The Doors’ performance at the Hollywood Bowl on July 5, 1968 is often cited as the band’s pinnacle. In the late 80s, a seven-song live album called Live At The Hollywood Bowl offered a Doors-hungry public a glimpse of the show. A VHS tape and later a DVD opened it up a little more with additional songs. Just when you thought they bottomed out, the film has now been restored using the original camera negatives, with the audio meticulously remixed, mastered and (in some cases) “fixed” by the group’s engineer Bruce Botnick. The addition of three songs makes Live At The Bowl ’68, on CD, DVD and Blu-ray, the complete Doors performance at the Hollywood Bowl.
Early on, during “When The Music’s Over,” only someone as charismatic and evolved as Jim Morrison could belch before unleashing a guttural scream – and exciting an audience about both. Watching the Doors open in HD widescreen is worth the ride. A stroll through the whiskey bar of “Alabama Song,” and the band pops into a lively “Backdoor Man” with Robby Krieger’s frantic lead work, Morrison’s demonic laugh and a segue into “Five To One.”
Due to technical glitches during the recording, “The WASP (Texas Radio And The Big Beat)” and “Hello, I Love You,” and “Spanish Caravan” have not been previously issued until now. Thanks to the wonders of technology, these songs have been seamlessly integrated into the set. Purists may wince at the process, but Botnik is very open about it, explaining during the “Reworking The Doors” bonus segment that he used vocals from other Doors live performances to make up for the loss of the original vocals. Botnik takes viewers through the step-by-step process of “fixing” and “decrackling.” You even get an A/B comparison to show how effective the restoration process can be, without impeding on the integrity of the performance.
When it comes to the stand-outs, you won’t get much better than “Light My Fire” and “The Unknown Solider.” Morrison asks for the lights to be brought down (despite the fact that they were being filmed) and waits a few seconds before saying “Come on.” A few more seconds pass and then it’s “Ah…what do we care” before slipping into “The End.” Morrison gets a few laughs during his “Ode To A Grasshopper” poem and prepares the audience for the inevitable climax. “The killer awoke before dawn…and he put his boots on…”
This is Morrison the shamanistic rock god at the Hollywood Bowl. Seemingly in control, steady with a distant look in his eye and a mischievous grin at odd turns – it’s no secret the singer was on acid at the Bowl show (Ray Manzarek freely admits it during the “You Had To Be There” bonus segment). How he managed to pull off one of his more memorable performances will forever be shrouded in mystery and intrigue. Live At The Bowl ’68, with a superior picture and soundtrack, plus over an hour of bonus material – including a short segment about the Hollywood Bowl itself, two rare television appearances from the late 60s, and a promo video for “Gloria” – should pretty much answer all other questions about that immortal Hollywood night in 1968.
~ Shawn Perry
