Doors – Live At The Matrix 1967: The Original Masters LP box set*

The Doors were a few months away from stardom in March 1967 when they played five sparsely attended shows at a small club in San Francisco called The Matrix. These uninhibited performances would have been fleeting if not for Peter Abram, who co-owned the pizza parlor-turned-nightclub with Jefferson Airplane founder Marty Balin. An avid recordist, Abram taped concerts at The Matrix regularly and his recordings of The Doors, made between March 7-11, 1967, spawned one of the band’s most storied bootlegs. At long last, all known Matrix recordings, sourced entirely from Abram’s original master recordings, will be released on September 8.

Bootlegs of The Matrix shows have circulated among fans for years and were popular despite the poor audio quality of most copies. The sound began improving in 1997 when the first two songs from The Matrix shows were officially released on The Doors: Box Set. Even more performances followed in 2008 on Live at the Matrix 1967; regrettably, it was discovered soon after that all the recordings were sourced from third-generation tapes, not the originals.

Today, Abram’s original recordings have been remastered by Bruce Botnick, The Doors’ longtime engineer/mixer, for official release. The vinyl version of LIVE AT THE MATRIX 1967: THE ORIGINAL MASTERS includes all 37 songs from the shows sourced from the master tapes. Except for 15 songs released in 2017 and 2018 as Record Store Day exclusives, most of the newly upgraded live recordings are making their debut in the collection, including eight that have never been featured on any of the previous Matrix releases.

It’s easy to understand the enduring appeal of these vintage performances by Jim Morrison, Ray Manzarek, Robby Krieger, and John Densmore. Recorded only a few months before “Light My Fire” propelled the band to worldwide success, the tapes capture The Doors playing a wide range of songs, including several from their self-titled debut, like “Break On Through,” “Soul Kitchen,” and “The End.” They also performed half the songs destined for the group’s soon-to-be-recorded second album, Strange Days, including early performances of “Moonlight Drive” and “People Are Strange.” 15 Sets of music over five nights at The Matrix gave the band time to indulge its love of the blues with extended covers of “I’m A King Bee” and “Crawling King Snake.” The Doors even delivered an instrumental version of “Summertime.”

Label: Rhino Records (2) – R1 698484, Elektra – 603497836666, Bright Midnight Archives – R1 698484

Format: Box Set, Limited Edition, Numbered, Remastered, Stereo

5 x Vinyl, LP, Stereo

Vinyl, 7", 33 ⅓ RPM, Single Sided, Stereo

Country: Worldwide

Released: Sep 8, 2023

Genre: Rock

Style: Blues Rock, Psychedelic Rock

Tracklist

March 7, 1967 - First Set

A1 Back Door Man

A2 My Eyes Have Seen You

A3 Soul Kitchen

A4 All Blues (Instrumental)

B1 Get Off My Life

B2 When The Music's Over

March 7, 1967 - Second Set

C1 Close To You

C2 Crawling King Snake

C3 I Can't See Your Face In My Mind

C4 People Are Strange

C5 Alabama Song (Whisky Bar)

D1 The Crystal Ship

D2 Twentieth Century Fox

March 7, 1967 - Third Set

D3 Moonlight Drive

D4 Summer's Almost Gone

D5 Unhappy Girl

E1 Woman Is A Devil / Rock Me Baby

E2 Break On Through (To The Other Side)

E3 Light My Fire

F1 The End

March 8 Or 9, 1967

F2 The End (Partial) / Let's Feed Ice Cream To The Rats

March 10, 1967 - First Set

G1 My Eyes Have Seen You

G2 Soul Kitchen

G3 I Can't See Your Face In My Mind

G4 People Are Strange

H1 When The Music's Over

H2 Money

March 10, 1967 - Second Set

H3 Who Do You Love

I1 Moonlight Drive

I2 Summer's Almost Gone

I3 I’m A King Bee

I4 Gloria

J1 Break On Through

March 10, 1967 - Third Set

J2 Summertime (Instrumental)

J3 Back Door Man

J4 Alabama Song (Whisky Bar)

7'' Single - March 7, 1967 - First Set

K1 Bag's Groove (Instrumental)