The Doors – Strange Days

To the negative reviews on this pressing, I initially thought the same, but my copy was purchased used in 2025 still in the original paper inner sleeve. It was crackly as all get out after a clean in the Spin Clean, especially in-between tracks, so I figured it was likely just years and years of dust caked into the grooves. There was no visible damage. I gave it a soak with MoFi's enzymatic cleaner. Sure enough it cleaned up, and more importantly, it opened up. It sounds much better now. I could see all the crud picked up off the record after the enzymatic clean. It will likely need a few more plays to get it all out and/or additional cleans.

Also, the album has a quite a bit of dynamic range and is pretty quiet to start so you do need to turn it up. When you do, it opens up and blooms. It's not a loud, compressed pressing, and that's a good thing. I also have the 2009 Rhino cut by Bernie Grundman. That one does not show as being remastered so that might an alternative if you don't want to chance this one. Both are great.

Don't know if it's the late 60s production values or the early 80s pressing values, but it's kinda weak and thin. Especially on the opener. I always think I'll listen to this more than I really do. I haven't since I'm a teenager and got the CD for Xmas. It sounded great as I laid there with a fever.

A good deal of The Doors impact has dulled thanks to blitz-level rotation on radio and in culture since I can , which for me is the early 80s. That's 40+ years. Since then, we've endured the one BAD movie (which really ruined it for me. But the soundtrack is where I heard VU for the first time, so thanks Oliver Stone), tons of re-re-re-re-releases (first on CD, then on better CD, then mp3, then better mp3, then back on vinyl), the remasters that reintroduced the dirty words, the boxsets, the documentaries, the concert film-flams, several meh books and Ray Manzarek's constant droning on about Jimbo's bozo godhead (as quoted from Please Kill Me: Ray: Jim was a god. Danny Fields: Jim Morrison was an asshole).

The songs that hold up best are Strange Days, Moonlight Drive, My Eyes Have Seen You, I Can't See Your Face In My Mind and When The Music's Over. People R Strange and Love Me 2 X are played to death (and I LOVED LM2X as a wee tot). Robbie's psychedelic bottleneck guitar makes a lot of the other tunes.

As the woman behind the counter said when I bought this: "When The Music's Over" is way less cringe than "The End".

This pressing sounds like steam coming off of a pile of hot garbage. I had to put on a different record to make sure my system was functioning properly.

You can hear hi-hat hits under the intro of some tracks on this pressing not heard on the original.