Three Great Underrated Tracks From the Doors’ “L.A Woman”

Three Great Underrated Tracks From the Doors’ “L.A Woman” | I Love Classic Rock Videos

The Doors live in 1968 - Jesus Deras Alvarez / Youtube

L.A. Woman, the Doors’ album, was a brash mix of bold, largely bluesy stuff that sounded like the work of a band with a long road behind them. But things turned out to be very different in practice. Three months later after the release of the album in April, Morrison’s body was discovered in a Paris bathtub in July 1971.

Things were in turmoil during the album’s sessions. Jim Morrison’s heavy drinking was harming not just his body and mind but also his relationships with the other members of the band. Morrison was also facing a jail term for indecent exposure and profanity convictions in Florida, stemming from an incident during a concert in Miami in which he reportedly exposed himself to the audience.

While we know L.A. Woman for its classic radio staples such as the title track and “Riders of the Storm,” there are three more underrated songs from the album that are equally worthy of praise for their fantastic melody and depict a straightforward concept that’s apparent throughout the album. Take a look at the list below.

 

“L’America”

Despite being composed with the intention of being included in Italian filmmaker Michelangelo Antonioni’s film Zabriskie Point, “L’America” stands on its own as a cinematic work, telling the story of a con artist and a seeker via the same voice.

“The Changeling”

The album kicks out with “The Changeling,” a groovy track that Morrison wrote as a reaction to what he saw as the superficiality of L.A. and the music industry. In the song, Morrison says goodbye to the city, singing, “Yeah, I’m leaving town / On a midnight train / Gotta see me change,” indicating that he is not interested in fame and money.

“Crawling King Snake”

During the L.A. Woman recordings, there was a “Blues Day” dedicated to playing and recording blues songs and originals in the same style. Morrison saunters into this John Lee Hooker tune as if the words were his own impromptu utterances; the song was a staple of the band’s club set when they were starting out.