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ALBUM: American Prayer Lyrics
By:
Doors, The
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American Night
An American Prayer/ Hour For Magic/ Freedom Exists/ A Feast Of Friends
Angels & Sailors
Angels And Sailors
Awake
Awake Ghost Song
Black Polished Chrome
Black Polished Chrome (latino Chrome)
Curses, Invocations
Dawn's Highway
Lament
Newborn Awakening
Roadhouse Blues
Stoned Immaculate
The Ghost Song
The Hitchhiker
The Movie
The World on Fire
To Come Of Age
World On Fire
American Prayer Reviews
A Great Work Of Poetry.
Rock N'Roll never produced or had a better poet than Jim Morrison. "An American Prayer" is recorded proof that there was more to his image than just black leather pants and a menacing, highly influential stage presence. First and foremost he wanted to be perceived as a poet, and soley from his work with The Doors in their four studio albums many people perceived him to be one, consider the artists who took from his influence such as Patti Smith and Jim Carroll, artists who also found music as a way to project their poetry. Though Morrison was and is still today more potent as a rock icon, "An American Prayer" shows us he was a serious writer and liked to play with words, combine them, make them come alive with searing images and moods. Yet the music is also very evocative, Doors members Ray Manzarek, Robby Krieger and John Densmore create an evocative blanket of sound for the words, they obviously cared for the material. This is, after all, not an easy album to produce at all when you consider it was made after Morrison died and so combining his words to the music was more complicated a task than if he were alive. The album plays like a ceremony of words, the opening even features Morrison screaming for us to "wake up!" "Ghost Song" follows as a rhythmic tribal invocation with some of the most evocative poetry found in the album. There is a moment of wonderful insight where Morrison in an interview mentions the incident where he and his family encountered a crash in the New Mexico desert where indians were the victims and he felt the presence of their spirits jump into him. This of course adds to the shamanistic aura of the Morrison myth (a presence modern performers such as Godsmack's Sully Erna and Soundgarden's Chris Cornell have tried to duplicate, Cornell with some success). The album runs like a collection of stories and images, some parts are gritty and chilling, some violent and philosophical at the same time as when Morrison recites "lying on stained, wretched sheets with a bleeding virgin, we could plan a murder, or start a religion." Some parts are atmospheric in a cinematic style as in "The Movie" where Morrison speaks of being part of an audience seating in a movie theater. "Hour For Magic" is one of the best cuts, an evocative recitation to the music of "The End" while "The Hitchhiker" is a sinister moment where Morrison makes a phone call and describes killing someone while "Riders On The Storm" plays in the background. What Morrison achieves here is the kind of revolutionary, beat-poet feel writers like William S. Burroughs and Jack Kerouac evoked so well. And like them, he does not deliver poetry that is academic or standard, this is true writing that comes from Morrison's heart, his mind and his spirit as a writer trying to achieve transcendence through art, which is what he also sought through the Doors' music. "An American Prayer" is epic, powerful and an unforgettable experience of true, modern poetry delivered by one of the 20th century's most important artists.
Difficult to understand at times but still brilliant
I have always been a fan of The Doors and enjoy their unique music very much. This album is a collection of poems written by Jim Morrison with the Doors music in the background. I like the poetry on this album but I find it difficult to understand it at times. Jim has always had a knack of really confusing people with his poems atleast he confuses me but that does not mean that I don't like them. This CD collects some of his most famous works into one single disc. Some of the poetry contained herein he would perform it live in concert and he always liked to throw them in the middle of a song. I especially love the music that serves as background for "Feast Of Friends" one of my favorite poems from Jim. The music on this one is really beautiful and somewhat sad, it gives me a sort of melancholy feeling when I'm listening to it. This album was recorded a few months before Jim died in Paris in 1971 and was finished by the three surviving members in the 70's and finally released in 1978. This recording won a Grammy Award for the best album of spoken word. Who would of thought that Jim Morrison would win a Grammy nine years after his death. Even though this album is complex to understand and really tough to come to grips with it, I think it's brilliant and Morrison's voice is really good here he sounds quite smooth and relax but only some of the time. There are other parts in the album where he screams and he sounds mad but Jim was always unpredictiable and one never knew what he was up to. Classic poetry album by the one and only Jim Morrison.
Pure Genius.
Like Lennon and Hendrix, Jim Morrison was one of the figures that shaped rock, and unfortunately, these men died way to young. This collection of poetry is deep and beautiful and the music behind Jim while he is talking really sets the mood. The live version of "Roadhouse Blues" fits this collection perfectly and is nice to listen to. Pick this up if you like the Doors, Jim, or like poetry.
Tommy who?
Crimson and clover? Why don't you compare Wayne Newton to Primus? Anyways, this review isn't a bash; it's my feelings about the album. First of all "American Prayer" isn't an album that you just pick one or two songs off of to listen to, it's a story, similar to Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon," "The Wall," or Neilson's "The Point." And similar to those in that it is best enjoyed relaxing on your couch, following the inebriant of your choice. It also is great for long road trips at night, but I prefer to have my eyes closed when listening to it. Jim's poetry is raw and vibrant and conjures up images of the movies The Doors and Natural Born Killers. The background music adds to the poetry like the sense of smell does to taste. As a second generation door's fan, my view of this album may be slightly nostalgic, but listening to it, for me, is like a vivid dream that captures something reminiscent of Manson's views of the 60's. It's filled with intenseness of peaking on window pane (LSD, for the sheltered) and the spacey philosophical ranting that accompany its come-down. This album is art and contains all the passion and skewed visions of the artist. I would compare this album to something like sushi; at first it may sound repulsive to some, but if given a chance you may start to crave it. If this doesn't sound like your spicy tuna roll, then maybe you can go back to mind-numbing, sticky-sweet pop music and other mass media produced nausients, and leave interpretation of art to someone else. Okay, it is kind of a bash.
Zzzzzzzzzz
God-awful pseudo-poetry by rock's most over-rated lyricist. The fact that this Rimbaud-wannabe's spoken tripe is considered "poetry" by so many people is testament to the moronization of American culture. Buy & read some Keats, Blake, Browning...
The Doors recorded six studio albums with Jim Morrison as their singer from 1967 to 1971, hitting the charts with a series of pop songs that were at least as good as Tommy James and the Shondells. On their albums, they indulged in Morrison's pretentious obsessions that included extended pieces about Oedipal complexes and the end of the world. Those obsessions have been exaggerated by The Doors myth that continues to this day. This is a collection of Morrison's poetry, embellished by the surviving Doors several years after the fact. That the live rendition of "Roadhouse Blues" is the only noteworthy selection should tell you what you need to know about the poetry. --
Rob O'Connor
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