An American Prayer - Jim Morrison

Let me make one thing clear from the very beginning of this review: Don't buy this CD (or download the MP3 of it) until you've bought (or downloaded) all six studio albums with Morrison first. I'd suggest some live albums, too, including seven of the Bright Midnight selections: Aquarius Theatre in L.A., Felt Forum in New York, Boston Arena in Boston, The Spectrum in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh Civic Arena in Pittsburgh, Cobo Hall in Detroit, and the Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver, British Columbia. These seven concert releases on the Bright Midnight label also allow you to see Jim Morrison as he really was most of the time -- warm, witty, and highly intelligent. I hated the movie The Doors, directed by Oliver Stone, because it was a very one-sided view of Morrison as a sociopathic alcoholic. (Apparently, the remaining members of The Doors hated it too.) Anyway, back to my review of An American Prayer. It is a brilliant melding of the band's music with Jim's poetry and stories, but you must have earned your Doors undergraduate degree first to fully appreciate it. I can't believe long-time Doors producer, Paul Rothchild, called this album "the rape of Jim Morrison"! He couldn't be more wrong! I would also highly recommend both the When You're Strange DVD and the accompanying soundtrack CD because they are brilliantly executed as a documentary and as an aural documentary of the band. Jim's poetry is interspersed among the songs here, too, and read by Johnny Depp. All of the things cited here are highly recommended for true fans of The Doors. ADDITIONAL NOTES: I streamed Other Voices and Full Circle tonight, the two studio albums that the remaining members of The Doors released in 1971 and 1972 after the death of lead singer Jim Morrison. I've always loved The Doors but thought these two studio albums weren't worth listening to. I was wrong. They're worth listening to and even buying, especially if you're a serious fan. They're not at the same level of excellence as the six studio albums that the band released when Morrison was alive, but they're better than I thought. You should listen to some of Morrison's interviews online, too, because he was an extremely warm, witty, and highly intelligent person (his IQ was 150). There are two interviews, in particular, that are of interest. In a 1969 PBS performance, Morrison predicts the future of music -- rap, hip hop, and electronic dance music -- 15 to 20 years before they came into existence! Another interview with a CBC journalist in 1970 is even more unnerving. Morrison predicts who our modern day heroes will be decades before the fact. It's "spot on" accurate!

I've the vinyl version of this outstanding stuff, but hadn't heard for a great lenght of time owing to this & that with life in general. But it's one of those master peices that was never recognised as so by the commercial world and its sad inhabitants for what was and how it spoke out. Lyrically & musically it's outstanding stuff (well it was the Doors). Profound was Morrison's mind, drug induced or not, "as was his Hotel". And the people that he often sang about lived to multiply and brought us Bay City Rollers, then Take That and the Britians Got Talent grew. But regardless, life goes on & on as does all good albums; (and this is one of them!)

Gave this as a gift to a soulmate recently. I wore this cassette out as a teenager and now have a CD copy that comes out occasionally. Never ceases to play with your emotions as a Doors fan. I did not know Jim Morrison - but of everything I've read - and I've read a lot, he'd have really approved of this mix. From the cover photo of the more reflective poet vs. the young lion all the way through - it seems as close to what he envisioned his work to be as anything out there short of his limited writings. John Densmore said awhile back that today Jim would not be regarded as a young Dionysis so much as he'd be regarded as an alcoholic. But as Lou Reed once said - 'those were different times'. If he were a straight flying choir boy - would we have basked in the glow of some of those incredible lyrics? Would we even know Ray, Robbie and John? Maybe. Don't let this be your first DOORS album. Start at the beginning with THE DOORS and work your way through to LA WOMAN. Then listen to the post Jim albums to see what it would have been like without him - very different - more bluesy maybe? Then listen to AN AMERICAN PRAYER and truly come full circle.

I am 33 years old and have listened to American Prayer at least a couple hundred times over the past 15 years. After reading some of the negative reviews, I am once again reminded of what separates the wheat from the chaff, in terms of people. This album is a perfect compilation of music and poetry (for lack of a different label). First off, anyone who is offended by the "vulgarity" of the album wouldn't strike me as someone who would appreciate Jim anyway. Other negative reviews seem to focus on 2-dimensional, establishment, criteria for good "poetry". No, Jim doesn't focus on specific rhyme or syllabic patterns. The focus is on the words and the images they invoke. The shallowness of preoccupation with such trivial elements of poetry is troublesome to me. If you are one of these 2-dimensional folks who has all of life's answers figured out: where we came from, where we're going, etc., you do well to leave this album alone. All of Jim's work(especially on this album) deals with the uncertainty surrounding death/the "loss of god". This underlying theme permeates much of what Jim is about. Also, in Jim's own words, the poetry on this album does exactly what it's suppose to - "It's not suppose to say anything, just tick off the possibilities." I have found my brain ticking off the possibilities for the last 15 years on this one. In short, if you generally wake up in a good mood each morning, this Cd is not for you. If you often find yourself wondering what the heck's going on, you'll appreciate this CD.

As my first record and my favorite album, I am semi-satisfied. When if I first tried it, the audio sounded terrible, but after cleaning it the record sounded great. The record looks great with a red coloring, and I love the case. The case comes like a book filled with lyrics and some stories about Jim and the band. The reason I'm semi-satisfied is because it's missing the last three songs/poems: Babylon Fading, Bird of Prey, and The Ghost Song (one of my favorites). I just found it disappointing not to have those, but the record is still worth the money. If you'd rather have the full album, I'd suggest Spotify. You get a ton of music both familiar and unheard of, plus they make a great playlist for you to hear both new and old music you've never heard. If you're like me looking to start/add to a collection of albums, it's worth getting, but just know that there's 3 songs/poems that are missing. They are on Spotify though. To the collectors/potential customers just starting a record collection, you need to clean the record BEFORE you start playing it. If you don't the record will sound terrible. Not sure if that issue is on all records or just this one. I recommend getting the Boundless cleaning kit. Comes with a soft rag, cleaning spray, a cover for the paper in the middle and instructions for how to clean it properly.

The sound 👍

The three musicians in The Doors could seriously play and are hugely underrated. Here we get a sample of what they could have done beyond the limitations of being in a Rock band with the iconic Jim Morrison. The music flows in hypnotic jazzy pieces. And over it all Jim intones his poetry, which is uneasy listening for someone who wants to hear Light My Fire. No pop single muzak here, this is the real deal. Or is it? Morrison was dead & gone when this was released, his spoken words posthumously put to music by the band. I think he would have enjoyed the trip, but we will never know. It is alarming how ill at ease you will feel after listening to this, but then easy is not how they worked & lived!

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