Jim Morrison's Epitaph

The Making of L.A. Woman

Feb. 05, 2012

3:31 p.m.

The Doors compressed more creativity into four years than most rock bands can manage in four decades. Of course, theirs was an unusually fertile cultural period and not everything they recorded ranks with greatness. Still, the best of their music continues to intrigue and the dangerous image of Jim Morrison took the precedent set earlier by Elvisand even the Rolling Stonesto the point where he faced prison time in Florida for indecency. All of this weighed on the band as they entered the studio to record what became their final album, L.A. Woman. As recounted in the making-of documentary, Mr. Mojo Risin': The Story of L.A. Woman (out on Blu-ray and DVD), their producer cut short the original session, pronouncing it boring. The Doors withdrew to their rehearsal space with engineer Bruce Botnick, an eight-track recorder and a whole lot of angst and energy. Emerging from the reconvened session were three unforgettable songs, “Love Her Madly,” “L.A. Woman” and the chilling “Riders on the Storm.” As in all of these '60s flashbacks, Mr. Mojo Risin' includes the reflections of one or two blowhards whose best days ended long ago. Mostly, however, the documentary is a fascinating look into the creative process behind each of the album's tracks. With four creative minds at work, Chopin could mingle on friendly terms with the blues, “Ghost Riders in the Sky” morphed via the Modern Jazz Quartet into “Riders on the Storm” and the title track could suggest Raymond Chandler. While recollections differ over small details, everyone interviewed for Mr. Mojo Risin' believes that Morrison was done with the Doors and flew to Paris to be near the spirits of the Symbolist poets he admired. Alas, he would be buried alongside them within a few months. L.A. Woman was his epitaph.