More Than The Voice Of A Generation
This fourth album by The Doors, "The Soft Parade," is probably their most ambitious album (though not necessarily their best). For this one they brought in a full orchestra to add strings and horns to their already definitive sound. The highlight of this one is the title cut, "The Soft Parade," a four-part offering that begins with an almost wistful feeling and escalates into blood-pumping, straight out rousing rock, played over Jim Morrison's cryptic and enigmatic lyrics (Catacombs/ nursery bones/ winter women growing stones/ carrying babies to the river). Also included is the poetic "Wishful Sinful," a song somehow benignly disturbing when you consider the darkness of the message that emerges from such a lilting melody: "Wishful, sinful/ wicked blue/ water covers you/ wishful, sinful/ wicked you/ can't escape the blue." There's a promise of freedom (but at a cost) in the anthem-like "Tell All The People (Can't you see me growing/ get your guns/ the time has come/ to follow me down)." The most well known cut from this album is "Touch Me," with lyrics by Robby Krieger and an interpretation by Morrison that is open to speculation. More equivocal lyrics accentuate "Shaman's Blues (Did you stop to consider/ how it will feel/ cold grinding grizzly bear jaws/ hot on your heels), during which another Morrison persona emerges, one apparently close to his heart and in being with his connection to the earth. A call to the youth of the world to step forward and take charge of their destiny is the subtle message of "Do It," while the eternal quest for freedom of mind and soul come to the fore in "Wild Child," which ends with the cryptic "You remember when we were in Africa?" which helps to fuel the myth that Morrison "pulled a Rimbaud" and actually disappeared into the Dark Continent in 1971. Rounding out "The Soft Parade" are "Easy Ride," and "Runnin' Blue." Listening now to this album from the distance of years, Morrison's insights and attitudes seem every bit as powerful now as they did then. When all is said and done, this was a guy who had a lot to say, and he is much more than the voice of a generation gone by; the songs here are further proof that The Doors were, and are, a force to be reckoned with, and their impact on society and a world diminishing in size and resources daily is still being felt. There are those who would dismiss rock n' roll out-of-hand, and it's time, perhaps, for them to listen to The Doors; for the words and music here can put a whole new spin on things. After all, it's all a matter of perspective. And great music, which is what this album provides.
THE DOORS MOST UNDERRATED IF NOT ACCOMPLISHED!!!
To be perfectly honest I am really sick of seeing people bashing this album. Sure I agree that the Doors 4th LP was not their best but it was definetly their most ambitious. The band was very expiremental here. Using brass and strings in the majority of the songs that appear here. Some of these expirementations were successful some weren't but none the less the Doors made a decent album.The huge radio hit TOUCH ME appears here which is probably the bands most successful brass experimentation.
The hard rockin' WILD CHILD also appears here as well as to underrated tunes SHAMAN'S BLUES and DO IT. The album opener TELL ALL THE PEOPLE is a good song but very pop-like by the Doors standards. EASY RIDE is a fun song and WISHFUL SINFUL is a wonderful poetic tune. RUNNIN' BLUE is an interesting experimentation to say the least but is definetly not the best song here. The album closes with THE SOFT PARADE a four part musical journey
which I think is awesome! It is amazing how the band change from style to style of music so well!
Overall the Soft Parade is a decent album and a very respectable effort. It is definetly not the best Doors album but it has some good songs. If you are open mind give this album a whirl but be warned you may find this album contains tons of filler or tons of great music depending on your musical taste. Thats my two cents on this cd, and remember in the words of Morrison "You Cannot Petition The Lord with Prayer!" Mildly recommended but essential to Doors fans!
The Doors at Their Psychedelic Best
This album has receive in the past and still to this day a lot of negative feedback. I realize that everyone has the right to voice their own opinion but I actually like this album.The Doors were experimenting with a lot of new and different sounds on THE SOFT PARADE and is clear that they were trying to perhaps confuse their listeners and they succeeded I believe but this album has a strong dosage of blues, rock and even a little funk but overall is a very well crafted album and the songs are very original and they are all very different. This album is perhaps the strangest that band had recorded up to that point but that doesn't diminish the great quality of the music contained herein. TELL ALL THE PEOPLE, is perhaps my favorite track on the album and I really like Jim Morrison's voice on this one, it is very clear and direct. TOUCH ME, was ofcourse the album's big hit and a great song to listen to this one is definately a Doors classic. WISHFUL SINFUL is another great song in which Jim's voice is really good as is the rest of the band. EASY RIDE, I think is really funny, I laugh sometimes when I listen to it and it is not out of disrepect to The Doors by any means but that is my take on the song, it is fast and has a strong country feel to it. RUNNIN BLUE, is another good one and a bit funny as well but still a good song. The album title song THE SOFT PARADE, is a real trip to listen to like Jim says in the beginning "this is the best part of the trip, the part I really like, proud to be a part of this number". Is a cool and long song to listen to. Finally I would just like to add that this may not have been The Doors best selling album or their greatest masterpiece but with all the negative reviews that it has receive in the past, THE SOFT PARADE still stands as one of The Doors most original and eloquentely conceived recordings. A must for any Doors fan.
Brass Doors
The Doors' fourth album "The Soft Parade" kind of picks up where "Waiting For The Sun" left off. "The Soft Parade" is a "parade" of soft, energizing and sometimes brass-drenched cuts, which shows how versitile The Doors are with their music. Though underrated, "The Soft Parade" is not to be ignored. The classic psychedelic Doors sound combined with smart horn sections make this a very unique and enjoyable album.
The album begins with the poppy, free-flowing "Tell All The People" which features some nice harmonies, horn work, and singer Jim Morrison's deep dark voice. Following the song is The Doors' hit "Touch Me," a song combining Morrison's dark, straight forward and demanding lyrics, with his soulful, melodic crooning amongst thick driving horns and melodic strings in the background. It feels like Jim is singing right to you and Ray Manzarek's organ is intense and flawless.
One of my favorite songs from this album is the flowing psychedlia of "Shaman's Blues." The song features catchy; almost swirly melodic chords from Manzarek's organ and smooth guitar playing from Robby Krieger. It is psychedelic pop-rock at its finest; very trippy and laid-back.
The next two songs are probably the weakest on the album; "Do It" and Easy Ride." "Do It" leaves a lot to be desired as Morrison's constant repetition of "Please, please listen to the children...." becomes annoying very quickly. There are some nice powerful guitar chords and organ chords from Kreiger and Manzarek, but there is so much more that could have been done with this song. "Easy Ride" is nothing special. It is simply a more peppy, fast-paced pop-rock tune with some classic wavy-sounding Kreiger guitar work and dancy drum beats from John Densmore. Other than that, not much variety here.
Next is "Wild Child," one of my favorites. Jim's dark, urgent lyrics, John Densmore's unique, marching-like drum-rolls, Robby Krieger's bottle-neck guitar playing, and Ray Manzarek's catchy organ gel together to create one of the more unique songs The Doors have recorded. This is a very infectious song; intense, groovy and foot-stomping.
The brass is back on "Runnin' Blue," a smooth, foot-tapping song that's a little peppier. Again, the horns are thick and melodic and it even features a bit of a country flavor with some banjo strings. This is a personal favorite of mine along with the next song, "Wishful Sinful." "Wishful Sinful" is a dark-tinged piece with dark brooding Morrison lyrics, smooth guitar chords, and serious strings in the background. It is kind of a half crooning, half pop-rock song. Very unique, and it really makes you think.
The album ends with the title epic "The Soft Parade" featuring Morrison's intense statement about "Petitioning the Lord with prayer" at the start of the song followed by soft crooning before rushed, energetic drum beats and organ chords take over in a flash of excitement for the ears. The song then shifts musical direction twice; first a slower section where Morrison croons out nursery rhyme-type lyrics and then the section of thumping, stomping, free-flowing drum beats that continues until the end. "The Soft Parade" is quite a "trip" that is hard to describe; you have to listen to it.
I personally enjoy "The Soft Parade." I think it was known as the weakest of all The Doors' efforts, but it is still well worth the listen and a must for every Doors fan. This album was kind of a new direction for The Doors. They can do just about anything! For first-time Doors fans, get to know The Doors by purchasing their first two albums or their "Best Of" album first. Then grab this album and "Waiting For The Sun" and appreciate the new flavor they were producing. You won't be disappointed. Buy now!
The Doors' failed equivalent of SGT PEPPER
THE SOFT PARADE, The Doors' fourth album, struggles to be musically inventive. What made the first two albums so wonderfully successful is their very unique sound, and that sound encapsulated the growing, revolutionary thought processes that were spreading throughout America's youth at the time. The Doors were both original and very much of their time, although those first two records never feel dated. Then The Doors released WAITING FOR THE SUN, which has several good songs, but only approaches the quality of the first two records in isolated moments. After the wake of SGT PEPPER and all the psychedelic music that was coming out at the time, The Doors decided to do their own version of SGT PEPPER. By this, I mean they decided to totally reinvent their sound and style and popular music in general, giving the world a radical look how high rock and roll can really climb on the artistic ladder. Unfortunately, The Doors were never as consistently good as The Beatles, and instead of turning in an amazing LP, we end up with the weakest set of songs The Doors ever put to tape.
To understand the state of THE SOFT PARADE, it helps to look at the album before that, WAITING OF THE SUN. The Doors seem to operate in twos, with their first two records brilliant, their middle two rather mediocre, their last two good blues albums, and then there's the two (out of print) records The Doors made after Morrison's death (OTHER VOICES and FULL CIRCLE). WAITING FOR THE SUN was little more than a holding action, product put out because they had to, although there are some great songs on it. At least on THE SOFT PARADE they were trying to do something different, even though it ends up being just as mediocre an album as its predecessor.
The Doors talk about the 'third album syndrome' effecting WAITING FOR THE SUN. They had handpicked their best material for their debut, then the rest went onto STRANGE DAYS. At the third album, they were in a quandry, because all their best material had already been issued. The Doors found it difficult to write compelling, commercial songs, and so turned in their rather lackluster third album. What really hurt WAITING FOR THE SUN was the decision to cut "Celebration of the Lizard," which would have been a very long opus taking up the majority of the second side of the song. So when it came time to record THE SOFT PARADE, The Doors wanted to strike out in a different direction.
While not wholly a failure, THE SOFT PARADE turns out to be, along with WAITING FOR THE SUN, The Doors' weakest album. By this time, Morrison was so out of control Kreiger wrote half the tracks on the album, and it shows. (Also, Morrison didn't want to be credited with calling people to get their guns on the first track). Because the third album didn't have a real tangible identity as far as sound goes, The Doors wisely decided to reinvent themselves and broaden their musical horizons.
While we must admire them for this ambition, the end results are very mixed. Taking over eight months to record, the album proved a difficult record to make. In the end, Morrison described the album the band trying to do something new but that it got bogged down. How true.
Trading in their psychedelic sound they so successfully displayed on their first two records, we get a big band sound instead. The reason they turned from this sound was by the third album the well was clearly running dry. On several of the songs this new sound works, especially the first three tracks. If the rest of the songwriting had been as strong as it was on the first three, then THE SOFT PARADE would stand proudly among The Doors' best work. Unfortunately, this is not the case. THE SOFT PARADE, quite simply, boasts the weakest set of the original six albums. "Do It," "Easy Ride," and "Running Blue," simply don't gel, though "Running Blue" is a very funny song. The title track I really like for about the first four minutes. I find the last (and longest) musical section gets rather monotonous as the song [goes on for over eight minutes] [ploughs onward,] lurches toward its closing eight minute running time. And where is "Who Scared You?" Had "Do It" been deleted and that included in the running order, the album would be much stronger. "Shaman's Blues" is a masterpiece, and "Wild Child" harkens back to that dark, careening undercurrent of their first two albums. Very good song. "Wishful Sinful" is nice as well.
By this point in their career, The Doors were rather falling apart artistically, no thanks to Morrison's increasingly difficult behaviour. After turning in two rather lackluster LPs after two great albums, The Doors seemed headed on a downward spiral. Fortunately, The Doors went into the blues after this album, producing two good albums (even though they couldn't touch the first two's quality) before Morrison died.
Overall, I admire The Doors for their ambition in trying to come up with a highly artistic, progressive record. I just wish they had done a better job at it.
After considerably broadening their sound on Waiting for the Sun, the Doors decided to continue pushing the envelope with their next release. Incorporating brass, strings, and even a full orchestra, The Soft Parade is easily the most challenging album in the Doors' catalog--if not the most accomplished. Though the hit "Touch Me" and other tracks ("Shaman's Blues," "Wild Child") hearken back to the band's edgier self, the title track is a multipart rock suite that evokes some of the psychedelic era's worst excesses. Robby Krieger's "Wishful Sinful" serves up some uncharacteristic melancholy, but elsewhere there's a sense that some of the "experiments" here just might be filler. --Jerry McCulley
