THE DOORS DIAL IN AT THE MATRIX

Live At The Matrix is a two-Disc Collection which includes unreleased recordings of the Band playing a small club in San Francisco just weeks before "Light My Fire" made them stars.

Available November 18 from Bright Midnight Archives and Rhino. I'm looking forward to this one!

“It was early 1967, and The Doors were about to enter the consciousness of the nation. And this is the way it sounded!”
- Ray Manzarek, from the set's liner notes

Just weeks before their second single, “Light My Fire,” began its ascent to the top of the charts, The Doors played a two-night stand at The Matrix, a small San Francisco nightclub owned by the Jefferson Airplane's Marty Balin. The place was nearly empty both nights, so Jim Morrison, John Densmore, Robby Krieger, and Ray Manzarek took a rare opportunity to improvise and experiment. The 2-CD set LIVE AT THE MATRIX, the latest in the acclaimed series of previously unreleased Doors concerts from Rhino and Bright Midnight Archives, presents over two hours of music from these fabled performances, recorded on March 7 and 10, 1967,

While recent live Doors titles from Rhino and Bright Midnight have spotlighted the band's final tour before Morrison's death, LIVE AT THE MATRIX reaches back to their earliest days - and to shows that have been widely bootlegged but never officially issued. The new collection - featuring cover art by legendary San Francisco artist Stanley Mouse - was restored and meticulously mastered from first-generation tapes acquired by Elektra Records and The Doors 40 years ago. “This is probably the closest we've come to a true document of The Doors without constraints,” says Bruce Botnick, the album's producer and the band's longtime co-producer and engineer.

On Disc One, the band performs much of its self-titled 1967 debut LP, released only two months prior to the Matrix shows. Highlights include expanded versions of “The End” and “Back Door Man,” “Alabama Song (Whisky Bar),” “Break On Through (To The Other Side)” and Allen Toussaint's “Get Out Of My Life, Woman,” which has never appeared on any previous Doors albums. Disc Two offers a glimpse of the band mapping out its future, working out early versions of several songs from upcoming albums: "Crawling King Snake" (LA Woman); "Summer's Almost Gone" (Waiting For The Sun); and nearly half of the songs from The Doors' second album, Strange Days.

Rhino and Bright Midnight Archives present The Doors' LIVE AT THE MATRIX 1967, the latest installment in the band's acclaimed series of archival concert releases. This two-disc addition to the band's live canon contains two club shows witnessed by few but bootlegged by many. Restored and carefully mastered from first-generation tapes acquired by Elektra Records and The Doors 40 years ago, these historic shows never sounded better. The collection, featuring cover art by legendary San Francisco artist Stanley Mouse, will be available November 18 at all retail outlets

Where the previous three Bright Midnight Archives releases documented The Doors' final tour in 1970, LIVE AT THE MATRIX 1967 rewinds to the band's early days for a pair of shows at a San Francisco club in March 1967. Only a handful of people showed up, so Jim Morrison, John Densmore, Robby Krieger, and Ray Manzarek played for each other, exploring song arrangements and jamming on a few blues favorites. Ironically, only a few weeks after the Matrix shows, the band's second single, "Light My Fire," would make them famous, selling a million copies on its way to topping the chart during The Summer of Love. "It was early 1967 and The Doors were about to enter the consciousness of the nation. And this is the way it sounded," Manzarek writes in the album's liner notes.

In spite of the empty room, the band is fully engaged, using the time to give "The End" and "Back Door Man" extra lyrics and extended sections. "This is probably the closest we've come to a true document of The Doors without constraints," says Bruce Botnick, the album's producer and the band's longtime co-producer and engineer.

The band performs much of its self-titled debut on the first disc, including "Soul Kitchen," "Alabama Song (Whisky Bar)," and the first single, "Break On Through (To The Other Side)." Along with those early originals, the band indulges its love of the blues with Bo Diddley's "Who Do You Love," Muddy Waters' "I'm A King Bee," and Allen Toussaint's "Get Out Of My Life, Woman," which has never appeared on any previous Doors albums. The second disc offers a glimpse of the band mapping out its future, working out early versions of several songs from upcoming albums: "Crawling King Snake" (LA Woman); "Summer's Almost Gone" (Waiting For The Sun); and nearly half of the songs from The Doors' second album, Strange Days.

THE DOORS
LIVE AT THE MATRIX 1967
Track Listing

Disc One
1. "Break On Through (To The Other Side)"
2. "Soul Kitchen"
3. "Money"
4. "The Crystal Ship"
5. "Twentieth Century Fox"
6. "I'm A King Bee"
7. "Alabama Song (Whisky Bar)"
8. "Summer's Almost Gone"
9. "Light My Fire"
10. "Get Out Of My Life Woman"
11. "Back Door Man"
12. "Who Do You Love"
13. "The End"

Disc Two
1. "Unhappy Girl"
2. "Moonlight Drive"
3. "Woman Is A Devil/Rock Me"
4. "People Are Strange"
5. "Close To You"
6. "My Eyes Have Seen You"
7. "Crawling King Snake"
8. "I Can't See Your Face In My Mind"
9. "Summertime"
10. "When The Music's Over"
11. "Gloria"

Please buy this one and support the artists.