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8.2/10
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A 1968 concert given by the rock group The Doors at the Hollywood Bowl in Hollywood, California.A 1968 concert given by the rock group The Doors at the Hollywood Bowl in Hollywood, California.A 1968 concert given by the rock group The Doors at the Hollywood Bowl in Hollywood, California.
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You cannot find a more incredible performance than this one from The Doors... the band pushes all barriers and breaks them down piece by piece, song by song. The energy of the band can be felt though your speakers as it creeps into your soul. Simply outstanding!
10/10
10/10
Jim sang the songs and got off the stage. There was no interaction with the crowd, just listen to a cd. I have researched this and apparently Jim dropped acid before the performance which might explain it. Ozzy osbourne was asked about singing on acid and said it's impossible but then the grateful dead always did. I just thought it was lame at least when he was drunk he shouted at the crowd. He sings all his hits and a lot of important people were in the audience like mick jagger. If you want a doors dvd I recommend feast of friends filmed by the doors themselves which is a lot more exciting and dynamic in my view.
Have loved The Doors since I was a teenager and still do, despite not enjoying this.
I don't think The Doors were ever known for truly magnificent live performances. This isn't one of them either. I'm surprised by many of the rave reviews about this. I can only imagine those reviewers had dropped even more acid than Jim Morrison. Perhaps that was half my problem. Having 10 years of sobriety perhaps isn't the best preparation heading into this.
But you shouldn't need to be whacked on drugs to enjoy good music. This just came across like a bunch of young, pretentious art students who had discovered acid over their summer break. Unconvincing in its delivery, The Doors more closely resemble a garage band jamming in their Mum's garage here. Occasionally they seem to remember they're performing in front of an audience, which is where the sudden, occasional wailing screams of Jim Morrison abruptly jolt our attention back.
I loved Hello I Love You, Alabama Song and Back Door Man. Light My Fire was alright too, despite Morrison's clear dislike of it. I was relieved when the rest of the show was over though, which is disappointing. I'll stick to playing their records in my bedroom instead.
I don't think The Doors were ever known for truly magnificent live performances. This isn't one of them either. I'm surprised by many of the rave reviews about this. I can only imagine those reviewers had dropped even more acid than Jim Morrison. Perhaps that was half my problem. Having 10 years of sobriety perhaps isn't the best preparation heading into this.
But you shouldn't need to be whacked on drugs to enjoy good music. This just came across like a bunch of young, pretentious art students who had discovered acid over their summer break. Unconvincing in its delivery, The Doors more closely resemble a garage band jamming in their Mum's garage here. Occasionally they seem to remember they're performing in front of an audience, which is where the sudden, occasional wailing screams of Jim Morrison abruptly jolt our attention back.
I loved Hello I Love You, Alabama Song and Back Door Man. Light My Fire was alright too, despite Morrison's clear dislike of it. I was relieved when the rest of the show was over though, which is disappointing. I'll stick to playing their records in my bedroom instead.
The Doors' concert at the Hollywood Bowl was very easily one of their finest moments. This performance was once thought to have been lost but I for one am very grateful that it was discovered and released on video for all their fans to see because it's an awesome showcase of the Doors captivating their audience as only they knew how. Most definitely a must have for any fan.
To see a complete concert from the Doors is like taking a wild trip into a different frame of mind in rock and roll, when you could see just about anything on stage creatively. This concert, from 1968 in Hollywood, is the band in their utmost prime. With the Doors you get the strange, overpowering presence and lead-man power of Jim Morrison, who gets in such a frame of mind during his sets one wonders if he puts himself in a trance (or maybe not- before 'The End' plays, he tries to tell the lighting people to fix something, and it becomes a little comical). Bottom line is that the concert features the best of the Doors live, and for especially the more blues-driven rock fans, there are some great numbers of 'Alabama Song', 'Back Door Man', and 'Five to One'. But mostly, and this was the pleasure for me, the highlights include the longer songs- the slow, pulsating 'When the Music's Over', the classic hit 'Light my Fire' (as many times as I've heard it on the radio, it never gets old live), 'The End' being one of the Doors most notorious and beautiful epics, and their most stream-of-consciousness work 'Celebration of the Lizard' which has the distinction of having Morrison's poetry overcoming the rock parts of the song. Basically, it's one of the purest rock concert videos out there, and it may even turn on some casual observers of the Doors to check out more of the non-radio stuff like 'Lizard' and 'Spanish Caravan'. A+
Did you know
- TriviaJim Morrison had taken LSD prior to going on stage. The effects become noticable during the set. John Densmore commented that "I felt something was a bit off, Jim would come in early or late in different sections of the song."
- Alternate versionsThe Special Edition released in 2021, in celebration of L.A. WOMAN, includes a brand-new musical performance and a conversation with John Densmore, Robby Krieger and Doors Manager, Jeff Jampol, filmed exclusively for the big screen. It was also remastered in Dolby ATMOS® and 5.1 surround sound by Bruce Botnick, the original engineer & mixer for The Doors who recorded the live performance at the Hollywood Bowl in 1968 and co-produced L.A.WOMAN. Meticulously restored from original camera negatives and remixed and mastered using original multi-track tapes, "The Doors: Live At The Bowl '68 Special Edition" features the concert in its entirety, including "Hello, I Love You", "The WASP (Texas Radio and the Big Beat)", "Light My Fire" and "The End".
- ConnectionsEdited into The Doors Collection (1999)
- SoundtracksWhen the Music's Over
Written by The Doors
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official site
- Language
- Also known as
- The Doors: Live at the Bowl '68
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $600,000 (estimated)
- Runtime
- 1h 11m(71 min)
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.78 : 1
- 1.33 : 1
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