In 1967 the world hadn’t fully digested the Doors’ astounding first album that they had already released Strange Days. Strange like these compositions that sounded like no other. Staggering, often dreamlike themes. And while Jim Morrison sang that people were strange, the same could be said about his Doors: incessant changes in rhythm, lyrics going back and forth between social critic and complete madness, and huge gaps between total trance and cabaret ballads… Months went by and Morrison was growing more and more out of control. In early 1968, the Doors nevertheless started working on their Waiting for the Sun. There are many anecdotes about these most chaotic weeks. Yet, upon its release in July, in the midst of the Vietnam War, fans appropriated pacifist anthem The Unknown Soldier and perky Hello, I Love You that opens this third album and propelled it to the top of the charts. Well aware of their leader’s unstable state, Ray Manzarek, Robby Krieger and John Densmore remained focused to create original and inspired parts. A notch below the two previous albums, Waiting for the Sun however approaches psychedelic music with the same unwavering originality. The use of acoustic instruments and refinement of some arrangements confirm the uniqueness of this band, even though it was on the verge of imploding…
In celebration of the album’s 50th anniversary, this deluxe edition offers a new version of the album’s stereo mix, remastered by Bruce Botnick, the Doors’ long-time sound engineer and producer. Without omitting 14 bonus tracks: nine come from recently discovered rough mixes and five originate from a concert in Copenhagen in December 1968. The new stereo mix for Waiting for the Sun, remastered by Botnick, gives a new dimension to songs like The Unknown Soldier and Spanish Caravan. As for the rough mixes, his opinion is clear: “I prefer some of these rough mixes to the finals, as they represent all of the elements and additional background vocals, different sensibilities on balances, and some intangible roughness, all of which are quite attractive and refreshing”. © Max Dembo/Qobuz