Riders on the Storm
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John Densmore vividly remembers the words longtime Doors producer Paul A. Rothchild used to describe “Riders on the Storm”: “cocktail music.” “When he heard it, it was in an early rehearsal and it hadn’t evolved into what it became,” the drummer says of the dramatic track, a cowboy ghost story set to haunting rain and thunder. “But it really is one of our most important songs.”
The full story of the track will finally be told in an upcoming, 50th-anniversary box set reissue of L.A. Woman, the band’s triumphant final record to feature singer Jim Morrison, due out December 3rd. Among the bonus tracks that accompany the newly remastered record are the original demo for “Riders,” which the band cut at Sunset Sound and is premiering here, an alternate version of the tune recorded during the L.A. Woman sessions, and, of course, the final studio rendition. The collection, which contains three CDs and one LP, features 18 previously unreleased recordings in total.The original demo moves a little faster than the studio version, and keyboardist Ray Manzarek played piano bass (as opposed to bassist Jerry Scheff’s performance on the studio version), giving it a rougher, almost electronic feel. Although it features the same power as the L.A. Woman version, it didn’t move Rothchild. “Paul put his head in his hands and said, ‘This is cocktail jazz, I can’t do this anymore,'” engineer Bruce Botnick recalls. Rothchild, who had just come off of producing Pearl for Janis Joplin, backed out of L.A. Woman, and the band ended up co-producing the album with Botnick. “With Bruce and us producing, we had more control,” Densmore says. “It was a joy. It only took a few weeks to make.”
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When I was a kid, I listened to the ultimate radio station, WNEW, which was far ahead of its time, and the weekday midnight slot was Alison Steele, the night bird. And she would always always put on riders on the storm if it was raining in New York.
I listened on a clock radio I had next to be bed which had a little pull up button which made the radio play for an hour and then automatically turn off.
and i would fall asleep every night listening to the night bird.
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@bachophile What a great memory.
Great that you didn't lose it.
Success is measured by your discipline and inner peace. – Mike Ditka
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In my venerable old age, I find myself forgetting things of the past few years. My childhood remains crystal clear and even find myself rediscovering memories I didn’t know I had
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@bachophile Given the past few years, that might not be a bad thing.
