The Complete Studio Recordings is a seven compact disc box set by American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 rock group 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...

, released by Elektra

Elektra Records

Elektra Records is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group. In 2004, it was consolidated into WMG's Atlantic Records Group. After five years of dormancy, the label was revived by Atlantic in 2009....

 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 on the 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....

series, on disc seven.

The albums are placed in chronological order.

Misleading title

While the title of the box set suggests this is a collection of all the studio recordings by the band, there are some notable exceptions. The set does not include the three post-Morrison albums Other Voices, Full Circle and An American Prayer

An American Prayer

An American Prayer is the last studio album by The Doors. In 1978, seven years after lead singer Jim Morrison died and five years after the remaining members of the band broke up, Ray Manzarek, Robby Krieger, and John Densmore reunited and recorded backing tracks over Morrison's poetry...

, nor their respective singles. The non-album B-sides to "Get Up and Dance", the rare Tree Trunk

Tree Trunk

"Tree Trunk" is a song recorded and released in 1972 by The Doors."Tree Trunk" was recorded by the surviving members of The Doors as they assembled material for their second and final album, Full Circle, following the death of Jim Morrison...

, and to "Love Her Madly

Love Her Madly

"Love Her Madly" is a song by The Doors, which was released in March 1971. Composed by guitarist Robby Krieger, it served as the lead single from L.A. Woman, their final album with frontman Jim Morrison. Session musician and Elvis Presly TCB Band touring member Jerry Scheff, played bass guitar on...

", "(You Need Meat) Don't Go No Further", a Willie Dixon song sung by Manzarek, are also missing.

Track listing

All songs were written by Jim Morrison

Jim Morrison

James Douglas "Jim" Morrison was an American musician, singer, and poet, best known as the lead singer and lyricist of the rock band The Doors...

, Robby Krieger

Robby Krieger

Robert 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."...

, Ray Manzarek

Ray Manzarek

Raymond 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...

, and John Densmore

John Densmore

John 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...

 except where noted.

Disc one: The Doors

The Doors (album)

The Doors is the debut album by the American rock band The Doors, recorded in August 1966 and released in January 1967. It was originally released in significantly different stereo and mono mixes...

1. "Break on Through (To the Other Side)
   Break 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...
   
   " – 2:30
2. "Soul Kitchen" – 3:35
3. "The Crystal Ship" – 2:34
4. "Twentieth Century Fox" – 2:33
5. "Alabama Song
   Alabama Song
   The "Alabama Song" was originally published in Bertolt Brecht's Hauspostille . It was set to music by Kurt Weill for the 1927 "Songspiel" Mahagonny and used again in Weill's and Brecht's 1930 opera Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny...
   
    (Whisky Bar)" (Bertolt Brecht, Kurt Weill) – 3:20
6. "Light My Fire
   Light My Fire
   "Light My Fire" is a song by The Doors which was recorded in August 1966 and released the first week of January 1967 on the Doors' debut album. Released as a single in April, it spent three weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and one week on the Cash Box Top 100, nearly a year after...
   
   " – 7:08
7. "Back Door Man
   Back Door Man
   "Back Door Man" is a blues song written by Willie Dixon and recorded by Howlin' Wolf in 1961. It was released by Chess Records as the B-side to Wolf's "Wang Dang Doodle"...
   
   " (Willie Dixon
   Willie Dixon
   William James "Willie" Dixon was an American blues musician, vocalist, songwriter, arranger and record producer. A Grammy Award winner who was proficient on both the Upright bass and the guitar, as well as his own singing voice, Dixon is arguably best known as one of the most prolific songwriters...
   
   ) – 3:34
8. "I Looked at You" – 2:22
9. "End of the Night" – 2:52
10. "Take It as It Comes" – 2:17
11. "The End
    The 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...
    
    " – 11:43

Disc two: Strange Days

Strange Days (album)

Strange Days is the second album released by American rock band The Doors. The album was a commercial success, earning a gold record and reaching No. 3 on the Billboard 200 albums chart. Despite this, the album's producer, Paul Rothchild, considered it a commercial failure, even if it was an...

1. "Strange Days
   Strange Days (The Doors song)
   "Strange Days" is a song by The Doors. It was released in 1967 and is the first track on the album of the same name. According to a review at Allmusic by Tom Maginnis, the song seems to find lead singer Jim Morrison "pondering the state of the then emerging hippie youth culture and how they are...
   
   " – 3:10
2. "You're Lost Little Girl" – 3:03
3. "Love Me Two Times
   Love Me Two Times
   "Love Me Two Times" is a song by The Doors. It was written by the band and first appeared on the 1967 album Strange Days. It was released as the second single from that album, and reached #25 on the charts in the US....
   
   " – 3:17
4. "Unhappy Girl" – 2:00
5. "Horse Latitudes
   Horse Latitudes (The Doors song)
   "Horse Latitudes" is the fifth song from The Doors second album, Strange Days. The song is a spoken word piece by Jim Morrison with the band providing frightening noises as a backdrop. Morrison screams the lyrics, telling of a ship at sea forced to jettison the onboard horses to lighten their load...
   
   " – 1:35
6. "Moonlight Drive
   Moonlight 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...
   
   " – 3:04
7. "People Are Strange
   People Are Strange
   "People Are Strange" is a single released by The Doors in September 1967 from their second album Strange Days which was also released in September 1967. The single peaked at the #12 position of the U.S. Hot 100 chart and made it to the top ten in the Cash Box charts...
   
   " – 2:12
8. "My Eyes Have Seen You" – 2:29
9. "I Can't See Your Face in My Mind" – 3:26
10. "When the Music's Over
    When the Music's Over
    "When the Music's Over" is a song by American rock band The Doors, featured on their 1967 album Strange Days. The song, at almost eleven minutes long, is their third longest recorded song, behind "The End", at 11:42, and "Celebration of the Lizard", at 17:01...
    
    " – 11:00

Disc three: Waiting for the Sun

Waiting for the Sun

Waiting for the Sun is the third studio album by the American rock band The Doors. It was released in 1968 and became the band's first and only number one album and spawned their second US number one single, "Hello, I Love You". It also became the band's first hit album in the UK, where it peaked...

1. "Hello, I Love You
   Hello, 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...
   
   " – 2:16
2. "Love Street
   Love Street
   "Love Street" is a 1968 song by The Doors which appears on their album Waiting For The Sun. The song was originally a poem written by singer Jim Morrison about the street in Laurel Canyon, California, where he lived with his girlfriend Pamela Courson. Their address was 8021 Rothdell Trail...
   
   " – 2:51
3. "Not to Touch the Earth
   Not to Touch the Earth
   "Not to Touch the Earth" is a 1968 song by The Doors from their album Waiting for the Sun. It stems from Jim Morrison's poem, "Celebration of the Lizard". A recording of the complete poem was attempted at the sessions for the album, but only the musical passage Not to Touch the Earth was deemed fit...
   
   " – 3:55
4. "Summer's Almost Gone
   Summer's Almost Gone
   "Summer's Almost Gone" is the fourth track on Waiting for the Sun, the third album by American rock band The Doors. The song was covered by pianist George Winston on his album Night Divides the Day - The Music of the Doors....
   
   " – 3:22
5. "Wintertime Love" – 1:54
6. "The Unknown Soldier
   The Unknown Soldier (song)
   "The Unknown Soldier" was the first single from The Doors' 1968 album Waiting for the Sun, and was also the subject of one of the band's few music videos.-Lyrics:...
   
   " – 3:25
7. "Spanish Caravan
   Spanish Caravan
   "Spanish Caravan" is a song by The Doors from the album Waiting for the Sun released in 1968. Its basic flamenco track is an established form of flamenco music known as Granadinas.The beginning riff was taken from Asturias , a classical piece of music by a Spanish composer Isaac Albeniz...
   
   " – 3:00
8. "My Wild Love" – 3:01
9. "We Could Be So Good Together
   We Could Be So Good Together
   "We Could Be So Good Together" is a song by American rock band The Doors, appearing as the ninth song on their 1968 album, Waiting for the Sun, but was initially released as the B-side of the single The Unknown Soldier...
   
   " – 2:24
10. "Yes, The River Knows" – 2:36
11. "Five to One
    Five To One
    "Five to One" is a song by The Doors, from their 1968 album Waiting for the Sun.-Origin:"Five to one" is rumored to be the approximate ratio of whites to blacks, old to young, or non-pot smokers to pot smokers in the US in 1967, depending on whom you ask. A further urban legend has it as the ratio...
    
    " – 4:24

Disc four: The Soft Parade

The Soft Parade

The Soft Parade is the fourth studio album by The Doors, released in 1969.The album met with some controversy among fans and critics due to its inclusion of brass and string instrument arrangements, as opposed to the more stripped-down sound of their earlier recordings...

1. "Tell All the People
   Tell All the People
   "Tell All the People" was the third single off The Doors' 1969 album The Soft Parade. It is also known by "Follow Me Down" because of the use of the phrase in the song. It was released as an A-side that same year, with "Easy Ride" as its B-side, reaching #57 in the US charts...
   
   " (Robby Krieger
   Robby Krieger
   Robert 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."...
   
   ) – 3:21
2. "Touch Me
   Touch Me (The Doors song)
   "Touch Me" is a song by The Doors from their album The Soft Parade. Written by Robby Krieger, its riff was influenced by The Four Seasons' "C'mon Marianne." It is notable for its extensive usage of brass and string instruments to accent Jim Morrison's vocals...
   
   " (Robby Krieger
   Robby Krieger
   Robert 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."...
   
   ) – 3:12
3. "Shaman's Blues
   Shaman's Blues
   "Shaman's Blues" is a song written by Jim Morrison and performed by The Doors on their 1969 album The Soft Parade. The song describes a shaman pleading with his ex-lover to return back to him. He states that he knows the woman's "moods and your mind" but doesn't seem to be able to sway her and...
   
   " (Jim Morrison
   Jim Morrison
   James Douglas "Jim" Morrison was an American musician, singer, and poet, best known as the lead singer and lyricist of the rock band The Doors...
   
   ) – 4:48
4. "Do It" (Jim Morrison
   Jim Morrison
   James Douglas "Jim" Morrison was an American musician, singer, and poet, best known as the lead singer and lyricist of the rock band The Doors...
   
   , Robby Krieger
   Robby Krieger
   Robert 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."...
   
   ) – 3:08
5. "Easy Ride
   Easy Ride
   "Easy Ride" is a song by The Doors, from their 1969 album The Soft Parade. It was written by lead singer Jim Morrison, who, apparently hoped it would be released as a single A-side as well. Perhaps surprisingly, given that a grand total of four singles were lifted from the nine-song album, "Easy...
   
   " (Jim Morrison
   Jim Morrison
   James Douglas "Jim" Morrison was an American musician, singer, and poet, best known as the lead singer and lyricist of the rock band The Doors...
   
   ) – 2:41
6. "Wild Child" (Jim Morrison
   Jim Morrison
   James Douglas "Jim" Morrison was an American musician, singer, and poet, best known as the lead singer and lyricist of the rock band The Doors...
   
   ) – 2:38
7. "Runnin' Blue" (Robby Krieger
   Robby Krieger
   Robert 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."...
   
   ) – 2:30
8. "Wishful Sinful" (Robby Krieger
   Robby Krieger
   Robert 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."...
   
   ) – 3:00
9. "The Soft Parade
   The 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...
   
   " (Jim Morrison
   Jim Morrison
   James Douglas "Jim" Morrison was an American musician, singer, and poet, best known as the lead singer and lyricist of the rock band The Doors...
   
   ) – 8:34

Disc five: Morrison Hotel

Morrison Hotel

Morrison Hotel is The Doors' fifth album. It was released in 1970. After their experimental work The Soft Parade was not as well received as anticipated, the group went back to basics and back to their roots...

1. "Roadhouse Blues
   Roadhouse 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...
   
   " – 4:04
2. "Waiting for the Sun" – 3:59
3. "You Make Me Real" – 2:53
4. "Peace Frog
   Peace Frog
   "Peace Frog" is a song by The Doors which appears on the album Morrison Hotel. It was released on vinyl in February 1970 by Elektra/Asylum Records and produced by Paul Rothchild...
   
   " – 2:54
5. "Blue Sunday" – 2:13
6. "Ship of Fools" – 3:08
7. "Land Ho!" (Morrison, Krieger) – 4:10
8. "The Spy" – 4:17
9. "Queen of the Highway
   Queen 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...
   
   " – 2:47
10. "Indian Summer" (Morrison, Krieger) – 2:36
11. "Maggie M'Gill" – 4:23

Disc six: L.A. Woman

L.A. Woman

The band embarked on a tour to promote the album, although it would only comprise two dates. The first was held in Dallas, Texas on December 11 and reportedly went well. The second performance took place at The Warehouse in New Orleans, Louisiana, on December 12, 1970, where Morrison apparently had...

1. "The Changeling" – 4:21
2. "Love Her Madly" – 3:20
3. "Been Down So Long" – 4:41
4. "Cars Hiss by My Window" – 4:12
5. "L.A. Woman
   L.A. Woman (song)
   "L.A. Woman" is a song by American rock band The Doors. The song is the title track on their 1971 album L.A. Woman, the final album with frontman Jim Morrison before his death.In the song's coda, Morrison repeats the phrase Mr...
   
   " – 7:55
6. "L'America" – 4:37
7. "Hyacinth House
   Hyacinth House
   "Hyacinth House" is a 1971 song by The Doors which appears on their final album with frontman Jim Morrison, L.A. Woman. The music was written by Ray Manzarek, while Morrison wrote the lyrics while at guitarist Robby Krieger's beach house; though the song's writing credits are additionally credited...
   
   " – 3:11
8. "Crawlin' King Snake" (John Lee Hooker
   John Lee Hooker
   John Lee Hooker was an American blues singer-songwriter and guitarist.Hooker began his life as the son of a sharecropper, William Hooker, and rose to prominence performing his own unique style of what was originally closest to Delta blues. He developed a 'talking blues' style that was his trademark...
   
   ) – 5:00
9. "The WASP (Texas Radio and the Big Beat)
   The WASP (Texas Radio and the Big Beat)
   "The WASP " is a 1971 song by The Doors, which appears on their final album with frontman Jim Morrison, L.A. Woman. The music was written by Ray Manzarek, Robby Krieger and John Densmore. The spoken word lyrics, written by Morrison, come from a poem he wrote in 1968, three years before the music...
   
   " – 4:16
10. "Riders on the Storm
    Riders on the Storm
    "Riders on the Storm" is a song by The Doors from their 1971 album, L.A. Woman. It reached number 14 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the US, number 22 on the UK singles charts and number 7 in the Netherlands.-Overview:...
    
    " – 7:09

Disc seven: Essential Rarities

Essential Rarities

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...

1. "Hello to the Cities" (Live) – 0:56
2. "Break on Through" – (Live) 4:32
3. "Roadhouse Blues" – (Live) 4:19
4. "Hyacinth House" (Demo) – 2:40
5. "Who Scared You" – 3:16
6. "Whiskey, Mystics & Men" – 2:19
7. "I Will Never Be Untrue" – 3:56
8. "Moonlight Drive" (Demo) – 2:31
9. "Queen of the Highway" (Alternate Version) – 3:32
10. "Someday Soon" (Live) – 3:41
11. "Hello, I Love You" (Demo) – 2:28
12. "Orange County Suite" – 5:27
13. "The Soft Parade" (Live) – 10:03
14. "The End" – (Live) 18:01
15. "Woman Is a Devil" (bonus track) – 4:08