The Doors: Live at the Bowl '68

“We want the world and we want it now,” Jim Morrison screams during “When the Music's Over,” the opening cut of this legendary July 5, 1968 performance by The Doors at the Hollywood Bowl. The lyric is in perfect keeping with the height of the protest-era ‘60s, although the seriousness is somewhat undercut by the fact that Morrison precedes the line with an energetic belch and a boyish smile. Charismatic bad boy Morrison—who dropped LSD right before taking the stage—delivers an even weirder than usual performance here (at one point offering a spontaneous “ode to a grasshopper” he sees onstage that—on closer inspection—turns out to be a moth) on a dozen Doors numbers that include both classics (the timeless anthem “Light My Fire”) and then-brand-new tunes such as “Spanish Caravan,” “Hello, I Love You,” “Five to One,” and “The Unknown Soldier” (an electrifying mood piece in which Morrison pantomimes being shot—collapsing on the stage floor). Backed by Ray Manzarek's hypnotic keyboards, Robby Krieger's jazzy guitar, and John Densmore's solid drumming, the show (which itself is only 71 minutes long) climaxes with a superb rendition of “The End” (known to later generations from its dramatic inclusion in Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now) that includes the famous (and still shocking) oedipal lyrics. Although the music truly would be over three years later when Morrison died of an apparent drug overdose, it shines in this concert that looks and sounds fantastic, thanks to an incredible restoration effort (including lifting audio from other Doors performances to fill in dropouts or completely useless tracks, such as “Hello, I Love You”). Fun fact: The Doors appear before a virtual wall of sound—52 amplifiers total—but only a few are actually plugged in. Presented in DTS 5.1, Dolby Digital 5.1 and stereo on DVD, and DTS-HD 5.1 and LPCM stereo on Blu-ray, extras include three featurettes (on the history of the Hollywood Bowl, reminiscences from surviving Doors members, and the restoration process), a trio of TV-appearance bonus tracks, and liner notes. Highly recommended. (R. Pitman)