- Audio CD (28 Aug 2000)
- Number of Discs: 1
- Format: Limited Edition, Original recording remastered
- Label: Elektra
- ASIN: B00004U8DV
- Other Editions: Audio CD | Audio Cassette | DVD Audio | Vinyl | MP3 Download
- Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (46 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 164,846 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
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Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
The last official Doors studio album, LA Woman was still high on the charts when, like the "actor out on loan" of its closing track, "Riders on the Storm", Jim Morrison died in a Paris bathtub in the summer of 1971. Via such tracks as "The Changeling", "Crawling King Snake", and the frothy, rollicking title track, the collection leaned heavily toward the blues--in particular, Morrison's boastful "Lizard King" brand of it. It also holds another entry in the band's ever-adventurous tone poems in the ever-underrated mythical tale of American music and culture, "WASP (Texas Radio and the Big Beat)". --Billy Altman
From Amazon.com
This is the Doors' blues album, their best since their 1967 self-titled debut and their last before singer Jim Morrison died in 1971. The band sounds very inspired here, particular after lackluster efforts like Waiting for the Sun and The Soft Parade. This inspiration is demonstrated in the awesome boogie of "The Changeling" and "L.A. Woman," the lazy blues of "Cars Hiss by My Window," and the very pretty "Hyacinth House" (featuring the great line "I see the bathroom is clear"). Although Morrison not surprisingly takes himself too seriously at times, as in his spoken-word ranting in "The Wasp (Texas Radio and the Big Beat)," Ray Manzarek's keyboards and Robby Krieger's bottleneck guitar both shine, helping to make L.A. Woman a minor rock & roll classic. --Andy Boynton
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
15 of 16 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
The Doors' last album before Jim Morrison's death stands apart from their earlier releases. Grittier and bluesier, it isn't representative of what made them successful, but has its own aura. The cover shot shows a grizzlier, chunkier Morrison, no longer the budding sex god, and his vocal delivery is that of a more mature hell raiser. Two additional musicians on rhythm and bass guitars are also featured, so that Ray Manzarek's keyboards, though still prominent, are less dominant. The result is that the band sounds less different from other bands than before, but they also sound more fluid.
Blues forms the main thread to the album. There are three straight examples of the form, but there are, as usual, surprises. 'L'America' is the most uncomfortable listening and reveals that Morrison still possessed plenty of menace. 'Love Her Madly' is deliciously light and melodic, Manzarek's piano skipping along, as is 'Hyacinth House'. 'Changeling' provides an earthy opening, while the title track fairly bombs along, allowing each member to stretch out. This is one of the album's trump cards, but two more are left until the end. 'Texas Radio and The Big Beat' sees Morrison on mischievous form and it does indeed feature a big beat. The crowning achievement is of course 'Riders On The Storm,' a soundtrack for psychopaths everywhere, full of beautiful sounds and dark dramas. Possibly not to every fan's liking, 'LA Woman' is nevertheless a superb performance.
Blues forms the main thread to the album. There are three straight examples of the form, but there are, as usual, surprises. 'L'America' is the most uncomfortable listening and reveals that Morrison still possessed plenty of menace. 'Love Her Madly' is deliciously light and melodic, Manzarek's piano skipping along, as is 'Hyacinth House'. 'Changeling' provides an earthy opening, while the title track fairly bombs along, allowing each member to stretch out. This is one of the album's trump cards, but two more are left until the end. 'Texas Radio and The Big Beat' sees Morrison on mischievous form and it does indeed feature a big beat. The crowning achievement is of course 'Riders On The Storm,' a soundtrack for psychopaths everywhere, full of beautiful sounds and dark dramas. Possibly not to every fan's liking, 'LA Woman' is nevertheless a superb performance.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
A classic album, and the extra tracks are not just fillers either.
A couple of years ago I was in California with my son, and The Doors provided the soundtrack for our cruising round LA. I can't afford that again so maybe a trip to Wolverhampton playing Slade - it just doesn't have the same appeal though.
A couple of years ago I was in California with my son, and The Doors provided the soundtrack for our cruising round LA. I can't afford that again so maybe a trip to Wolverhampton playing Slade - it just doesn't have the same appeal though.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
A lot like Abbey Road, this, what turned out to be final effort from the Doors, ties things up brilliantly. 1970 was the end of an era and for many records of this time there is a sort of "coming down" - LA Woman has this in spades. The music is superb, as you would expect from a band that had many years of practise, but made more so by the move towards a bluesier feel. However, it is Jim Morrison's voice that gives it an edge; cigarettes and alcohol have blurred the edges and deepened the tone. Added to which are some of the more intriguing lyrics that he wrote. What are they doing in the Hyacinth House? Whatever it is the feeling is so tired, and so longing for conclusion. The conclusion, as such, is Riders on the Storm which never fails to leave you numb. It is one of those songs that you wish would never end.
In short this is a brilliant album and even after 23 years of listening to it I never tire. The sentiments, emotions and feelings that are evoked by the songs always leave me wishing that somehow, perhaps, there could have been more. Even so, what a conclusion!
In short this is a brilliant album and even after 23 years of listening to it I never tire. The sentiments, emotions and feelings that are evoked by the songs always leave me wishing that somehow, perhaps, there could have been more. Even so, what a conclusion!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
One for the discerning fan but brilliant nevertheless
No this one is not just another reissue of the well known album but also one for the discerning Doors fans and collectors, the 2 CD triple fold out set featuring as it does,... Read more
Published 2 days ago by Doreen Guest
cracking songs
excellent album whether your a doors fan or not & im not. enjoyed the songs very much. each to their own taste i suppose.
Published 1 month ago by debs n debs
The Doors - great listening
This was bought as a gift for my partner after we had watched their story on t.v. Great listening, we enjoyed it together.
Published 1 month ago by Bonnie
Great
Great quality versions of classic Doors tracks . An excellent listening experience. This is very good value for money and it is thoroughly enjoyable.
Published 1 month ago by Gerry
the doors final masterpiece..
For me this is the definitive version of the Morrison-fronted Doors 1971 swansong L.A Woman. Mainly because there is no extra verse on 'Cars Hiss by my Window' and no new beginning... Read more
Published 1 month ago by yerblues
It's blues Jim but not as we know it - one for the discerning Doors...
No this one isn't just another reissue of the well known album but also one for the discerning Doors fans and collectors, the 2 CD triple fold out set featuring as it does,... Read more
Published 2 months ago by D. J. HORN
Driving Music
Have this on original LP So easy now to instantly listen these daze. Now got it on this and I-Phone, me going through a Doors revisit thing at the mo OK
Brilliant then and now
Brilliant then and now
Published 2 months ago by Chris1410
LA Woman 40th
double disk - original album and album of studio versions of the tracks, plus the "new track". Worth the investment for fans of the doors.
Published 3 months ago by Rich
Re-enter these Doors
To revisit L.A. Woman was exciting, just because the new tracks. But also all the magic that comes out the original tunes when they are in raw fashion. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Fernando M. Rodrigues
L.A Woman 40th.
If you have already purchased the 2007 remix/remasters save your money. There is nothing of real note that has changed here. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Anthony,Perth WA
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