The Doors: 13 (1970)
A baker’s dozen from their first four, fresh from the soul kitchen of The Doors.
Kronomyth 5: Thirteenbeat, thirteenset.
The Doors release a greatest hits album under the unlucky title of 13. A year later, Jim Morrison is dead. Coincidence? Yes, probably, but where’s the fun in that? Honestly, it’s weird that people attribute supernatural causes to the early deaths of rock stars when it’s basically the same natural cause every time: drugs and alcohol. It’s not like anyone is offering a conspiracy theory for why overweight men in their 50s die of heart attacks. Anyway, back to channel thirteen. As the only Doors compilation released in Jim Morrison’s lifetime, 13 doesn’t bear the heavy weight of his legend. Sure, he’s featured prominently on the cover, but the man had more charisma than the rest of his mates rolled together. The albums that followed (Morrison Hotel, L.A. Woman) contained their share of hits, so 13 is not the definitive Doors collection. Personally, I would have added “Alabama Song” and “Break on Through” from their first album and given The Crystal Ship and Land Ho the heave-ho, and probably replaced The Unknown Soldier with “Five to One,” but I don’t think Elektra’s intent was to collect their greatest songs on a single album so much as create an informed sampler from their first four albums. Okay, so Elektra’s actual intent was probably just to make money repackaging songs that the band had already released, but you know what I mean. One interesting note: I was surprised to see how many of these songs were written by Robbie Krieger: Light My Fire, Touch Me, Love Me Two Times, etc. I guess I never gave him enough credit as an equal creative force in the band. I tend to think of Morrison and Ray Manzarek as the principal architects of the band’s sound, but Krieger is clearly an equal force if not greater.
Original elpee version
A1. Light My Fire (Robbie Krieger) (6:50)
A2. People Are Strange (Jim Morrison/Robbie Krieger) (2:10)
A3. Back Door Man (Willie Dixon/Chester Burnett) (3:30)
A4. Moonlight Drive (Jim Morrison) (3:00)
A5. The Crystal Ship (Jim Morrison) (2:30)
A6. Roadhouse Blues (Jim Morrison/The Doors) (4:04)
B1. Touch Me (Robbie Krieger) (3:15)
B2. Love Me Two Times (Robbie Krieger) (3:23)
B3. You’re Lost, Little Girl (Robbie Krieger) (3:01)
B4. Hello, I Love You (Jim Morrison) (2:22)
B5. Land Ho (Jim Morrison/Robbie Krieger) (4:08)
B6. Wild Child (Jim Morrison/The Doors) (2:36)
B7. The Unknown Soldier (Jim Morrison/The Doors) (3:10)
The Players
John Densmore (drums), Robbie Krieger (guitar), Ray Manzarek (piano & organ), Jim Morrison (vocals). Produced by Paul A. Rothchild; engineered by Bruce Botnick; production supervised by Jac Holzman.
The Pictures
Front cover photo by William S. Harvey. Back cover photo by Edmund Teske. Art direction & design by Robert L. Heimall.
The Plastic
Released on elpee and cassette in February 1970 in the US (Elektra, EKS-74079/TC-54079). Reached #25 on the US charts (RIAA-certified gold record).
