Doors—Mr. Mojo Risin': The Story of L.A. Woman

In this hour-long documentary, band members and music business personalities recall the making of the Doors' 1971 swan song album, L.A. Woman. Keyboard player Ray Manzarek says he thought of the group as a jazz quartet, which isn't as farfetched as it sounds when you consider that the Doors had no bass player (although Elvis sideman Jerry Scheff added bass to "Love Her Madly"). Manzarek and the others proceed through the album track by track, citing lyrical references to Los Angeles, Vietnam, and singer Jim Morrison's legal woes, which cut short the band's last tour. The record also featured "Crawling King Snake," a John Lee Hooker cover, which Elektra Records founder Jac Holzman describes as "a wonderful costume for Jim to wear," although there's no mention of "L'America," an original composition. While discussing particular instrumental passages, Manzarek fingers the keyboards, Robby Krieger plays guitar, and manager Bill Siddons cues up isolated tracks from the soundboard, such as Manzarek's piano parts in "Riders on the Storm" and John Densmore's drum track on "L.A. Woman" (Krieger also sings along to "Love Her Madly," the first single). After recording vocals, Morrison moved to Paris, where he died months later. Krieger laments losing the best writing partner he ever had, while Densmore misses the pleasure of playing along to his singing. Other speakers include producer Bruce Botnick, DJ Jim Ladd, and music critics Ben Fong-Torres and David Fricke. Presented in DTS 5.1, Dolby Digital 5.1 and stereo on DVD, and DTS-HD 5.1, Dolby Digital 5.1, and LPCM stereo on Blu-ray, extras include 35 minutes of additional interviews and performances, and the unreleased track “She Smells So Nice.” Recommended. (K. Fennessy)