AMG Review of Bright Midnight Records Sampler

Lindsay Planer
All Music Guide

Attempting to quash inferior sounding bootlegs and provide Doors fans with previously unavailable recordings, the three surviving band members, manager Danny Sugarman and original sound engineer Bruce Botnick formed Bright Midnight Records, who plan to release six titles a year for six years. All Bright Midnight releases are only available from the Doors website www.thedoors.com. This sampler includes some peak performances from shows destined for full release on Bright Midnight, most of them taken from a cache of professional recordings made by Elektra Records for the Absolutely Live double LP in 1970, which explains the stellar sound quality. None of these recordings have been issued in any form before, begging the question: Where have they been hiding? Initially in producer Paul Rothchild's care, they were discovered after his passing, when band members rummaged through available tapes to use on The Doors Box Set. Though these performances span the course of a year, the sampler includes material from all six Doors studio albums with Jim Morrison. However, it's odd that over half the songs from The Doors are included, while Waiting for the Sun and Soft Parade are meagerly represented. The set's outstanding, state-of-the art sound, atomic energy levels and intense musicality match, if not exceed, the material ultimately chosen for Absolutely Live. Standouts include "Touch Me," "Break on Through (To the Other Side)," and the "Love Me Two Times" suite. The seamy, crucial, manic nature of a Doors concert is revealed for generations wondering if the truth can live up to the hype.