During my time with the Mobile Riverine Force in Vietnam, we listened to this song and wondered if today would be the end of our lives, or maybe tomorrow. Needless to say, it holds a special place in my memories of the Upper Mekong River.
Robert Plumlee thank you for your service. This song is deeper than anyone can imagine. And your era was being spoken to. And every one since, it is time to shift into the next phase. Love and light to you brother!
on the contrary, there was several 'acid rock' bands at the time. the Doors were one of the top 5 definers of it. "trippy" and "far out" as we used to say. Lead to Yes, Moody Blues, ELO, Pink Floyd, Zeppelin , Beatles did a bunch in the genera .
RIP Ray Manzarek, one of the great rock keyboardists playing both keyboard bass with his left hand while playing backround melody with his right in a lenghthy tune dominated by poetry. Long live Ray.....
The End was used in the opening sequence of the film Apocalypse Now, where the protagonist was hovering between sleep and waking... and for him, both were nightmarish experiences. My father was a Vietnam Vet, and he couldn't listen to that song without having a fit of PTSD. The song has become a symbol of the experience from that conflict.
This is what we old white Geezers called "head music". It's best when listened to as loud as possible in a room as dark as possible as stoned as possible. Feed your head, Little Brother.
This was by far my favorite reaction of yours. I’ve heard this song probably 1,000 times, but watching you made me really see what it would be like listening to it for the first time. Thanks for this!
I’ve stopped listening to most new music because so much of it feels programmed, not composed. I listen to a few alt-rock bands but even they’re at least a decade old.
nostrilnick I can't think about it because the music of today is all disposable stuff nobody will be talking about in the years to come. Meanwhile here we are listening to music recorded 50 years ago and it is still relevant. 🤘
@@szqsk8 morrison was dark, but he was also honest, prescient & even forward seeing.... genius gets tossed around a lot, & morrison had his own fair share of personal baggage, but when this cat was dialed in, works like this had staggering power. id like to see jamal do when the musics over, its on this scale.... i notice w/ the doors, even before floyd, they drew the big scape picture to music like no other group. you can tell they had backgrounds in cinema. throw in the symbolist, blake influenced poetry & the bravery to look chaos into its eye & you get works like this that indeed not only stand the test of time, but speak to the chaotic undertones of the West presently moreso then anything you will hear in popular music today. this song was 2 score ahead of the game. morrison sounds almost like an amer prophet here standing on a canyon & watching where the snake was heading presently.
It may have been Huxley but it originally was William Blake. Or at least that’s who got the credit in the book No One Here Gets Out Alive. Which claimed to be an authoritative biography.
@@davidgraham748 Authoritative biographies are often wrong, as with this. It looks like the quotation comes from Ray Manzarek, who added, "that's us." It's not surprising that the bio was wrong about Blake and Huxley, but odd if it missed Manzarek. Google Quote Investigator for more information.
I wrote a paper on this song in college. The song’s themes and symbolisms are of rebirth, regeneration. The song shocks you with the content, and at the end you have a feeling of relief- a catharsis. That catharsis itself is the meaning of a timeless piece of art. I had to breakdown the song, lyrics, analyze symbolisms, history, the beats, etc. It took me a whole 2 months to research and write it. I got the highest grade in the class. I just picked it because I knew I felt that way when I listened to it the first time, I’d knew it’d work.
Really? I am a simple tradesman but I thought it was just TV. You actually studied this? I lived it. Please post a link to your work if you would. Cheers!
i always just thought it was because they lived in venice beach, since the blue bus is what their public bus is called there. I've ridden it, and it's not as exciting as the song makes it seem
This is not just another fluffy pop song. It's not a dance tune. Kudos for even attempting to react to it. I think the Oedipus reference is what got the band thrown out of the Whiskey-a-go-go -- a club in Hollywood when no one knew their name. The Doors wanted to push boundaries, and they certainly did it with "The End."
The Whiskey ran them out because Jim got too fucked up too often..Nothing to do with their music or your Oedipus stuff.The Whiskey never was a Cancel Culture bar. Lots of wild bands with equally non-mainstream stuff. Just as much fun drinking with them next door after the show was over at the Rainbow Bar and Grille...
The way I heard it, Jim used rather .. explicit .. lyrics on the Oedipal section. The owner heard it and that was the last straw. Sure got peoples' attention.
This is like he's going on a journey into his own psyche. Facing his primal fears and desires, tapping into the roots of his anger and disillusionment. The music's repetitive like a drone, lulling you into a trance. It's fascinating but also feels dangerous, like you're going down into a sub-basement where there are things nobody wants to see or know about. Such a heavy vibe.
I'm impressed with your interpretation. I'm not that deep, unfortunately. I just thought he just likes to be outrageous. But your breakdown makes it more relatable.
I’m way late with this but yes, if it sounds familiar it’s probably from use in “Apocalypse Now”. For its allusions, the “mask” makes me think of ancient Greek theater, for theatrical purposes. From there, Oedipus complex-Oedipus, unbeknownst to him, has killed his father (predicted by the oracle at Delphi) & will marry his mother. Which is what happens, and Oedipus puts his own eyes out. Look into the play Oedipus Rex, and/or Freud’s Oedipus Complex, wherein boys grow up resenting their fathers & want to have sex (or at least spiritually) bond with their mothers, take over the authority of their fathers. Something to think about anyway. The Doors were very trippy & Morrison highly literate-was a poet, the lot of The Door were art school guys. I love them. 🖤
It almost wasn't. It was put in after the whole debacle had been filmed. Coppola just happened to come in on a Saturday and someone was listening to it on the radio. Serendipity is a good word for that.
There were only three instrumentalists in the band when this song was recorded, and they didn't use any extra players in the sessions, nor did they overdub anything. The reason it sounds the way it does is because: A) John Densmore, the drummer, was a trained jazz drummer, and excellent at it. As jazz fans know, a great jazz drummer can sound like he's two men playing on two kits. B) Robby Kreiger, the guitarist, is simply one of the best rock guitarists of all time, and do I need to say anymore? C) Ray Manzarek was their keyboardist. Until LA Woman, the band didn't use bassists, so Ray would play the regular keys with one hand while using a smaller keyboard with the other hand the play all the bass lines, thus, the band always had a "four-piece sound." He, too, is one of the best rock keyboardists of all time. What he is capable of when he doesn't have to also play the bass line would probably blow your mind. [It is that good a song. One of the best poets, singing his words, backed by three of the best instrumentalist of all time. It just IS that good, standing alone. However, the song WAS most famously used, almost a decade after it was recorded, as the music playing over the mesmerizing opening of Apocalypse Now, gaining the song another generation of fans, and perhaps cementing it in the public consciousness for all time.} p.s. Jim didn't play an instrument, but when a dude can write lyrics like that and can sing like that, who gives a shit. Amirite?
Jake The T. Excellent education on the song and the band. After hearing this song my entire life, I now have more to consider when listening to it again. Peace💜🤘🏿💜
Francis Ford Coppola's APOCALYPSE NOW is the most prevalent, strongest, most well-recognized example; indeed. ...The spoken vocals (esp. the chanting towards the end) are enhanced, somewhat, for the soundtrack version and the edit is, slightly, different (as I recall).
My fathers one request after he passed was to have this song play, he was a Vietnam veteran. It still haunted him, the things he did and saw, this song just makes me cry
Man, just realized this song came out the year before I was born and it's now been 53 years!? First beard this when I was about 15. Was only a 14 yearr old song then.
I'm sure you never will !!! :-) My Dad was a concert promoter in DC and put them in concert before they were famous. Dad took piks with almost EVERY musician he ever met....but did NOT get a pik with the Doors....oh, I wish! :-)
My old man was a manager at a small store in Glendora, CA and it was about 1967 or so. The Doors played in the parking lot of this little strip mall and I was there with my dad. What a memory. Man.
You are by far my favorite reaction youtuber. Your expressions seem so genuine and it brings a smile to my face when I get to see you experience a song I know well. It kind of feels like I get to experience something beautiful for the first time all over again. Segue into my request/suggestion: Check out Suicidal Tendencies especially "How Will I Laugh Tomorrow... if I Cant Even Smile Today", an "Institutionalized" Cheers brother, and keep up the good work.
The most awesome reaction I've ever seen at 9:25! That look was freaking golden! I knew it was coming when you were still kinda smiling 30 seconds before. I was thinking, "this is about to go sideways and bake his bean". Lmao
The Doors remain a relevant band because their music is timeless..at the time there was a saying... the Beatles an the Rolling Stones were for blowing your mind.... and The Doors were for after your mind was gone.. living through those times I would tend to agree with that sentiment..
The Dead had quite a following for a long time and good for them. but in terms of music and lyrics, the Doors remain relevant while the Dead's majority of the fan base is hippie and druggie... The Doors still sell ton of music but The Dead doesn't sell anywhere near the Doors.. no offense to any Dead Fans but that's just the way it is..
Jims words still echo hauntingly in my mind. The music just adds to the experience and makes it complete. I will forever be waiting for the summer rain.
Jamal says: "I'm gonna have to listen this again, in the dark!" Exactly. Bill writes: "Imagine how the old folk took this song in 1967." In 1966, the Air Force pulled my dad and a few other prop-rated pilots out of mothballs, along with a bunch of WW-II vintage C-47s, and deployed them to Vietnam. They flew hush-hush missions out of Nah Trang loaded with "classified" electronic gear designed to intercept enemy radio transmissions, pinpoint their locations on the ground, and transmit that info to artillery units and fighter bombers in the area. My dad was in his mid-40s by then, in the war and doing his duty, and my eldest brother was a year away from becoming eligible for the draft, dreading the war and determined to do everything he could to avoid it. My dad didn't get The Doors at all. The younger guys on base played the grooves off the band's debut album, but theirs was a musical language my dad could not begin to understand, so he chose to mock it as "bangy bangy music." Meanwhile, back home in "the world," the band and their vibe sure connected with his impressionable sons. My dad returned from his tour of duty in February 1968, just as American and South Vietnamese forces were mopping up after the Communist Tet Offensive. Within a month, the family had packed up and were off for a two-year assignment to Bangkok, Thailand. My eldest brother, who was in his first year of college by then, stayed behind. And the gulf between him and my dad would only grow wider. The music of The Doors and the bewilderment of the Vietnam War were already melded in my mind long before I experienced Francis Ford Coppola's "Apocalypse Now," when it premiered in 1979. The social and personal upheaval of those years--along with all the drugs, alcohol, and adultery--bifurcated my family and ultimately tore us apart. The marriage of music and images in the opening minutes of that film perfectly captured what it was like to live through those times. Was it real, or did we just imagine it? I was 11 in the winter of 1967 when I first heard "The End," late at night, broadcast on KWFM, our local stereo album rock radio station (which was really something NEW in those days). DJs would give us a heads up that they'd be playing it, so it was "appointment listening." Most of us, who are "old folk" now, were introduced to The Doors when we heard "Light My Fire" on the radio. The band's label, Elecktra Records, had hedged their bets by releasing the song as a single with the truncated, 2:52 version on one side and the unexpurgated, 6:50 version on the other. When Top 40 AM stations played the shortened "Light My Fire," their phones lit up--with kids insisting that they play the "long one." Those of us fortunate enough to have an FM rock station in town called DJs there and requested that THEY play the album cut. Then, college kids who bought the album called in to the FM station to DEMAND that the play "The End," because they thought all their peers needed to hear it, too. After hearing the 6:50 album version of "Light My Fire," I seriously thought about getting the album with my paper route money. But after I heard THIS SONG, I ran right down to my local record store/head shop and bought it. And I also got "Strange Days," "The Doors" follow-up album, the day it was released, without having heard a single song from it.
your story sums things up quite nicely, my father was a ww2 veteran, who got shot both in the japanese offensive and Normandy. my brother (10 yrs my senior) was just coming into his teens around this time and it created a tremendous rift between him and my father. they never reconciled before my dad's passing. that said, my brother never "came back" so to speak, to the family, and to this day, we hardly ever talk and never see one another. (mostly by his choice) sad really, as while growing up, I always looked up to him, he was my hero.
ronforeman the doors are one of my favorite groups because of how they can invoke certain things that are hard to explain. But your story reminds me a story of how my grandfather who is around your age was too young to go to Woodstock, even though two of his older brothers who were back from nam were going, eventually ended up going to the jam at the Glen with the band, the dead, and the Allman brothers. Two of the biggest concerts in history he went to the larger of the two even though he wanted to go to Woodstock.
Man, I love you! When I watch your videos, it's like hanging out with my friends, talking about how amazing music can be. I appreciate you! I'm so glad you chose this song. What a trip, right?
Vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, guitarist Robby Krieger, and drummer John Densmore. Three instrumentalists. This was my favorite band when I was a kid back in the 60s. Their unique sound was accomplished with no base guitar. Base sounds were done on the keyboard. The band got its name from the book The Doors of Perception by Aldous Huxely (yes, The Doors of Perception were the doors that opened while under the influence of LSD or Magic Mushrooms). They were authentic geniuses.
NOBODY had ever done a song remotely like this before. Serious poet with a beautiful baritone, jazz drummer, unique guitarist influenced by Indian ragas and Flamenco, absolute virtuoso keyboardist. There was a first time for everybody listening to it, but it can be equally powerful on further listenings. The experience might be different each time, depending on your state of mind, and I'm NOT talking about drugs.
Yes, the movie was Apocalypse Now, but the movie came out over 10 years later. The song was not made for the movie, you could say the movie was made around the song. Also another interesting fact about the song, the part about the killer when he gets to his mother's room, there's something that he said that was obscured. It was really outrageous, I don't think you can still say it nowadays, but they revealed it in the Doors movie. I won't say what he said, but it would have easily gotten the song and the record banned.
If you were my age when this song came out and the pervasive paranoia we experienced IE: Duck and cover, Kennedy killed, Martin killed, Bobby killed, Viet Nam this is a song of a generation
People now think of the 60s as sex, drugs and rock n' roll, or spaced out hippies, but it was a time of turmoil, rebellion against the 50s and struggle amid the shock of assassinations.
I was 14 when Robert Kennedy was assassinated. And I lost all trust in the world. I have still voted in every election since I was legally able, but do I think the person I vote for will be the kind of President RFK would have been? No, but you make your choice and pray you aren't contributing to the end of the world. Such is life.
There are things known and things unknown and in between are The Doors. "If the doors of perception are cleansed, things would appear as they truly are ... Infinite "
Love that you listened to this in January before pandemic life. Morrison was a fan of old literature, so the father and mother bit was actually a reference to Oedipus Rex where Oedipus kills his father and sleeps with his mother. This also began as a quick love song and just morphed into this epic piece.
@@morgangosling8673 Ray Manzarek was playing keyboards with his right, and a keyboard bass with his left. The Doors had no bass guitar, it was Ray Manzarek on keyboard bass
A few years ago I realized that the most understated drummer of the 60's was John Densmore. The Door has a drummer, a guitar play, an organ and a keyboard bass. Sometimes on records they had someone play bass or add some guitar licks. A small group with huge talent and a huge sound.
This song came out as part of the seminal Doors album in the "Summer of Love" 1967. Francis Ford Coppola, the Director of Apocalypse Now was in film school with Jim Morrison and Ray Manzarek at UCLA. So, when Coppola directed the film, he always had "The End" as an integral part of the movie. Jim Morrison - lead vocals Robbie Kreiger - guitar Ray Manzarek - Keyboards (Bass Pedal through Keyboards in first couple of albums.) John Densmore - Drums
Jim reveled in revealing the dark side of humanity. Most of us are too afraid to do that. He did it for us. Most people consider the dark side to be our greatest enemy. But they also say "know your enemy". Are you ready?
I agree with you fully. many people have many dark thoughts that they suppress and dare never verbalize. But they think them and feel guilt or not. This is the root of most aberrant behavior. You must confront your demons to become a whole human being.
"When the Music's Over" and "The Soft Parade" are two more epic Doors songs. Jimi Hendrix "1983" is a hidden jewel too. So glad you are into this, I have been a Doors nut since I was a kid, 40+ years.
True, but Coppola was also a film student with Morrison and Manzarek, and *knew* he always wanted to use it in a movie. So, through their friendship, was able to obtain the rights to the master tapes. Obviously, later used it to masterful effect in Apocalypse Now.
@@tahoerheanevada2997 The End was a great fit for Apocalypse Now, which was a great adaptation of Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad. The song, on repeat, is great accompaniment to reading the book, as messed up as the book is.
@@Demitrival privacy. Not having a normal life. Too many expectations of himself to be better and better. And there is no level above where he was. The world of music would be alot diff if he and a few other true artists would have lived. Even some today that passed. Everything in moderation man. Excess will cause distress and death.
Dale Grim wow especially since ppl didn’t quite understand how stardom could negatively effect an artists psyche. Can’t imagine how artist today cope with stardom all day will mass media.
"I'm going to have to listen to this again in the DARK!" This is a perfect description of a music-lover! I'm SO with you on this, The Doors or Mahler or Modern Electronica, good music is music!
Electronic music's been around long. In 1964 I heard an album a friend in high school had, which was music made by computers. The only comps around then were the big mainframes. It was very cool music. Maybe you already know this. Im just reacting to your phrase "Modern" Electronics. To me 1964 was a lifetime ago.
The band name, was a reference to the English writer Aldus Huxley’s book, The doors of perception. In this song, I think the doors reference is both literal, the character is actually opening doors and figurative in the sense that our experiences in life result from choices and the extremes we might go to in those experience. Jim’s use of drugs snd alcohol could be seen as attempts by him to alter and to transcend his (society’s?), normal perceptions and norms to be creative and or to challenge more conservative values. Jim was in a way an intellectual provocateur: prepared to challenge many norms. A unique perspective and a truly great band.
Your reaction to the Oedipus section of the song was absolutely priceless. This is one of my all time favorite songs so I knew that moment was coming and when it did the look on your face had me in tears with laughter. I'm sure I had the exact same response the first time when I heard the entire song. But this one was just a few years before my time so I always hear phantom helicopters whenever I listen to it. It cant be avoided once you've seen Apocalypse Now. For me this will always be the official theme song of the Vietnam war. Rest in peace Jim Morrison ⚘
Re: the amount of musicians.... 4 members: Robby Krieger - Guitar John Densmore - Drums Ray Manzerak - keyboard/bass Jim Morrison - vocals The reason for such a full sound is Ray. He managed to do keyboards and bass (also on keys) simultaneously. He was a truly gifted musician. This recording was done live with minimal (or no) overdubs, on a 4 track system, using only 3 of the tracks Their combined musicianship is what makes this recording, not any fancy production techniques. The Doors were so much more than Jim.
@@ericclarke6107 yes even from the first album they got session bass players in on selected songs, either to supplement the keyboard bass sound or provide the bass outright. However live, they either got a ghost player in or relied solely on Ray's left hand on the Fender Rhodes (not sure on that)
The keyboardist Ray Manzarek wrote a book called "The Poet in Exile" about a very famous singer that fakes his death and is living on an island. Its pretty interesting. Is it true? Who can say...
One of the most underrated Doors song, IMO, is "When the Music's Over"--you won't regret that one. It's another long one, and I recommend the live version, which is even longer.
focalized ... Jesus, it’s a figure of speech. It’s a song that, IMO, doesn’t receive the proper air time and love that it should get for how great it is, especially compared to some of their other popular songs. Calm down and breathe.
The beginning of this song was actually a breakup with a girlfriend - just like the initial part sounds. As they played in clubs around SoCal, Morrison added verses with deeper ideas and it grew into the mindfuck epic it is. Since it was released in 1967 and Apocalypse Now was 1979, it really was a standalone song for 12 years before the movie. And as others have said, it was just three very talented instrumentalists plus Jim's occasional tambourine doing all this.
When a song like this hits a blockbuster movie score, the appreciation of it explodes. Many songs have been featured in movies that were from the 60s-80s years. I wish today's music had classics like this. There are some, but far fewer.
All the Doors songs have an undeniable cinematic, Los Angeles quality to them. They are larger than life & speak of the great societal rifts (Vietnam war draft, psychedelic period, drug & sexual revolution & mass murder including Manson family serial murderers). So naturally filmmakers would want to include this music to duplicate the mood. I sure hope The Doors received a lot of money for their original music. Today, it would be optioned before it was released to the public.
This was used as the backdrop for the opening scene of "Apocalypse Now". It was one of the spookiest, most perfect opening scenes in cinematic history.
Every time I hear this song from The doors, it reminds me of my identical twin brothers. One of them died at the early age of 32. Even though I lost your brother, I could see it in my other brother. There was a piece of my brother that died that I could see my brother that lives as a twin. My brother requested that if he ever died to play this song at the funeral. I could not give him that wish. Because I don't think my mom or dad could have stand this song being played at the funeral services. I discussed it with my other brother so we all agreed. We just can't do that to Mom or Dad. My brother dying at the age of 32, he was taken from this world early. If you knew him he loved fishing, when he'd asked me to go I would always go. Memory so I love them, he would tell me all the time how proud he was me being the Middle brother. I told him whatever he does I'm proud of him too. Yeah songs bring back memories. I love you Randy, and I miss you very much. I hope in the future that we can meet each other again with judgment day comes.
The blue bus could be a reference to the 1966 "blue" military ambulance used in Vietnam as a surgical hospital. " The blue bus is calling us, Driver where are you taking us" .... for some military personnel it would be the end. This was how this song was explained to me some 40 plus year ago. Vietnam war was during my time period.
Good point.... there was also a public bus line in LA and the buses were blue. Jim used that bus when he lived in Venice and when he was at UCLA.... your reference symbol though is plausible b/c I think he followed nam, even in 66, closer then most, b/c his father was there. Plus he read like a madman, and probably knew friends he grew up with that were over there...... it’s a vital symbol either way. Morrison was at his best writing large scale epic narratives. Blake influenced symbolism is the key in understanding the meaning and map of the narrative. In the best of his large scale works, there is always a movement symbol which is key. Here it is the snake and bus. In riders it is the car and the open desolate hiway. In wasp it’s soundwaves and the movement of western culture across n amer. In la woman it’s the modern car across the city and suburban roads out to the desert... it gives the works a broader transcending agent.
Lol, that was precious to see your face during the oedipus narrative part. Yes, Jim was one sick puppy; oh and by the way he's the son of George Stephen Morrison who was a United States Navy rear admiral and naval aviator. Morrison was commander of the U.S. naval forces in the Gulf of Tonkin during the Gulf of Tonkin Incident of August 1964, which sparked an escalation of American involvement in the Vietnam War. Food for thought 😁
The scene from Apocalypse Now that has this song has to be one of the greatest visual and music transitions in movie history. When it came out it showed at the Cinerama Dome in Hollywood, it was set up in quadraphonic sound so when you were seeing the Hueys and their blades chopping the air the audio was going around the theater and as it slowly transitioned to the song the visual is transitioning to the ceiling fan in his room. Absolutely incredible.
jim morrison's dad was responsible for escalating the vietnam war. he was a commanding rear admiral in the navy during the gulf of tonkin incident. he also told his son (morrison) he couldn't sing. morrison's legeacy became his father's (and the usa's) biggest anti-war critic.
Yeah boots boots Are his fathers boots The killer put his boots on his military boots Growing up knowing your father is responsible for so much death And suffering is more than anyone could handle anyone with a conscience that is
@barryradun6356 @stadiaplay701 3 years ago"was responsible for escalating the vietnam war". Not even remotely accurate... Wikipedia: "In November 1963, Morrison took command of the Essex-class aircraft carrier USS Bon Homme Richard, flagship of the First Fleet's Fifth Carrier Division in the Pacific, based at San Diego, California. The Fifth Carrier Division was transferred to the Seventh Fleet when sent to the Western Pacific early in 1964. Morrison's command of the Fifth Carrier Division did not, as has sometimes been supposed, give him a significant role in the controversial Gulf of Tonkin Incident in August 1964, which increased the level of US involvement in the Vietnam War. The Bon Homme Richard was cruising along the coast of Japan, from Sasebo to Yokosuka, while the incidents were occurring off the coast of North Vietnam.[8]" en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Stephen_Morrison
He wanted to be a director when he was in film school in UCLA. He didn't. Instead, he used his poetry and his film sensibilities and projected them into a cinematic experience in this song.
You have to remember that this music was part of a great awakening. I used to cruise with my high school buddies in the evenings, smoking pot, getting stoned, listening to this song and the whole album it was on. The music we had was so great it inspired wild plenty of parties, and we lost some wilder friends.
That's certainly true up until their last album LA Woman, where they hired Jerry Scheff (from Elvis' band) . They didn't tour much to support that album since Jim died 3 months after recording. However, I suspect they would have had a base player if they had. Ray simply would not have been able to play the parts that some of the songs (the title song in particular) required from the bass
Dominique Hamel they had a bass player in studio on every album, Ray played the bass parts live on stage. It was some black studio player from Cinncinati, I can't remember his name.
@@craighiebert3384 The Doors decided to use a bass guitar for all songs on LA Woman. They brought into the studio session player Jerry Scheff to play bass on all the tracks. That was the only time.
@David Miller he did the music first and then did his poetry under the name james morrison he did not want people to buy his poems just because of his music wild flowers is a complete book of his poems read it,
@@winddmmy Thanks. I do have a copy. From what I heard, he always did poetry and that came first. Just never got published until his fame. Either way, if I could sit down to a beer and have a moment with a dead person, Jim would definitely be one of them. BTW, that book is worthy of a RUclips channel in itself. I gotta get it out again now that you've mentioned it.
@@winddmmy yeah from what I read as well he was adamant in becoming a published poet and would go to poetry nights in bars or something like that to recite his works.
Fun fact about Jim Morrison, his dad was the commander in charge during the gulf of tonkin incident. The father's of the other members of The Doors were military intel officers
@Jamal_AKA_Jamel I know reviewing music is your thing and I appreciate your reviews, but I would love to see you react to deeper analysis and history of performers. Check out the work of Dave McGowan and Jay Dyer
@@michaelpolitz1144 Yes, he worked in the weapons dept with marines guarding the door. Here is, then Captain Morrison www.navysite.de/cruisebooks/cv31-64/005.htm Found my uncle even, www.navysite.de/cruisebooks/cv31-64/212.htm. my uncle was Richard Hose, Weapons Division.
Totally agree, I recommended that one in a previous video. Hopefully now that he has his first song down from The Doors, many more of their track will be on the way!
I heard them do it live Jamel, in '68, and it sounded just as good in effin' Milwaukee. They cast spells. And Morrison used words they didn't put on vinyl then.
I always feel like I have a good friend listening to you while I listen by my self, thanks so much for you reactions. You give so much good with your channel. Your the best brother. Thanks for sharing.
Jim had an incredible voice and The DOORS were exceptional musicians . I always saw Jim as a tortured soul of a poet because his lyrics went to very dark places usually .
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During my time with the Mobile Riverine Force in Vietnam, we listened to this song and wondered if today would be the end of our lives, or maybe tomorrow. Needless to say, it holds a special place in my memories of the Upper Mekong River.
Robert Plumlee thank you for your service. This song is deeper than anyone can imagine. And your era was being spoken to. And every one since, it is time to shift into the next phase. Love and light to you brother!
Even though Im not American, and even though the execution of wat was right got wrong Id have to say: thank you for your service!
Thanks for your service sorry you had to be there.
I hear you bud!
It was in a movie, but this reached guys in Vietnam at the time.
"The End" is one of those very few tunes that are far beyond just being a song. It is an experience.
Agree 100%. My favorite song. And this is coming from a Beatles super fan
Not a song,
more like a hipnotic psychological spiritual seonce, yup, that sounds about right...
on the contrary, there was several 'acid rock' bands at the time. the Doors were one of the top 5 definers of it. "trippy" and "far out" as we used to say. Lead to Yes, Moody Blues, ELO, Pink Floyd, Zeppelin , Beatles did a bunch in the genera .
Couldn’t of said it better
Nobody heard this song and came back the same !
RIP Ray Manzarek, one of the great rock keyboardists playing both keyboard bass with his left hand while playing backround melody with his right in a lenghthy tune dominated by poetry. Long live Ray.....
Truly gifted!
John paul jones
Hard to believe that three instruments and singer can produce such masterpieces . Genius at work
Ray played two instruments he played a key board bass with his feet
@@hamidge1976 didn’t he play bass keyboard with his left hand? Did he do something different for this song for any reason?
@@luke9947 yes, he played with his left hand
So true
In production they can add many overdubs and they may have even hired a bass player for this track, which they had done on album recordings
The End was used in the opening sequence of the film Apocalypse Now, where the protagonist was hovering between sleep and waking... and for him, both were nightmarish experiences. My father was a Vietnam Vet, and he couldn't listen to that song without having a fit of PTSD. The song has become a symbol of the experience from that conflict.
This is what we old white Geezers called "head music". It's best when listened to as loud as possible in a room as dark as possible as stoned as possible. Feed your head, Little Brother.
Here Here!!
Amen my man, Always faithful.
Great times.!
agreed, headphones too!
i wish........have my old hash pipe from when i was 17 and nothing to go in
This song has been brought to you by the letters LS and D.
LSD and creative intelligence will create great art for a time... then darkness.
My friend😌
This song has been brought to you by the DeFeo family of Amityville, NY.
Most of all the best songs in human history we're done under the influence of some sort of drug or another. Simply amazing
Jim was more into hard liquor
This was by far my favorite reaction of yours. I’ve heard this song probably 1,000 times, but watching you made me really see what it would be like listening to it for the first time. Thanks for this!
I agree, my favorite too. I knew what was coming made even better.
This song is 50 years old. A half century. Think about that shit when you listen to today's music.
I’ve stopped listening to most new music because so much of it feels programmed, not composed. I listen to a few alt-rock bands but even they’re at least a decade old.
The children really are insane now.
VERY good observation! The last time anyone heard anything like this was from listening to this album itself...
nostrilnick I can't think about it because the music of today is all disposable stuff nobody will be talking about in the years to come. Meanwhile here we are listening to music recorded 50 years ago and it is still relevant. 🤘
@@szqsk8 morrison was dark, but he was also honest, prescient & even forward seeing.... genius gets tossed around a lot, & morrison had his own fair share of personal baggage, but when this cat was dialed in, works like this had staggering power. id like to see jamal do when the musics over, its on this scale.... i notice w/ the doors, even before floyd, they drew the big scape picture to music like no other group. you can tell they had backgrounds in cinema. throw in the symbolist, blake influenced poetry & the bravery to look chaos into its eye & you get works like this that indeed not only stand the test of time, but speak to the chaotic undertones of the West presently moreso then anything you will hear in popular music today. this song was 2 score ahead of the game. morrison sounds almost like an amer prophet here standing on a canyon & watching where the snake was heading presently.
"There are things known and things unknown and in between are The Doors" - Jim Morrison
Actually, that's Aldous Huxley.
It may have been Huxley but it originally was William Blake. Or at least that’s who got the credit in the book No One Here Gets Out Alive. Which claimed to be an authoritative biography.
@@davidgraham748 in between the doors of consciousness
@@davidgraham748 Authoritative biographies are often wrong, as with this. It looks like the quotation comes from Ray Manzarek, who added, "that's us." It's not surprising that the bio was wrong about Blake and Huxley, but odd if it missed Manzarek. Google Quote Investigator for more information.
"Cocaine's a hell of a drug." -Rick James.
I wrote a paper on this song in college. The song’s themes and symbolisms are of rebirth, regeneration. The song shocks you with the content, and at the end you have a feeling of relief- a catharsis. That catharsis itself is the meaning of a timeless piece of art. I had to breakdown the song, lyrics, analyze symbolisms, history, the beats, etc. It took me a whole 2 months to research and write it. I got the highest grade in the class. I just picked it because I knew I felt that way when I listened to it the first time, I’d knew it’d work.
İs there any chance to get a copy of your work? Or a little conversation with you about The Doors? I am really interested.
Really? I am a simple tradesman but I thought it was just TV. You actually studied this? I lived it. Please post a link to your work if you would. Cheers!
You know
you're wrong ha ha. a joke
That is damn sexy
The Doors sounded ancient and modern and futuristic at the same time.
They were in some ways ahead of their time.
Yes that’s exactly right!! 💜👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
Morrison and Manzarek are geniuses. They’ll be heard in this universe until the end.
Perfect description of the Doors’ music!👍
I was a leftcoster in 67, saw them with Jefferson Airplane.
This is one of the greatest songs ever written. No band back then sounded like them. This song will put you in a trance. The Doors rule!
They were true pioneers.
AGREE !!!!
Yes this is a part of the film, i dont remember the titel,of the film,,
Its about,Jim and the rebbel in him,,
To me hé is a guru,,
@@mariamontuori1279 It's used in Apocalypse Now, though was not written for it
Their unusual sound is because they didn't have a bass player, which was, and is still, very unusual.
"The blue bus is calling us" is a reference, The blue bus came to pick up young men drafted for the Vietnam war.
I rode in a blue bus from San Antonio to Lackland AFB for Basic Training in 1970, and this was in my head the whole time.
@@edpearson1787 never ever thought id yearn for those bygone days ,but as we stand now ,i wish we could go back 2 b4 mobile phones & the net :/
I never knew that... I just thought it was some bizarre thing for Jim to say... thanks for the clarification!
i always just thought it was because they lived in venice beach, since the blue bus is what their public bus is called there. I've ridden it, and it's not as exciting as the song makes it seem
@@edpearson1787 😭😭😭
A flamenco guitarist, jazz drummer, blues organist, and a poet who would occasionally use a tambourine
Densmoore was on the tambourine:)
Øystein Edvardsen That's what I assumed. All the percussion Densmore did in this song is first rate. 👍
You both ignored the occasionally, I didn't say he played tambourine on the tracks.
You forgot the 5th & 6th members: Booze and drugs. All 6 of them did some world breaking shit tho
Manzarek was classically trained on piano
Such an iconic sound...haunting....even today. His voice was also heavenly.
This is not just another fluffy pop song. It's not a dance tune. Kudos for even attempting to react to it. I think the Oedipus reference is what got the band thrown out of the Whiskey-a-go-go -- a club in Hollywood when no one knew their name. The Doors wanted to push boundaries, and they certainly did it with "The End."
The Whiskey ran them out because Jim got too fucked up too often..Nothing to do with their music or your Oedipus stuff.The Whiskey never was a Cancel Culture bar. Lots of wild bands with equally non-mainstream stuff. Just as much fun drinking with them next door after the show was over at the Rainbow Bar and Grille...
The way I heard it, Jim used rather .. explicit .. lyrics on the Oedipal section. The owner heard it and that was the last straw. Sure got peoples' attention.
You had to experience the 60's to understand it
@@rogernyholm1189 " your Oedipus stuff" its greek mythology Jim is quoting. Its what the lyrics are about. Ray has mentioned it many a time.
The Whisky-a-Go-Go helped launch many excellent singers in the 1970s including Elton John, Johnny Rivers, Kris Kristofferson among others.
"Apocalypse Now" by Francis Ford Coppala. Martin Sheen freaking out on screen. And off, almost had a breakdown on set.
Martin Sheen was superb in this movie. Didn't know about the breakdown, but I can understand why.
He had a heart attack on set.
@truthiness 63 It was better than whiskey, it was mescal.
I can't hear the intro without also hearing chopper blades in slow motion that they synced with the music in the film
@@Stephanie1974 yes he did, during that scene.
This is like he's going on a journey into his own psyche. Facing his primal fears and desires, tapping into the roots of his anger and disillusionment. The music's repetitive like a drone, lulling you into a trance. It's fascinating but also feels dangerous, like you're going down into a sub-basement where there are things nobody wants to see or know about. Such a heavy vibe.
Great break down.
Holly Odell wow! Exactly. I think Jim Morrison, poet extraordinaire was conveying that message and possibly lived in that world for the most part
I'm impressed with your interpretation. I'm not that deep, unfortunately. I just thought he just likes to be outrageous. But your breakdown makes it more relatable.
The Doors lyrics were deeeeep. This was perfectly featured in Apocalypse Now. Descent into madness.
I’m way late with this but yes, if it sounds familiar it’s probably from use in “Apocalypse Now”.
For its allusions, the “mask” makes me think of ancient Greek theater, for theatrical purposes. From there, Oedipus complex-Oedipus, unbeknownst to him, has killed his father (predicted by the oracle at Delphi) & will marry his mother.
Which is what happens, and Oedipus puts his own eyes out.
Look into the play Oedipus Rex, and/or Freud’s Oedipus Complex, wherein boys grow up resenting their fathers & want to have sex (or at least spiritually) bond with their mothers, take over the authority of their fathers.
Something to think about anyway. The Doors were very trippy & Morrison highly literate-was a poet, the lot of The Door were art school guys.
I love them. 🖤
It almost wasn't. It was put in after the whole debacle had been filmed. Coppola just happened to come in on a Saturday and someone was listening to it on the radio. Serendipity is a good word for that.
it's coming soon
There were only three instrumentalists in the band when this song was recorded, and they didn't use any extra players in the sessions, nor did they overdub anything. The reason it sounds the way it does is because:
A) John Densmore, the drummer, was a trained jazz drummer, and excellent at it. As jazz fans know, a great jazz drummer can sound like he's two men playing on two kits.
B) Robby Kreiger, the guitarist, is simply one of the best rock guitarists of all time, and do I need to say anymore?
C) Ray Manzarek was their keyboardist. Until LA Woman, the band didn't use bassists, so Ray would play the regular keys with one hand while using a smaller keyboard with the other hand the play all the bass lines, thus, the band always had a "four-piece sound." He, too, is one of the best rock keyboardists of all time. What he is capable of when he doesn't have to also play the bass line would probably blow your mind.
[It is that good a song. One of the best poets, singing his words, backed by three of the best instrumentalist of all time. It just IS that good, standing alone. However, the song WAS most famously used, almost a decade after it was recorded, as the music playing over the mesmerizing opening of Apocalypse Now, gaining the song another generation of fans, and perhaps cementing it in the public consciousness for all time.}
p.s. Jim didn't play an instrument, but when a dude can write lyrics like that and can sing like that, who gives a shit. Amirite?
Well said. Best comment.
Jake The T. Excellent education on the song and the band. After hearing this song my entire life, I now have more to consider when listening to it again. Peace💜🤘🏿💜
Jimmy page is a way better guitarist than Robby Krieger. Just saying. 🤭
Agreed sir!
I agree with Jake the T.
Amazing Band that was Made in the U.S.A.!!!
this has been in a lot of movies....one that sticks out is Apocopypse Now
I actually think that’s the only one.
It was also in the movie about The Doors called The Doors
I love the sound of Morrison in the morning.
Francis Ford Coppola's APOCALYPSE NOW is the most prevalent, strongest, most well-recognized example; indeed.
...The spoken vocals (esp. the chanting towards the end) are enhanced, somewhat, for the soundtrack version and the edit is, slightly, different (as I recall).
Classic scene to open an epic film
"I'm gonna hafta listen to this in the dark." LOL, we did that 45 years ago and still love it. I'm glad you enjoy it. It renews my faith in mankind.
Ha we used to do that at college
Some of the best songs are enhanced by listening in the dark (and perhaps a little accompanying beverage or other substance, lol)
Shmick ! It’s legal for recreation in Ca (the only redeeming quality to this state)
Justin West Amen to that! Two bong rips and listening to this song with the headphones on in the dark takes you away.......
Faith in man kind, really? This song helped to induce acid trips. lol
My fathers one request after he passed was to have this song play, he was a Vietnam veteran. It still haunted him, the things he did and saw, this song just makes me cry
God love your father
Just found this channel and it’s my therapy especially during these times.
What times? 6.45 and 9.10?
Same!
I just found this channel today and I’m stuck on it!!!! I LOVE it
I’ve been sharing the videos on my FB page!!!!
Yes, music therapy!
53 year old song that’s still insane, scary, and powerful today.
Yeah the song fit in nicely with the 1979 Vietnam film Apocalypse Now.
Man, just realized this song came out the year before I was born and it's now been 53 years!? First beard this when I was about 15. Was only a 14 yearr old song then.
Read up on Jamal, born 1979, apocalypse now, time I was 15, high school kids , doors, fanatics
To think Morrison was is his 20's when he wrote this....
Saw them live in '68 at the Lyric Theater in Baltimore, MD. I was 17 and it was concert I will never forget.
Damn, years before I was born...I'm f***in jealous!!!🤨
I'm sure you never will !!! :-) My Dad was a concert promoter in DC and put them in concert
before they were famous. Dad took piks with almost EVERY musician he ever met....but did NOT get a pik with the Doors....oh, I wish! :-)
My old man was a manager at a small store in Glendora, CA and it was about 1967 or so. The Doors played in the parking lot of this little strip mall and I was there with my dad. What a memory. Man.
saw them at the Spectrum in Philadelphia 1968.... Jamal needs to get some of us 70 year old survivors to help with his interpretation
Omg lucky you my friend!!
That group was a legend. The music was deep and still gives me goose bumps. What can I say..
You are by far my favorite reaction youtuber. Your expressions seem so genuine and it brings a smile to my face when I get to see you experience a song I know well. It kind of feels like I get to experience something beautiful for the first time all over again.
Segue into my request/suggestion:
Check out Suicidal Tendencies especially "How Will I Laugh Tomorrow... if I Cant Even Smile Today", an "Institutionalized"
Cheers brother, and keep up the good work.
Dig Bic McGee Gaming I Appreciate you 🙏🏾
"Institutionalized" would be great!!!
All I wanted was a Pepsi, just a Pepsi.
Easy now... your going to wreck the guy. Let's start with Judas Priest!
Well said
The most awesome reaction I've ever seen at 9:25! That look was freaking golden! I knew it was coming when you were still kinda smiling 30 seconds before. I was thinking, "this is about to go sideways and bake his bean". Lmao
So funny his expression... LOVE IT!!!
💥GUY'S WE WERE REALLY FK.UP TO LISTEN TO THIS, SO GLAD I DIDNT MISS A THING!!!😭
R.I.P. JEFF BEAN ❤❤❤
Just started the video, that must be when Jim goes Oedipal.
@@chuckwilliams6261 yeah
The Doors remain a relevant band because their music is timeless..at the time there was a saying... the Beatles an the Rolling Stones were for blowing your mind.... and The Doors were for after your mind was gone.. living through those times I would tend to agree with that sentiment..
um the grateful dead
Jerry Garcia would disagree with you (~);}
He should listen to Loser from Dozin at the Knick
The Dead had quite a following for a long time and good for them. but in terms of music and lyrics, the Doors remain relevant while the Dead's majority of the fan base is hippie and druggie... The Doors still sell ton of music but The Dead doesn't sell anywhere near the Doors.. no offense to any Dead Fans but that's just the way it is..
You just don't like licorice
Jims words still echo hauntingly in my mind. The music just adds to the experience and makes it complete.
I will forever be waiting for the summer rain.
Jamal says: "I'm gonna have to listen this again, in the dark!" Exactly.
Bill writes: "Imagine how the old folk took this song in 1967."
In 1966, the Air Force pulled my dad and a few other prop-rated pilots out of mothballs, along with a bunch of WW-II vintage C-47s, and deployed them to Vietnam. They flew hush-hush missions out of Nah Trang loaded with "classified" electronic gear designed to intercept enemy radio transmissions, pinpoint their locations on the ground, and transmit that info to artillery units and fighter bombers in the area.
My dad was in his mid-40s by then, in the war and doing his duty, and my eldest brother was a year away from becoming eligible for the draft, dreading the war and determined to do everything he could to avoid it. My dad didn't get The Doors at all. The younger guys on base played the grooves off the band's debut album, but theirs was a musical language my dad could not begin to understand, so he chose to mock it as "bangy bangy music." Meanwhile, back home in "the world," the band and their vibe sure connected with his impressionable sons.
My dad returned from his tour of duty in February 1968, just as American and South Vietnamese forces were mopping up after the Communist Tet Offensive. Within a month, the family had packed up and were off for a two-year assignment to Bangkok, Thailand. My eldest brother, who was in his first year of college by then, stayed behind. And the gulf between him and my dad would only grow wider.
The music of The Doors and the bewilderment of the Vietnam War were already melded in my mind long before I experienced Francis Ford Coppola's "Apocalypse Now," when it premiered in 1979. The social and personal upheaval of those years--along with all the drugs, alcohol, and adultery--bifurcated my family and ultimately tore us apart. The marriage of music and images in the opening minutes of that film perfectly captured what it was like to live through those times. Was it real, or did we just imagine it?
I was 11 in the winter of 1967 when I first heard "The End," late at night, broadcast on KWFM, our local stereo album rock radio station (which was really something NEW in those days). DJs would give us a heads up that they'd be playing it, so it was "appointment listening."
Most of us, who are "old folk" now, were introduced to The Doors when we heard "Light My Fire" on the radio. The band's label, Elecktra Records, had hedged their bets by releasing the song as a single with the truncated, 2:52 version on one side and the unexpurgated, 6:50 version on the other. When Top 40 AM stations played the shortened "Light My Fire," their phones lit up--with kids insisting that they play the "long one."
Those of us fortunate enough to have an FM rock station in town called DJs there and requested that THEY play the album cut. Then, college kids who bought the album called in to the FM station to DEMAND that the play "The End," because they thought all their peers needed to hear it, too.
After hearing the 6:50 album version of "Light My Fire," I seriously thought about getting the album with my paper route money. But after I heard THIS SONG, I ran right down to my local record store/head shop and bought it. And I also got "Strange Days," "The Doors" follow-up album, the day it was released, without having heard a single song from it.
your story sums things up quite nicely, my father was a ww2 veteran, who got shot both in the japanese offensive and Normandy. my brother (10 yrs my senior) was just coming into his teens around this time and it created a tremendous rift between him and my father.
they never reconciled before my dad's passing.
that said, my brother never "came back" so to speak, to the family, and to this day, we hardly ever talk and never see one another. (mostly by his choice)
sad really, as while growing up, I always looked up to him, he was my hero.
ronforeman the doors are one of my favorite groups because of how they can invoke certain things that are hard to explain. But your story reminds me a story of how my grandfather who is around your age was too young to go to Woodstock, even though two of his older brothers who were back from nam were going, eventually ended up going to the jam at the Glen with the band, the dead, and the Allman brothers. Two of the biggest concerts in history he went to the larger of the two even though he wanted to go to Woodstock.
ronforeman that’s an incredible story, thanks so much for sharing it. Peace💜🤘🏿💜
Awesome Story! Great description! AMAZING musical taste!
PUFF THE MAGIC DRAGON.....C 47 ELAD
Man, I love you! When I watch your videos, it's like hanging out with my friends, talking about how amazing music can be. I appreciate you! I'm so glad you chose this song. What a trip, right?
My thoughts exactly, to this day my friends get together and listen to music. We're 65 and still get blown away. What a joy.
Vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, guitarist Robby Krieger, and drummer John Densmore. Three instrumentalists. This was my favorite band when I was a kid back in the 60s. Their unique sound was accomplished with no base guitar. Base sounds were done on the keyboard. The band got its name from the book The Doors of Perception by Aldous Huxely (yes, The Doors of Perception were the doors that opened while under the influence of LSD or Magic Mushrooms). They were authentic geniuses.
NOBODY had ever done a song remotely like this before. Serious poet with a beautiful baritone, jazz drummer, unique guitarist influenced by Indian ragas and Flamenco, absolute virtuoso keyboardist. There was a first time for everybody listening to it, but it can be equally powerful on further listenings. The experience might be different each time, depending on your state of mind, and I'm NOT talking about drugs.
Yes this song was in a movie Apocalypse Now
And so perfectly placed I might add.
Now THAT movie would make quite a reaction video... also the "making of" movie is a must-see: Hearts of Darkness
But it's not FROM the movie. It was one of the Doors Signature songs, and they USED IT as the title Track for Apocalypse Now.
Yes, the movie was Apocalypse Now, but the movie came out over 10 years later. The song was not made for the movie, you could say the movie was made around the song.
Also another interesting fact about the song, the part about the killer when he gets to his mother's room, there's something that he said that was obscured. It was really outrageous, I don't think you can still say it nowadays, but they revealed it in the Doors movie. I won't say what he said, but it would have easily gotten the song and the record banned.
The question is, is there a Vietnam movie WITHOUT this song?
this is my favorite doors song probably ever made, it’s so hauntingly beautiful. just like jim morrison.
One of the best songs ever performed! Glad you liked it!
If you were my age when this song came out and the pervasive paranoia we experienced IE: Duck and cover, Kennedy killed, Martin killed, Bobby killed, Viet Nam this is a song of a generation
It was about the same time as Manson Family murdering the LaBiancas in their home and Sharon Tate and others in the Polanski house.
My respect to you
People now think of the 60s as sex, drugs and rock n' roll, or spaced out hippies, but it was a time of turmoil, rebellion against the 50s and struggle amid the shock of assassinations.
A great light was put out with those 3 murders & this country has and never will be the same again.
I was 14 when Robert Kennedy was assassinated. And I lost all trust in the world. I have still voted in every election since I was legally able, but do I think the person I vote for will be the kind of President RFK would have been? No, but you make your choice and pray you aren't contributing to the end of the world. Such is life.
There are things known and things unknown and in between are The Doors.
"If the doors of perception are cleansed, things would appear as they truly are ... Infinite "
Wise words from aldous himself
But what if they're swing doors??
@@greysonwilson4164 I did one of my book reports on the Doors of Perception in High School.
The movie I recall is Appocolypse Now...I think.
An amazing book to open people's eyes and minds
Love that you listened to this in January before pandemic life. Morrison was a fan of old literature, so the father and mother bit was actually a reference to Oedipus Rex where Oedipus kills his father and sleeps with his mother. This also began as a quick love song and just morphed into this epic piece.
John Densmores drumming us amazing on this song. His volume and dynamics are superb! Very underrated!
Amazing drumming, agreed 🤝
@@mitchellhughes5180 No. Freaking. Way.
That's amazing!! 😀
The perfect drummer for Jim.... he was able to accent Jim plus able to set up the framework of the large scale scapes.
Very few bands that can put a spell on you like these guys could. It's a whole headspace.
I literally get chills every time I hear this, no matter how many times I play it.
This song was recorded live in the Studio, with no overdubbing, and is the second of two takes. Four men were in the Band.
Four members with only 3 playing instruments.
@@kevinlay9902 Although one (Ray) was playing two at the same time.
the famous wall of sound
@@morgangosling8673 Ray Manzarek was playing keyboards with his right, and a keyboard bass with his left. The Doors had no bass guitar, it was Ray Manzarek on keyboard bass
5 actually...
Manzarek counts as 2 everyone knows that.
The Crystal Ship is beautiful, too.
A few years ago I realized that the most understated drummer of the 60's was John Densmore. The Door has a drummer, a guitar play, an organ and a keyboard bass. Sometimes on records they had someone play bass or add some guitar licks. A small group with huge talent and a huge sound.
This song came out as part of the seminal Doors album in the "Summer of Love" 1967. Francis Ford Coppola, the Director of Apocalypse Now was in film school with Jim Morrison and Ray Manzarek at UCLA. So, when Coppola directed the film, he always had "The End" as an integral part of the movie.
Jim Morrison - lead vocals
Robbie Kreiger - guitar
Ray Manzarek - Keyboards (Bass Pedal through Keyboards in first couple of albums.)
John Densmore - Drums
“If the doors of perception were cleansed, everything would appear to man as it is, infinite” -William Blake
Fact
Doors ....transition...Doors....a band...we dropped out turned on tuned in
It was at the beginning of Apocalypse Now!
Amen
Damn I always thought that was Aldous Huxley.
Jim reveled in revealing the dark side of humanity. Most of us are too afraid to do that. He did it for us. Most people consider the dark side to be our greatest enemy. But they also say "know your enemy". Are you ready?
Well put.
When you stare into the abyss the abyss stares back. This is kicking open the doors of perception.
I agree with you fully. many people have many dark thoughts that they suppress and dare never verbalize. But they think them and feel guilt or not. This is the root of most aberrant behavior. You must confront your demons to become a whole human being.
@@hendrikdebruin4012 It's too bad Kim didn't live long enough to see that through...
"When the Music's Over" and "The Soft Parade" are two more epic Doors songs. Jimi Hendrix "1983" is a hidden jewel too. So glad you are into this, I have been a Doors nut since I was a kid, 40+ years.
💯
This song was used in movies, but was not written for a movie.
True, but Coppola was also a film student with Morrison and Manzarek, and *knew* he always wanted to use it in a movie.
So, through their friendship, was able to obtain the rights to the master tapes. Obviously, later used it to masterful effect in Apocalypse Now.
Wow! Great little nugget there.
It was in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
Opening song in Apocalypse Now.
@@tahoerheanevada2997 The End was a great fit for Apocalypse Now, which was a great adaptation of Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad. The song, on repeat, is great accompaniment to reading the book, as messed up as the book is.
You’ve just entered the mind of Jim Morrison, be careful it’s a bad neighborhood
Rob Williamson I don’t get it
James Fox I wonder what those demons were
@@Demitrival privacy. Not having a normal life. Too many expectations of himself to be better and better. And there is no level above where he was. The world of music would be alot diff if he and a few other true artists would have lived. Even some today that passed. Everything in moderation man. Excess will cause distress and death.
James Fox thank you. I’ll check them out
Dale Grim wow especially since ppl didn’t quite understand how stardom could negatively effect an artists psyche. Can’t imagine how artist today cope with stardom all day will mass media.
"I'm going to have to listen to this again in the DARK!" This is a perfect description of a music-lover! I'm SO with you on this, The Doors or Mahler or Modern Electronica, good music is music!
Electronic music's been around long. In 1964 I heard an album a friend in high school had, which was music made by computers. The only comps around then were the big mainframes. It was very cool music. Maybe you already know this. Im just reacting to your phrase "Modern" Electronics. To me 1964 was a lifetime ago.
If you like this in the dark going for a ride maybe try "The Cure, Plainsong" very similar rides with or without psychodelics.
The band name, was a reference to the English writer Aldus Huxley’s book, The doors of perception. In this song, I think the doors reference is both literal, the character is actually opening doors and figurative in the sense that our experiences in life result from choices and the extremes we might go to in those experience. Jim’s use of drugs snd alcohol could be seen as attempts by him to alter and to transcend his (society’s?), normal perceptions and norms to be creative and or to challenge more conservative values. Jim was in a way an intellectual provocateur: prepared to challenge many norms. A unique perspective and a truly great band.
Your reaction to the Oedipus section of the song was absolutely priceless. This is one of my all time favorite songs so I knew that moment was coming and when it did the look on your face had me in tears with laughter. I'm sure I had the exact same response the first time when I heard the entire song. But this one was just a few years before my time so I always hear phantom helicopters whenever I listen to it. It cant be avoided once you've seen Apocalypse Now. For me this will always be the official theme song of the Vietnam war. Rest in peace Jim Morrison ⚘
vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, guitarist Robby Krieger, and drummer John Densmore. The keyboard player Ray was magic.
Ray wrote all the music.
Re: the amount of musicians....
4 members:
Robby Krieger - Guitar
John Densmore - Drums
Ray Manzerak - keyboard/bass
Jim Morrison - vocals
The reason for such a full sound is Ray. He managed to do keyboards and bass (also on keys) simultaneously. He was a truly gifted musician. This recording was done live with minimal (or no) overdubs, on a 4 track system, using only 3 of the tracks Their combined musicianship is what makes this recording, not any fancy production techniques.
The Doors were so much more than Jim.
Aside from popular belief, they used several studio musician bass players on their later records to fill out the sound. This is well documented.
In addition, Robby Krieger also played guitar finger style, which allowed him to play some pretty complex stuff that you cannot do with a pick.
Pretty sure Ray played bass pedals.
@@jameswarner5809 uhh that's a negative.... His bass player was "lefty". It would do its own thing while he improvised with righty.
@@ericclarke6107 yes even from the first album they got session bass players in on selected songs, either to supplement the keyboard bass sound or provide the bass outright. However live, they either got a ghost player in or relied solely on Ray's left hand on the Fender Rhodes (not sure on that)
The keyboardist Ray Manzarek wrote a book called "The Poet in Exile" about a very famous singer that fakes his death and is living on an island. Its pretty interesting. Is it true? Who can say...
"The killer awoke before dawn
He put his boots on
Took a face from the ancient gallery and he, walked on down the hall."
Took a FAce
Joker has entered chat:
Oedipus-GASM
Reminds me of Ayra i Game of Thrones. Influenced by the Doors?
Zappa did a brilliant spoof of that. "Tiny Sick Tears"
One of the most underrated Doors song, IMO, is "When the Music's Over"--you won't regret that one. It's another long one, and I recommend the live version, which is even longer.
Under rated by who?
Bill Astell ... underrated by the fact that it never is played anywhere and hardly anyone knows it. Maybe I should have said “secret gems” instead?
Live version from Miami is insane
Underrated? You just made a really stupid RUclips comment that will survive as long as computers last.
focalized ... Jesus, it’s a figure of speech. It’s a song that, IMO, doesn’t receive the proper air time and love that it should get for how great it is, especially compared to some of their other popular songs. Calm down and breathe.
The beginning of this song was actually a breakup with a girlfriend - just like the initial part sounds. As they played in clubs around SoCal, Morrison added verses with deeper ideas and it grew into the mindfuck epic it is.
Since it was released in 1967 and Apocalypse Now was 1979, it really was a standalone song for 12 years before the movie.
And as others have said, it was just three very talented instrumentalists plus Jim's occasional tambourine doing all this.
Jim also played Harmonica 👍
Densmore played tambourine in the concert footage I've seen.
When a song like this hits a blockbuster movie score, the appreciation of it explodes. Many songs have been featured in movies that were from the 60s-80s years. I wish today's music had classics like this. There are some, but far fewer.
All the Doors songs have an undeniable cinematic, Los Angeles quality to them. They are larger than life & speak of the great societal rifts (Vietnam war draft, psychedelic period, drug & sexual revolution & mass murder including Manson family serial murderers). So naturally filmmakers would want to include this music to duplicate the mood. I sure hope The Doors received a lot of money for their original music. Today, it would be optioned before it was released to the public.
Yeah, there’s a number of different versions on RUclips. About midway, Morrison would just improvise and free associate.
This was used as the backdrop for the opening scene of "Apocalypse Now". It was one of the spookiest, most perfect opening scenes in cinematic history.
It’s just 4 very creative artists making all those sounds you’re hearing🤙
"APOCALYPSE NOW " my favorite movie...never get off the boat!
Been on the boat for a very long time.
"I told you not to stop."
@@davidmummery3076 that was after he opened up ....
haha it was just a fucking puppy
Not unless you plan to go all the way.
He's the lizard king
He can do anything
Every time I hear this song from The doors, it reminds me of my identical twin brothers. One of them died at the early age of 32. Even though I lost your brother, I could see it in my other brother. There was a piece of my brother that died that I could see my brother that lives as a twin. My brother requested that if he ever died to play this song at the funeral. I could not give him that wish. Because I don't think my mom or dad could have stand this song being played at the funeral services. I discussed it with my other brother so we all agreed. We just can't do that to Mom or Dad. My brother dying at the age of 32, he was taken from this world early. If you knew him he loved fishing, when he'd asked me to go I would always go. Memory so I love them, he would tell me all the time how proud he was me being the Middle brother. I told him whatever he does I'm proud of him too. Yeah songs bring back memories. I love you Randy, and I miss you very much. I hope in the future that we can meet each other again with judgment day comes.
Your words clearly convey what you’re feeling. Thanks for sharing that man.
Sad.
The blue bus could be a reference to the 1966 "blue" military ambulance used in Vietnam as a surgical hospital. " The blue bus is calling us, Driver where are you taking us" .... for some military personnel it would be the end. This was how this song was explained to me some 40 plus year ago. Vietnam war was during my time period.
Good point.... there was also a public bus line in LA and the buses were blue. Jim used that bus when he lived in Venice and when he was at UCLA.... your reference symbol though is plausible b/c I think he followed nam, even in 66, closer then most, b/c his father was there. Plus he read like a madman, and probably knew friends he grew up with that were over there...... it’s a vital symbol either way. Morrison was at his best writing large scale epic narratives. Blake influenced symbolism is the key in understanding the meaning and map of the narrative. In the best of his large scale works, there is always a movement symbol which is key. Here it is the snake and bus. In riders it is the car and the open desolate hiway. In wasp it’s soundwaves and the movement of western culture across n amer. In la woman it’s the modern car across the city and suburban roads out to the desert... it gives the works a broader transcending agent.
Blue buses took draftees to improssing
The "blue bus" is a drug reference.
Lol, that was precious to see your face during the oedipus narrative part. Yes, Jim was one sick puppy; oh and by the way he's the son of George Stephen Morrison who was a United States Navy rear admiral and naval aviator. Morrison was commander of the U.S. naval forces in the Gulf of Tonkin during the Gulf of Tonkin Incident of August 1964, which sparked an escalation of American involvement in the Vietnam War. Food for thought 😁
The scene from Apocalypse Now that has this song has to be one of the greatest visual and music transitions in movie history. When it came out it showed at the Cinerama Dome in Hollywood, it was set up in quadraphonic sound so when you were seeing the Hueys and their blades chopping the air the audio was going around the theater and as it slowly transitioned to the song the visual is transitioning to the ceiling fan in his room. Absolutely incredible.
jim morrison's dad was responsible for escalating the vietnam war. he was a commanding rear admiral in the navy during the gulf of tonkin incident. he also told his son (morrison) he couldn't sing. morrison's legeacy became his father's (and the usa's) biggest anti-war critic.
And now his Father has come around and tried to protect Jim's legacy. Truth and Love will always rear its head in the End. ok that was a corny pun.
Yeah boots boots Are his fathers boots The killer put his boots on his military boots Growing up knowing your father is responsible for so much death And suffering is more than anyone could handle anyone with a conscience that is
@@benhinds2971 "And now his Father has come around and tried to protect Jim's legacy." That's bogus. His father died 16 years ago in 2008.
@barryradun6356
@stadiaplay701
3 years ago"was responsible for escalating the vietnam war". Not even remotely accurate...
Wikipedia:
"In November 1963, Morrison took command of the Essex-class aircraft carrier USS Bon Homme Richard, flagship of the First Fleet's Fifth Carrier Division in the Pacific, based at San Diego, California. The Fifth Carrier Division was transferred to the Seventh Fleet when sent to the Western Pacific early in 1964. Morrison's command of the Fifth Carrier Division did not, as has sometimes been supposed, give him a significant role in the controversial Gulf of Tonkin Incident in August 1964, which increased the level of US involvement in the Vietnam War. The Bon Homme Richard was cruising along the coast of Japan, from Sasebo to Yokosuka, while the incidents were occurring off the coast of North Vietnam.[8]"
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Stephen_Morrison
"Riders on the Storm" by the Doors is a good one too
Angie Valdez Great request 👍🏽
He wanted to be a director when he was in film school in UCLA. He didn't. Instead, he used his poetry and his film sensibilities and projected them into a cinematic experience in this song.
You have to remember that this music was part of a great awakening. I used to cruise with my high school buddies in the evenings, smoking pot, getting stoned, listening to this song and the whole album it was on. The music we had was so great it inspired wild plenty of parties, and we lost some wilder friends.
Man, I love your reactions at the drum breaks. Also love how engrossed you get in your videos.
Trivia fact: there wasn't a bassist in the band. The bass lines were played by the keyboardist Ray Manzarek.
Dominique Hamel They did use a bassist in the studio. Never on stage though
The Kids in the Hall have a great skit on that.
@@richcook9669 on certain tracks..... not all of them
That's certainly true up until their last album LA Woman, where they hired Jerry Scheff (from Elvis' band) . They didn't tour much to support that album since Jim died 3 months after recording. However, I suspect they would have had a base player if they had. Ray simply would not have been able to play the parts that some of the songs (the title song in particular) required from the bass
Dominique Hamel they had a bass player in studio on every album, Ray played the bass parts live on stage. It was some black studio player from Cinncinati, I can't remember his name.
"Going to have to go back and listen to this in the dark."
The best way to do it. Love your reaction videos. Hope all is well.
4 members - Jim Morrison, Ray Manzerek, Robbie Krieger, John Densmore. Jim was an entire show by himself!
Also Jim’s faithful companions, booze, weed and lsd.
Craig Hiebert no bass player
@@Sweetjudiblueyes Correct, Ray used those foot pedals for bass (I believe) - someone correct me if I'm wrong
You're close. He played the organ with one hand while playing a bass piano with the other. Simultaneously.
@@craighiebert3384 The Doors decided to use a bass guitar for all songs on LA Woman. They brought into the studio session player Jerry Scheff to play bass on all the tracks. That was the only time.
If you like this, listen to When the Music’s Over, also by the Doors.
We want the world and we want it...now........... NOW!!!!
Yes, “ When The Music Is Over!” GREAT!
I LOVE THAT SONG! When the Music’s Over! Another hypnotic song!
@@beckygrant2258 You’ve got good music taste.
Maybe they played it in the film Apocalypse Now?
Morrison was a poet who stumbled into the music scene
@David Miller he did the music first and then did his poetry under the name james morrison he did not want people to buy his poems just because of his music wild flowers is a complete book of his poems read it,
I think the music scene bumped into Morrison, and are still trying to gather their faculties.
@@winddmmy
Thanks. I do have a copy.
From what I heard, he always did poetry and that came first. Just never got published until his fame.
Either way, if I could sit down to a beer and have a moment with a dead person, Jim would definitely be one of them.
BTW, that book is worthy of a RUclips channel in itself. I gotta get it out again now that you've mentioned it.
@@winddmmy yeah from what I read as well he was adamant in becoming a published poet and would go to poetry nights in bars or something like that to recite his works.
@@winddmmy no he definitely embraced poetry before he became a musician
Fun fact about Jim Morrison, his dad was the commander in charge during the gulf of tonkin incident.
The father's of the other members of The Doors were military intel officers
@Jamal_AKA_Jamel
I know reviewing music is your thing and I appreciate your reviews, but I would love to see you react to deeper analysis and history of performers.
Check out the work of
Dave McGowan and Jay Dyer
He was the architect o the bay of pigs...Admiral Morrison
My uncle served on the Bon Homme Richard under Morrisons father during that time period.
@@torfed wow, did he tell you anything about his experiences?
@@michaelpolitz1144 Yes, he worked in the weapons dept with marines guarding the door.
Here is, then Captain Morrison www.navysite.de/cruisebooks/cv31-64/005.htm
Found my uncle even, www.navysite.de/cruisebooks/cv31-64/212.htm. my uncle was Richard Hose, Weapons Division.
When the music's over is another great Doors song.
my personal fave
Yes it's my favorite also. Not one that got alot of radio play.
That and waiting for the sun are my top two
Thanks for the reaction! The doors will take you on a trip like no other. "When the music's over" is also a great song along with many others.
Totally agree, I recommended that one in a previous video. Hopefully now that he has his first song down from The Doors, many more of their track will be on the way!
This was in "Apocalypse Now." Thanks for the reaction. Love the Doors!
Next “Peace Frog” , “Soul Kitchen” , “LA Woman” , “Back Door Man”
And the Ghost Song. An absolute masterpiece after his death.
LA Woman is classic rock and Peace Frog is cute & lite compared to this. ✌🏼
Texas radio and the big beat FTW
Crystal Ship
Any thing from Morrison Hotel
I heard them do it live Jamel, in '68, and it sounded just as good in effin' Milwaukee. They cast spells. And Morrison used words they didn't put on vinyl then.
This song has always seemed to me what descending into madness would be like. A long slow descent.
If you’re looking for a quick descent on the other hand try Not to touch the Earth
It's The End...Death, Killing, Orgasm.
@@laurenborremans5896 So Freudian. I was a psych major in college during the seventies and just loved how it blended so well.
Descending into madness, death, then bringing it back to peace.
I always feel like I have a good friend listening to you while I listen by my self, thanks so much for you reactions. You give so much good with your channel. Your the best brother. Thanks for sharing.
I had some amazing acid trips with this song and the whole "American Prayer" album. Changed my whole life.
Mem oo man lol.. phew.. back in the day 4sure... crazy times
I listened to that album non stop in college. Still can recite the whole thing.
Friend , I have never tried acid what’s the trip like
Eyes closed, candles burning, and Jim insinuating himself into your soul.
Exactly.... you don't listen to the Doors, you feel the Doors
Sexy!
"I'm gonna need to listen to this in the dark, on repeat"
Highly recommend! 👌
The only way to hear it
NOBODY else in my circle got this (I’m 48 and I was about 21 at the time). I would just sit really still totally alone and listen to it over and over
Jim Morrison - vocals (poetic lyrics) - His father was a highly decorated US Navy Admiral.
I see by the look in your eyes that Jim perplexes you as much as he does the rest of us.
The Lizard King is a poet.
yep shapeshifting reptilian human eating hybrids are the rage these days arent they old chap
Jim's soul was old perhaps to many lives lived in times of war.
The Doors got their name from Aldous Huxley's, "Doors of Perception."
Which IIRC was a riff on William Blake’s line, “If the doors of perception were cleansed every thing would appear to man as it is, Infinite.”
There is the Known, and there is the Unknown. And in between lies.....The Doors
Great book
There is simply no other song remotely like it. Straight up mindblowing.
The organ provided bass in the Doors, thats one of the reasons their sound is so unique
Except the last album when they got Jerry Scheff, Elvis' bass player. Jim was pretty stoked about that.
@@benhinds2971 I'll have to give that a listen to hear the difference
Jim had an incredible voice and The DOORS were exceptional musicians . I always saw Jim as a tortured soul of a poet because his lyrics went to very dark places usually .
"The Music's Over" is worth a listen as well.
"What have they done to our Earth"
“Turn out the lights!”
I want to hear, I want to hear, the Scream of the Butterfly.
Long time Doors fan. I saw them perform The End live in 1967. Love your reaction and your upbeat approach! Nice channel!