The previous archival release from the Doors (Live in New York) spelled the end of the professionally-produced, multi-track recordings, according to official sources. So now we are left with bootleg-quality releases like this latest, Live in Vancouver 1970. Of course, I fully expect additional high-quality recordings to be "discovered" soon enough. Please pardon my cynicism. The bottom of the barrel is apparently being scraped right before our ears, but have patience. The sound quality of Live in Vancouver 1970 is miles below the beautiful series of earlier releases — washed in warm distortion and prone to hard-panned weirdness. It's priced accordingly, and that is redeeming.
The band runs through its standard 1970 set ("Roadhouse Blues", "Alabama Song", "Back Door Man", "Five to One" and other obvious set-list staples) and they don't sound particularly glad to be doing so, though it's hard to knock "When the Music's Over", with its wide-open jamming. Then, after a rather perfunctory but still jammy "Love Me Two Times", blues great Albert King joins in on slide guitar and Jim Morrison transforms instantly into his "old blues man" alter-super-ego. Here, things take a decidedly edgier turn. Morrison obviously dug his role as the pre-eminent purveyor-to-the-masses of blues music, and sharing the stage with a bona fide master energizes him audibly.
Disc Two holds a huge version of "Light My Fire" that wraps itself around a medley of "Fever", "Summertime" and "St. James Infirmary", and although this sequence has been documented on earlier releases, it is still an important diversion. Then, the version of "The End" sounds tepid until the deep creep sets in around nine minutes in. That's when the substantial ghosts of Morrison's past emerge and erupt into an explosion of Oedipal angst loudly screamed by the singer and illustrated very noisily by his bandmates. It's glorious punk rock at its most cataclysmic. If one track from this release could make the whole thing worthwhile, it would be this one.
If you're a completist or even just curious about one more of these archival releases, definitely go for it. If not, stick to the higher-fidelity ones like the outstanding Pittsburgh Civic Arena or the aforementioned Live in New York.
This article appears in Jan 20-26, 2011.