L.A. Woman review

The 6th album by The Doors. Tragically, this is the last one before Jim Morrison's death in 1971. It is regarded as one of their best albums.

Tracks:

1. The Changeling: 8/10 a hugely enjoyable and pleasingly simple opening track.

2. Love Her Madly: 8/10 while relationship songs are common, this one still manages to feel relatively fresh and boasts a cracking tune.

3. Been Down So Long: 6/10 a screechy and uninspired rebellion song with some good bits.

4. Cars Hiss By My Window: 9/10 the quietest so far yet also the strongest, and an excellent break-up song that really delivers.

5. L.A. Woman: 8/10 occasionally confusing, but otherwise a blast.

6. L'America: 8/10 ditto.

7. Hyacinth House: 8/10 an unusually melancholy song for Jim Morrison, this is a testimony to his skill as a writer.

8. Crawling King Snake: 7/10 pretty fun even though it's just a single idea repeated a lot.

9. The WASP (Texas Radio and the Big Beat): 8/10 more of a poem than a song, but still very interesting.

10. Riders On the Storm: 9/10 another fabulous and insane album closer that's up there with The End.

Best song: Riders On the Storm
Worst song: Been Down So Long

Summary: L.A. Woman is a solid, highly satisfying album. The Doors still lack the punch of The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, The Beach Boys, The Who and many other bands of their time, but they're certainly an enjoyable music act with a lot going for them. Jim Morrison's final album with them is a good swansong for him, and L.A. Woman boasts some of The Doors' best songs in their entire discography. The album benefits from plenty of insanity and excellent tunes, but is brought down slightly by repetitive melodies and confusing lyrics.



Final rating: 8/10