Classic Albums Review: L.A. Woman

While the existence of the Doors was painfully short-lived, Jim Morrison had the good graces to not die before the band released L.A. Woman. Released in the spring of 1971, L.A. Woman was the last Doors album to feature Morrison, and is often considered one of – if not the best – LP in the Doors’ catalogue.

The album picks up where the band left off with Morrison Hotel, their previous studio album that saw a return to a more blues rock sound for the band. Where Morrison Hotel succeeded, the straightedge blues tracks on L.A. Woman improved tenfold. Aside from the immediately recognizable “groove” between Ray Manzarek (keyboards), Robby Krieger (guitar) and John Densmore (drums), Morrison delivers an unparalleled vocal performance on tracks such as “The Changeling” and “L.A. Woman.” A great deal of praise must also be given for Jerry Scheff (bass) and Marc Benno (rhythm guitar), whose contributions in the studio absolutely make several of L.A. Woman’s tracks bounce and boom. Take the album’s title track, “L.A. Woman,” the song would be only mediocre if not for the consistent guitar chops by Benno and the thumping bass by Scheff.

Thankfully, there is little to criticize about L.A. Woman. The first half of the record contains solid blues and interesting tracks. The second half has much of the same, with less blues but more inconsistent in its flow from song to song. I’m sure some listeners can find the innate beauty in tracks like “L’America” and “Crawling King Snake,” but the former’s dark tone is almost too “Doors-ish” of a song to open the second side and the latter is a decent recycling of a John Lee Hooker tune.

Aside from those minor hitches, L.A. Woman is a superb album through-and-through. You can hear the vigor and joy between the band members resonate through your mind. Not only that, but avid Doors fans get a taste of Morrison’s darker, more mature songwriting mixed with the band’s superb blues capabilities. If you’re looking for something classic, something driving, then try out the Doors’ L.A. Woman.