Doors SOFT PARADE

The Doors: Jim Morrison (vocals); Robby Krieger (guitar, background vocals); Ray Manzarek (keyboards); John Densmore (drums).
Additional personnel: Jesse McReynolds (mandolin); Jimmy Buchanan (fiddle); Champ Webb (English horn); Curtis Amy (saxophone); George Bohannan (trombone); Harvey Brooks, Doug Lubahn (bass); Reinol Andino (conga).
Recorded at Elektra Sound Recorders, Los Angeles, California.
Dismissed by the benighted as the Doors' "pop album," SOFT PARADE is one of the band's most adventurous recordings, utilizing strings and horns without resorting to schlocky over-production and moving far beyond their blues roots. Morrison was fully into his shaman phase by 1969, and his obsession with that image is reflected in the proselytizing air of "Tell All the People," and of course "Shaman's Blues." The album's biggest hit "Touch Me," while easily the group's most radio-friendly offering, is a pop classic that ranks among the great '60s AM radio tunes. "Wild Child" is a brief return to the blues-rock of yore, but the title track is a sophisticated, extended piece that moves through several different moods and textures, full of the elliptical, poetic lyrics that were Morrison's trademark.

• Format: Vinyl
• Genre: Rock
• Released: 10/1/1996