Essential Rarities
Encyclopedia
Essential Rarities is a compilation album
by The Doors
, originally released as part of the boxed set The Complete Studio Recordings
in 1999, but reissued in 2000 as a single CD
, containing studio cuts, live cuts and demos
taken from the 1997 The Doors Box Set
.
All the tracks on this album have been officially released on the 1997 box set, with the exception of the bonus track "Woman Is a Devil", that was edited from the 1969 Elektra Studios "Rock Is Dead" sessions, and was not included in the box set version of the album.
Also, some songs appear in more complete form than their Box Set versions: "Roadhouse Blues" has a 35-second section that was cut from the bridge of the song, and "Who Scared You?" has an extra verse.
Compilation album
A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...
by The Doors
The Doors
The Doors were an American rock band formed in 1965 in Los Angeles, California, with vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, drummer John Densmore, and guitarist Robby Krieger...
, originally released as part of the boxed set The Complete Studio Recordings
The Complete Studio Recordings (The Doors album)
The Complete Studio Recordings is a seven compact disc box set by American rock group The Doors, released by Elektra on November 9, 1999. It contains six of the original eight Doors albums, digitally remastered with 24 bit, with the inclusion of stray previously unreleased tracks that had surfaced...
in 1999, but reissued in 2000 as a single CD
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
, containing studio cuts, live cuts and demos
Demo (music)
A demo version or demo of a song is one recorded for reference rather than for release. A demo is a way for a musician to approximate their ideas on tape or disc, and provide an example of those ideas to record labels, producers or other artists...
taken from the 1997 The Doors Box Set
The Doors: Box Set
This is the first box set by the band The Doors released on October 28, 1997. The set includes previously rare and unreleased demo recordings.-Track listing:All songs written by Jim Morrison, Robby Krieger, Ray Manzarek, and John Densmore, except where noted....
.
All the tracks on this album have been officially released on the 1997 box set, with the exception of the bonus track "Woman Is a Devil", that was edited from the 1969 Elektra Studios "Rock Is Dead" sessions, and was not included in the box set version of the album.
Also, some songs appear in more complete form than their Box Set versions: "Roadhouse Blues" has a 35-second section that was cut from the bridge of the song, and "Who Scared You?" has an extra verse.
Track listing
(All songs written by The Doors, except "The Soft Parade", written by Jim Morrison)- "Hello to the Cities" (live on the Ed Sullivan Show, 1967 and at Cobo Hall, Detroit, 1970) - 0:56
- "Break On ThroughBreak on Through (To the Other Side)"Break on Through " is a song by The Doors from their debut album, The Doors. It was the first single released by the band and was unsuccessful compared to later hits, reaching only #126 in the United States...
" (recorded live at the Isle of Wight Festival, England, 1970) – 4:44 - "Roadhouse BluesRoadhouse Blues"Roadhouse Blues" is a blues-rock song written and recorded by the American rock band The Doors. The song, which appeared on the B-side of "You Make Me Real", was first released as a single from the album Morrison Hotel in March 1970 and peaked at #50 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100...
" (recorded live at Madison Square Garden, New York, 1970) – 4:31 - "Hyacinth House" (demo recorded at Robby Krieger's home studio, 1969) – 2:38
- "Who Scared You" (recorded at Elektra Studios, 1969) – 3:55
- "Whiskey, Mystics & MenWhiskey, Mystics & Men"Whiskey, Mystics & Men" is a song by The Doors from the compilation Essential Rarities.-Overview:The song released on the 2000 compilation is mostly a studio creation, the vocal parts of Morrison are the same as the ones in the bootleg Missing Links "Whiskey, Mystics & Men" is a song by The Doors...
" (recorded at Elektra Studios, 1970) – 2:23 - "I Will Never Be Untrue" (recorded live at the Aquarius Theater, Hollywood, 1969) – 3:58
- "Moonlight DriveMoonlight Drive"Moonlight Drive" was one of the seminal tracks on The Doors' second album, Strange Days. Although it was only a B-side , it is a favorite in The Doors canon...
" (demo recorded at World Pacific Studios, 1965) – 2:31 - "Queen of the HighwayQueen of the Highway'Queen of the Highway is a song by the rock group The Doors, from their 1970 album Morrison Hotel. It is the ninth, and third-to-last track on that album...
" (alternate version recorded at Elektra Studios ,1969) – 3:35 - "Someday Soon" (recorded live at the Seattle Center, 1970) – 3:49
- "Hello, I Love YouHello, I Love You"Hello, I Love You" is a song by The Doors from their 1968 album Waiting for the Sun. It was released as a single that same year, reaching number one in the United States and selling over a million copies in the U.S. alone. In Canada, it hit number one as well...
" (demo recorded at World Pacific Studios, 1965) – 2:31 - "Orange County Suite" (recorded at Elektra Studios, 1970) – 5:44
- "The Soft ParadeThe Soft Parade (song)The Soft Parade is the ninth and final track on the fourth studio album of the same name by the rock band The Doors. Many listeners believe that this and Shaman's Blues are reminiscent to the old style of The Doors, as heard in the albums The Doors and Strange Days. This is mainly because the song...
" (recorded live on PBS Television, New York, 1969) – 10:09 - "The EndThe End (The Doors song)"The End" is a song by The Doors. Originally written by Jim Morrison as a song about breaking up with girlfriend Mary Werbelow, it evolved through months of performances at Los Angeles' Whisky a Go Go into a nearly 12-minute opus on their self-titled album. The band would perform the song to close...
" (recorded live at Madison Square Garden, New York, 1970) – 17:46 - "Woman Is a Devil" (recorded at Elektra Studios, 1969) – 4:08
Personnel
- Robby KriegerRobby KriegerRobert Alan "Robby" Krieger is an American rock guitarist and songwriter. He was the guitarist in The Doors, and wrote some of the band's best known songs, including "Light My Fire," "Love Me Two Times," "Touch Me," and "Love Her Madly."...
– guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with... - Jim MorrisonJim MorrisonJames Douglas "Jim" Morrison was an American musician, singer, and poet, best known as the lead singer and lyricist of the rock band The Doors...
– vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
, PianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
on Oranger County Suite - Ray ManzarekRay ManzarekRaymond Daniel Manzarek, Jr., better known as Ray Manzarek , is an American musician, singer, producer, film director, writer, co-founder and keyboardist of The Doors from 1965 to 1973, Nite City from 1977–1978 and Manzarek-Krieger since 2001.Manzarek is listed #4 on Digital Dreamdoor's "100...
– organOrgan (music)The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with...
, pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
, keyboardsKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
& bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick.... - John DensmoreJohn DensmoreJohn Paul Densmore is an American musician and songwriter. He is best known as the drummer of the rock group The Doors.-Early life and The Doors:Born in Los Angeles, Densmore attended Santa Monica City College and Cal...
– drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person .... - Paul A. RothchildPaul A. RothchildPaul A. Rothchild was a prominent American record producer of the late 1960s and 1970s.-Early years:Born in Brooklyn, New York, Rothchild grew up in Teaneck, New Jersey and graduated from Teaneck High School in 1953....
– original producer - Bruce BotnickBruce BotnickBruce Botnick is an American audio engineer and record producer, best known for his work with The Doors, and with Love. He engineered Love's first two albums, and co-produced their third album, Forever Changes, with the band's singer-songwriter, Arthur Lee.In November 1970, he took over production...
– producer - Danny SugermanDanny SugermanDaniel Stephen "Danny" Sugerman was the second manager of the Los Angeles-based rock band The Doors, and wrote several books about Jim Morrison and The Doors, including No One Here Gets Out Alive , and the autobiography Wonderland Avenue...
- Management - Richard EvansRichard Evans-Literary figures:*Richard J. Evans , English historian on the subject of Germany before and during World War II*Richard Paul Evans , American author of books with Christian themes; best known for 1995's The Christmas Box...
- Art Direction and Design - Todd Gray - Photo Archivist