album, both cover and record.

The Doors best album, heavy psychedelic acid rock, all killer no filler.

I have the remaster and was underwhelmed. Jim's vocals are all awash in Moog, failing to cut through the mix on the title track. While the remaster sounds more lush, I prefer the harder more immediate mix of the original. I can never pick out a favorite Doors album. The Soft Parade has been on steady rotation for me lately. Strange Days is a masterpiece. My Eyes Have Seen You really sticks out to me.

I don't have a doors album. I've got to try harder to rectify this. Great episode 👌🏼

$5 back when the photo in the Mews was taken --- circa 1967 --- was, believe it or not, a lot of money. Let's put it this way. In 1975, when I was in Alaska in the army, I was astonished to hear that when an infantry captain had made it to the top of a mountain, he turned to his company behind him and bellowed out that he'd pay $5 for a (single) can of Coca Cola. And in the summer of 1977, I myself earned $5 single-handedly carrying a floor-to-ceiling mirror --- that had been put on the curb from a restaurant renovation --- up five flights of stairs to a lady's rented apartment on 53rd Street between 2nd and 3rd Avenues. It weighed about fifty-sixty pounds and the only way to carry it was to lift it up with both hands outstretched, and keep it in the air while going up the stairs one step at a time. Here endeth today's economics lesson. Tomorrow, we will discuss how Moses parted the Red Sea after accepting a bid for fifty cents.

PEOPLE are STRANGE

I love everything I've seen from this channel...60s and 70s music is the best! Love the outfits and video themes!

Probably a tie (dye) between Strange Days and Soft Parade- I can't decide. Fun fact early Moog synthesizer on Strange Days. Classic! Thank You!!!❤

When I go on “trips” I usually put on Strange Days, Disraeli Gears or Piper at the Gates of Dawn… I love Strange Days and I love self titled but in my opinion Strange Days is tons better

We had The Doors' Strange Days album before we got The Doors and I played that record over and over. I was delighted to find the second album (actually their first album) and by then had already played the second Doors album that arrived in our house, "Absolutely Live" many, many times. The first song on The Doors blows me away, coming in with a bossa nova beat. Abby I admire your ability to critique a band I love unconditionally, maybe if you listen to "I Can't See Your Face In My Mind" another hundred times you may love it as much as I do. The lyrics are some of Jim Morrison's best, it's a great song and holds up favorably to "When The Music's Over."

✨MEGA LOVE THIS ALBUM✨

My parents let me have their copy of Strange Days when I was 7 because I was so obsessed with it. "Horse Latitudes" still terrifies me today and I'm really curious if Gene Wilder was using it for the bit on the Wonka boat.

Yes, I agree with you on this one--It's my favorite Doors album as well; Has been for a long time. Thank you for reviewing it, and sharing all those little details about it's production that I'd been wondering about all these years.

You are right about Unhappy Girl as I was singing it to my dog Lulu while giving her a bath last night...She was terribly unhappy 😂

Strange Days is my favourite Doors album. I always thought i was the only one. You just earned yourself a subscription for making me feel less alone in this. I also like the video style, lighthearted and entertaining, at the same time interesting and informative and with considerable depth. Very well done, i will watch more.

Adorable!

U can give the melon a run for his money. Subscribed

Great review. I have #1 which I like a lot but I've never sat down and listened to Strange Days. Now I'm going to have to do that. Hope your washer is ok :)

Hi ! Hoped your pinky finger healed fine. I've just found your videos this week and have enjoyed the two from The Doors I have watched. I will look for more videos for sure. Thank You! Ben 5/17/2024

I never heard a review until i heard Abigail.

My favorite Doors album akso. When I was a kid, we had the single "People are Strange" / "Unhappy Girl". I played the heck out of it, both sides.

Agree about the underratedness of Unhappy Girl. I posted on Facebook about that a few years ago (back when FB was relevant)

"You've Gone Too Far," Mr. Morrison, You've Gone Too Far

been leaning towards the soft parade the last few years

🌠hey Abbey Bear..with a whole lotta records..love your lost little girl..it's one of my favorites

“People Are Strange” is the first Doors song I ever heard. Late night drive along the California coast, radio coming in and out. I was mesmerized. The song imprinted itself and The Doors (particularly Jim) became a lifelong obsession. I actually heard the chorus lyric as “When you strain.” 🤣🤣🤣I am a second-generation Doors fan, having next read the only bio that was out there: “Nothing Here but Lots of Lies.” Jim had a sweet, shy, self-deprecating side that took me years and lots of study to find out about. Complex dude, to say the least. If The Doors had hung it up right there, we’d be thinking of them like we do Joy Division. Two near-perfect albums, then into the ether. Pamela Des Barres knew him at the time of this record’s release, and later wrote that it’s a miracle he lived as long as he did. Random fact: the morning of 9/11/2001, I got in my truck and headed to one of my construction gigs. I hadn’t seen the news, and uncharacteristically didn’t listen to NPR on the way to work, so I had no idea what had happened. I put a Doors CD in and the first thing I heard was “Strange days have found us.” Chills. I agree with you that “When the Music’s Over” is their greatest song, although not necessarily my fave. They started a lot of shows with it…with that blood-curdling scream. I wrote this little piece about it a few years ago: i’ve been thinking about this all week on my long drives: which Doors song best represents how motherfucking awesome they are? I’ve decided that it’s “When the Music’s Over,” for a number of reasons. 1. The musicianship throughout is inventive and stellar. Check out that mind-bending guitar solo - one of my favorites of all time - and Ray’s fluid organ runs when the song explodes again after the quiet interlude, which brings me to reason #2: this band was better at loud/soft dynamics than anyone, ever. they were incredibly theatrical, right down to the way the drums ‘punctuated’ jim’s vocals. This was especially evident live. a receptive crowd would become absolutely mesmerized by this song. it’s all there on the “Live in Detroit” CD. 3. Especially in their first two albums (L.A. Woman being a return to form), they ingeniously transmitted the noir underbelly vibe of LA. The opening organ riffs set the stage, along with Jim’s almost whispered, “Yeah, c’mon,” and the snaky guitar passages throughout keep it going. 4. Jim’s vocal performance! Holy shit, man. This is Jim at his best. He had arrived. He was confident. He crooned, he screamed, he whispered. He did it all right here. People like to talk about the pretentiousness of the lyrics, but they probably don’t realize that this thing is full of in-jokes (“the scream of the butterfly,” for instance, was the name of a porno flick Jim saw one day on a marquee. “When the music’s over, turn out the lights,” was something the owner of The Whisky often said just before closing time). Add to that this stunning fact: Jim was ‘otherwise occupied’ when the other Doors laid down the instrumentals in the studio. All that remained was that he come in and sing. He came in the next day and NAILED it in one take! considering the pauses, loud/soft dynamics, etc, that’s pretty incredible, and a testament to how cohesive this band was at its prime.

I can catch it this time! I also heard this record for the first time yesterday!!

It's my favorite Doors album too a lot of people say LA Woman but Strange Day is my favorite album of them