The Doors - Morrison Hotel 50th Anniversary Deluxe (2CD VINYL)

CD1: The Original Album:
Hard Rock Cafe
1. Roadhouse Blues
2. Waiting For The Sun
3. You Make Me Real
4. Peace Frog
5. Blue Sunday
6. Ship Of Fools
Morrison Hotel
7. Land Ho!
8. The Spy
9. Queen Of The Highway
10. Indian Summer
11. Maggie M’Gill

CD 2: Mysterious Union:
Black Dressed In Leather (Queen Of The Highway Sessions)
First Session (11/15/68)

1. Queen Of The Highway (Take 1, She Was A Princess) *
2. Queen Of The Highway (Various Takes) *
3. Queen Of The Highway (Take 44, He Was A Monster) *

Second Session (1/16/69)
4. Queen Of The Highway (Take 12, No One Could Save Her) *
5. Queen Of The Highway (Take 14, Save The Blind Tiger) *

Third Session (Date Unknown)
6. Queen Of The Highway (Take 1, American Boy – American Girl) *
7. Queen Of The Highway (Takes 5, 6 & 9, Dancing Through The Midnight Whirlpool) *
8. Queen Of The Highway (Take 14, Start It All Over) *
9. I Will Never Be Untrue *
10. Queen Of The Highway (Take Unknown) *

Money Beats Soul (Roadhouse Blues Sessions)
First Session
11. Roadhouse Blues (Take 14, Keep Your Eyes On The Road) *
12. Money (That’s What I Want) *
13. Rock Me Baby *

Second Session
14. Roadhouse Blues (Takes 6 & 7, Your Hands Upon The Wheel) *
15. Roadhouse Blues (Take 8, We’re Goin’ To The Roadhouse) *

Third Session
16. Roadhouse Blues (Takes 1 & 2, We’re Gonna Have A Real Good Time) *
17. Roadhouse Blues (Takes 5, 6 & 14, Let It Roll Baby Roll) *

Dawn’s Highway (Peace Frog/Blue Sunday Session)
18. Peace Frog/Blue Sunday (Take 4) *
19. Peace Frog (Take 12) *

Vinyl:

Side One: Hard Rock Cafe
1. Roadhouse Blues
2. Waiting For The Sun
3. You Make Me Real
4. Peace Frog
5. Blue Sunday
6. Ship Of Fools

Side Two: Morrison Hotel
1. Land Ho!
2. The Spy
3. Queen Of The Highway
4. Indian Summer
5. Maggie M’Gill

* previously unreleased

The Doors returned to their roots and were reborn a rock ’n’ roll band on Morrison Hotel, the group’s fifth studio album.

For this new collection, the original album has been expanded with more than an hour of unreleased recordings taken from the sessions for Morrison Hotel. These 19 outtakes transport listeners into the studio with Jim Morrison, John Densmore, Robby Krieger, and Ray Manzarek for an unprecedented perspective on the making of the album. Botnick says: “There are many takes, different arrangements, false starts, and insightful studio conversations between the band – who were in the studio – and producer Paul Rothchild – who was in the control room. It’s like being a fly on the wall.”

Several of these unheard recordings spotlight how Queen Of The Highway and Roadhouse Blues evolved across multiple sessions. It’s especially interesting to hear how the band played with different bass players on Roadhouse Blues. Early versions include Harvey Brooks, who played on the band’s previous album, The Soft Parade. Later takes feature guitar legend Lonnie Mack on bass along with The Lovin’ Spoonful’s John Sebastian on harmonica who, due to contractual restrictions at the time, had to be credited as G. Puglese.

Among the treasure trove of unreleased outtakes are also rough versions of Morrison Hotel tracks Peace Frog and Blue Sunday, as well as The Doors rarity I Will Never Be Untrue. The collection also captures some incredible session outtakes of the band jamming on cover versions of the Motown classic Money (That’s What I Want) and B.B. King’s Rock Me.