Live at the Matrix 1967 explained

Live at the Matrix 1967
Type:live
Artist:the Doors
Cover:Doors_matrix.jpg
Released:November 18, 2008
Recorded:March 7 & 10, 1967
Venue:The Matrix Club, 3138 Fillmore Street, San Francisco, CA
Genre:Psychedelic rock, acid rock, blues rock
Length:125:46
Label:
Producer:Bruce Botnick
Prev Title:Live Pittsburgh Civic Arena
Prev Year:2008
Next Title:Live in New York
Next Year:2009

Live at the Matrix 1967 is a double live album by the American rock band the Doors. It was recorded at The Matrix in San Francisco on March 7 and 10, 1967 by club co-owner Peter Abram (the other co-owner was Marty Balin).[1] The recording is notable as one of the earliest live recordings of the band known to exist, played to a mostly empty venue. By March 1967, the Doors had recorded only their debut album (released January 4, 1967) and "Light My Fire" had yet to be released as a single (on April 24, 1967),[2] and they were still relatively unknown outside Southern California.

Recording equipment

On November 22, 2008, recording engineer Peter Abram revealed in an online posting[3] the equipment he used to record the Doors at The Matrix:

The original master quarter-inch track stereo tapes were recorded at 7.5 ips on Abram's Akai reel-to-reel vacuum tube tape recorder.

Release and master tape issues

The release was mastered by long-time Doors' sound engineer/producer Bruce Botnick. The album was released from the Bright Midnight Archives collection which contains a number of previously unreleased live concerts by the Doors.[4]

PopMatters music critic Steve Horowitz observed in his review of Live at the Matrix 1967, entitled "Money...That's What I Want,"[5] that the Rhino CD was not sourced from Peter Abram's master tapes; Rhino's press release stated that "first generation tapes" were used.[6] [7]

On December 2, 2008, Peter Abram allowed photos to be taken of his master tape boxes. These photos were published online at the Steve Hoffman Forums on December 4, 2008.[8] Abram's notations on the master tape boxes indicate that a 'jam' was performed between "Soul Kitchen" and "Get Out of My Life, Woman" during the March 7, 1967 show. For Record Store Day 2017, 10,000 condensed version LPs were released to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Doors.

Track listing

Disc one

All songs written by Jim Morrison, Robby Krieger, Ray Manzarek and John Densmore, except where noted.

  1. "Break On Through (To the Other Side)" (Jim Morrison) – 3:47
  2. "Soul Kitchen" (Morrison) – 5:51
  3. "Money" (Janie Bradford, Berry Gordy) – 3:02
  4. "The Crystal Ship" (Morrison) – 2:50
  5. "Twentieth Century Fox" (Morrison) – 2:46
  6. "I'm a King Bee" (James Moore) – 3:48
  7. "Alabama Song (Whisky Bar)" (Bertolt Brecht, Kurt Weill) – 3:16
  8. "Summer's Almost Gone" (Morrison) – 3:46
  9. "Light My Fire" (Robby Krieger, Jim Morrison) – 8:14
  10. "Get Out of My Life, Woman" (Allen Toussaint) – 3:58
  11. "Back Door Man" (Willie Dixon, Chester Burnett) – 5:14
  12. "Who Do You Love" (Bo Diddley) – 4:31
  13. "The End" – 13:54

Disc two

  1. "Unhappy Girl" (Morrison) – 3:56
  2. "Moonlight Drive" (Morrison) – 5:39
  3. "Woman Is a Devil/Rock Me Baby" (Morrison), (B.B. King) – 8:08
  4. "People Are Strange" (Morrison, Krieger) – 2:14
  5. "Close to You" (Dixon) – 2:56
  6. "My Eyes Have Seen You" (Morrison) – 2:56
  7. "Crawling King Snake" (Anon, arr. by John Lee Hooker) – 4:53
  8. "I Can't See Your Face in My Mind" (Morrison) – 3:07
  9. "Summertime" (George Gershwin, DuBose Heyward) – 8:29
  10. "When the Music's Over" – 11:11
  11. "Gloria" (Van Morrison) – 5:36

Personnel

The Doors

Production

Charts

Chart (2023)! scope="col"
Peak
position
Hungarian Physical Albums (MAHASZ)[9] 7

Notes and References

  1. News: San Francisco Chronicle, Early S.F. Doors show breaks on through to CD . The San Francisco Chronicle . Joel . Selvin . August 17, 2010.
  2. Web site: Official Rhino Entertainment Press Release for "Live at the Matrix 1967". dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20090129200855/http://www.rhino.com/rzine/pressrelease.lasso?PRID=591. 2009-01-29.
  3. Web site: Steve Hoffman Music Forums.
  4. Web site: Live at the Matrix . David Fricke . Rolling Stone. 27 November 2008 . 27 November 2018.
  5. Web site: The Doors Live at the Matrix 1967.
  6. Web site: PopMatters review.
  7. Web site: Rhino press release. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20090129200855/http://www.rhino.com/rzine/pressrelease.lasso?PRID=591. 2009-01-29.
  8. Web site: Steve Hoffman forums.
  9. Web site: Album Top 40 slágerlista (fizikai hanghordozók) – 2023. 37. hét . . September 20, 2023.