An American Prayer | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | November 17, 1978 | |||
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Length | 38:40 46:49 (1995 reissue) | |||
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Jim Morrison & the Doors chronology | ||||
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An American Prayer is the ninth and final studio album by the American rock band the Doors. Following the death of Jim Morrison and the band's breakup, the surviving members of the Doors reconvened to set several of Morrison's spoken word recordings to music. [6] It was the only album by the Doors to be nominated for a Grammy Award in the "Spoken Word" category. [7] [8]
Keyboardist Ray Manzarek perceived An American Prayer as being divided into five parts, with the first covering Morrison's childhood and the second his high school years; the third concerning "the young poet, stoned on a rooftop with acid dreams." The fourth his musical career and finally the fifth is a "final summation in a way, of the man's entire life and his philosophy." [7]
The Doors formed in 1965 and released six studio albums before singer/lyricist Jim Morrison's death in July 1971. The surviving band members (keyboardist Ray Manzarek, guitarist Robby Krieger, and drummer John Densmore) recorded two additional albums as a trio, but broke up in 1973. [6]
Morrison had originally recorded some of his poetry between 1969 and 1970; [9] the first sessions took place in either Elektra's recording studios or Sunset Sound Studios in Hollywood, California, [10] while the last recordings were made in Village Recorders, West Los Angeles. [11] These drafts were completed in two stints, first in the spring of 1969, and the other in December 1970. [12] The first session included poems like "Bird of Prey", "Under Waterfall" and "Orange County", [10] sung a cappella by Morrison with the latter cut featuring piano played by him. [13] By January 1971, after the completion of these recordings, Morrison had developed some concepts for the album cover art, and was in correspondence with artist T. E. Breitenbach to design this cover in the form of a triptych. [14] Prior to leaving for Paris in March 1971, Morrison had also approached composer Lalo Schifrin as a possible collaborator on the music to accompany the poetry, instead of the other members of the Doors. [15]
In 1978, Ray Manzarek, Robby Krieger and John Densmore reunited to record the music for An American Prayer. [9] On November 19, 1978, in the Los Angeles Times , Ray Manzarek explained, "We did this album to show the side of Jim which has been underrated all these years." [7] Morrison's friend Frank Lisciandro served as one of the co-producers of the album, while Pamela Courson's father "Corky" Courson was also involved in the record. [16] According to the book Break on Through, when recording the music, the three Doors members decided to produce a different musical style from Morrison's original vision of orchestral music on the project. [17] Other pieces of music and spoken word recorded by the Doors and Morrison were also used in the audio collage, such as dialogue from Morrison's film HWY: An American Pastoral , snippets from jam sessions, [10] excerpts from interviews, [18] and featuring sections from "The WASP (Texas Radio and the Big Beat)" [10] and "Riders on the Storm". [11] Densmore devised an early use of synthesized drums for the former. [19]
After Morrison had done his recordings, he asked American artist T. E. Breitenbach to design the cover for the album. [14] He sent him a letter about his suggestions for the concept:
"Try doing a triptych. The left panel depicting a radiant moon-lit beach and an endless stream of young naked couples running silently along the water's edge. On the beach, a tiny infant grins at the universe and around its crib stand several ancient, old people ... The center, a modern city or metropolis of the future at noon, insane with activity ... The last panel, a view through a car windshield at night on a long straight desert highway." [20]
After Morrison's death however, the album's producers were unaware of his intention to use the painting, [21] and used for the front and back cover photos taken by Edmund Teske and Joel Brodsky respectively. [11] The existence of this lost painting collaboration came to light actually decades later, when the artist himself posted it on his website. [20]
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Christgau's Record Guide | C [23] |
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Entertainment Weekly | C [25] |
The Great Rock Discography | 4/10 [26] |
MusicHound Rock | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
The Rolling Stone Album Guide | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Sounds | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
An American Prayer was released on November 17, 1978, as "a Jim Morrison Album" with "Music by the Doors". [7] It initially sold approximately 250,000 copies, making it the best-selling spoken word album at the time. [7] According to John Haeny, it later exceeded the one million copies sold. [30] The album included a composite live version of "Roadhouse Blues", which received some radio airplay on rock radio stations. [31] The album peaked at number 54 on the US charts. [7] It was also nominated for the 1980 Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album. [32]
Despite receiving a RIAA platinum certification in the US, An American Prayer received mixed reviews and still divides critics. When the album was originally released, longtime Doors' producer Paul A. Rothchild castigated it as a "RAPE of Jim Morrison." [33] [34] Rothchild claimed that he had heard all of the reels of master tapes from both the 1969 and the 1970 poetry sessions, and insisted that the three remaining Doors failed to realize Morrison's original intent for an audio presentation of the poetry. [33] In a review published in Creem magazine in January 1979, musician Patti Smith felt that the record had some "certain flaws", but commended the fact that it "documents a fragment of the passion of Jim Morrison", adding that, "An American Prayer has been pieced together delicately with obsessive devotion." [35] John Haeny (who recorded the original session tapes with Morrison in 1970) has written in an essay on July 23, 2013, "I want people to understand that this album was made by those people who were closest to Jim, both personally and artistically. Everyone had the best intentions" and that, "I believe Jim would be pleased. Jim would have understood our motivation and appreciated our dedication and heartfelt handling of his work." [30]
In his 1981 review, Robert Christgau rated An American Prayer "C" (which is about average on his scale). He praised the music accompaniment by the surviving members, but criticized Morrison as "a bad poet". [23] Rolling Stone described the record as "intriguing" but "suitable mainly for Morrison fanatics." [28] On the occasion of the 1995 reissue release, Entertainment Weekly journalist David Browne similarly wrote that An American Prayer is "primarily for those who place great weight on Jim Morrison." [25] More recently, Vik Iyengar of AllMusic found the album "interesting", but concluded that it's "not for everyone, but is a must-own for Doors completists and fans of Jim Morrison's poetry." [22] Fellow AllMusic critic Matthew Greenwald in contrast, lauded it as an "excellent and underrated" album. [36] In 2021, Far Out Magazine described it as "astonishing", and that, An American Prayer shows "a side of Morrison that was rarely seen in public, and which is still hugely underrated: his power as a poet." [37]
Poetry, lyrics and stories are written and recited by Jim Morrison; the music is composed by Ray Manzarek, Robby Krieger and John Densmore. Details are taken from the original 1978 US Elektra Records release. [38]
No. | Title | Length |
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1. | "Awake":
| 7:10 0:352:501:21 2:24 |
2. | "To Come of Age":
| 8:41 1:011:072:142:46 1:33 |
3. | "The Poets Dream":
| 3:30 1:36 1:54 |
Total length: | 19:21 |
No. | Title | Length |
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4. | "The World On Fire":
| 12:00 0:285:531:062:18 2:15 |
5. | "An American Prayer":
| 6:51 3:041:170:20 2:10 |
Total length: | 18:51 |
No. | Title | Length |
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6. | "Babylon Fading" | 1:40 |
7. | "Bird of Prey" | 1:03 |
8. | "The Ghost Song (extended version)" (includes a hidden spoken poetry section at the epilogue.) | 5:16 |
Source: [39]
Notes
Per the 2018 reissue liner notes: [11]
The Doors
Additional personnel
Production
Chart (1979) | Peak position |
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Australian Albums (Kent Music Report) [43] | 80 |
US Billboard 200 [44] | 54 |
Chart (1995) | Peak position |
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Australian Albums (ARIA) [45] | 20 |
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders) [46] | 24 |
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia) [47] | 40 |
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [48] | 42 |
German Albums (Offizielle Deutsche Charts) [49] | 79 |
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista) [50] | 27 |
US Top Catalog Albums (Billboard) [51] | 1 |
Year | Single | Chart | Peak position |
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1995 | "The Ghost Song" | Australian Singles Chart | 48 [52] |
1995 | "The Ghost Song" | UK Singles Chart | 98 [53] |
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
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United States (RIAA) [54] | Platinum | 1,000,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |
The Doors were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1965, comprising vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, guitarist Robby Krieger and drummer John Densmore. They were among the most influential and controversial rock acts of the 1960s, primarily due to Morrison's lyrics and voice, along with his erratic stage persona and legal issues. The group is widely regarded as an important figure of the era's counterculture.
The Doors is the debut studio album by the American rock band the Doors, released on January 4, 1967, by Elektra Records. It was recorded in August 1966 at Sunset Sound Recorders, in Hollywood, California, under the production of Paul A. Rothchild. The album features the extended version of the band's breakthrough single "Light My Fire" and the lengthy closer "The End" with its Oedipal spoken word section. Various publications, including BBC and Rolling Stone, have listed The Doors as one of the greatest debut albums of all time.
Strange Days is the second studio album by the American rock band the Doors, released on September 25, 1967 by Elektra Records, arriving eight months after their self-titled debut album. After the latter's successful release, the band started experimenting with both new and old material in early 1967 for their second record. Upon release, Strange Days reached number three on the US Billboard 200, and eventually earned a platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). It contains two Top 30 hit singles, "People Are Strange" and "Love Me Two Times".
Waiting for the Sun is the third studio album by the American rock band the Doors, released by Elektra Records on July 3, 1968. The album's 11 tracks were recorded between late 1967 and May 1968 mostly at TTG Studios in Los Angeles. It became the band's only number one album, topping the Billboard 200 for four weeks, while also including their second US number one single, "Hello, I Love You". The first single released off the record was "The Unknown Soldier", which peaked at number 39 on the Billboard Hot 100. It also became the band's first hit album in the UK, where it reached number 16.
Morrison Hotel is the fifth studio album by American rock band the Doors, released on February 9, 1970, by Elektra Records. After the use of brass and string arrangements recommended by producer Paul A. Rothchild on their previous album, The Soft Parade (1969), the Doors returned to their blues rock style and this album was largely seen as a return to form for the band. The group entered Elektra Sound Recorders in Los Angeles in November 1969 to record the album which is divided into two separately titled sides, namely: "Hard Rock Café" and "Morrison Hotel". Blues rock guitar pioneer Lonnie Mack and Ray Neapolitan also contributed to the album as session bassists.
L.A. Woman is the sixth studio album by the American rock band the Doors, released on April 19, 1971, by Elektra Records. It is the last to feature lead singer Jim Morrison during his lifetime, due to his death exactly two months and two weeks following the album's release, though he would posthumously appear on the 1978 album An American Prayer. Even more so than its predecessors, the album is heavily influenced by blues. It was recorded without producer Paul A. Rothchild after he quit the band over the perceived lack of quality in their studio performances. Subsequently, the band co-produced the album with longtime sound engineer Bruce Botnick.
The Doors is a 1991 American biographical film directed by Oliver Stone and written by Stone and Randall Jahnson. It is based on the history of American rock band the Doors and their influence on music and counterculture. The film stars Val Kilmer as singer Jim Morrison, Meg Ryan as Morrison's girlfriend Pamela Courson, Kyle MacLachlan as keyboardist Ray Manzarek, Frank Whaley as lead guitarist Robby Krieger, Kevin Dillon as drummer John Densmore, Billy Idol as Cat and Kathleen Quinlan as journalist Patricia Kennealy.
"Peace Frog" is a song by the Doors, which was released on their fifth studio album Morrison Hotel in 1970. Guitarist Robby Krieger explained that the music was written and recorded first, with the lyrics later coming from poems by singer Jim Morrison. Although the song was never released as a single in the US, it was issued as the B-side of "You Make Me Real" in France.
13 is the first compilation album by American rock band the Doors, released by Elektra Records on November 30, 1970. The title refers to the thirteen tracks included, which feature a variety of songs from their five studio albums released up to that point. The cover shrink wrap featured a clear sticker that read: "A Collection of Thirteen Classic Doors Songs". It is the band's only compilation album released while lead singer Jim Morrison was alive.
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In Concert is a live triple album by the Doors released in 1991. The songs were recorded at several concerts between 1968 and 1970 in Los Angeles, New York City, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Detroit, and Copenhagen. The Doors' producer, Paul A. Rothchild, remarked, "I couldn't get complete takes of a lot of songs, so sometimes I'd cut from Detroit to Philadelphia in midsong. There must be 2,000 edits on that album."
The Best of The Doors is a compilation album by American rock group the Doors. Released in 1985, the double LP set contains 18 songs from their six albums with lead singer Jim Morrison, including charting singles and selected album cuts. Danny Sugerman contributed a short essay which discusses the band's origins and influences and Morrison's personality, and was printed inside the gatefold sleeve.
Greatest Hits is a compilation album by American rock band the Doors, released in 1980. The album, along with the film Apocalypse Now, released the previous year, created for the band an entirely new audience of the generation that did not grow up with the Doors. The album went on to become one of the highest-selling compilations of all time, with combined CD and vinyl sales of 5,000,000 in the United States alone.
The Doors: Original Soundtrack Recording is the soundtrack to Oliver Stone's 1991 film The Doors. It contains several studio recordings by the Doors, as well as the Velvet Underground's "Heroin" and the introduction to Carl Orff's Carmina Burana. None of Val Kilmer's performances of the Doors' songs that are featured in the movie are included in the soundtrack.
Essential Rarities is a compilation album by the Doors, originally released as part of the boxed set The Complete Studio Recordings in 1999, but reissued in 2000 as a single CD, containing studio cuts, live cuts and demos taken from the 1997 The Doors: Box Set.
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The Very Best of the Doors is the ninth compilation album by the rock band the Doors. It was released on September 25, 2007, to commemorate the band's 40th anniversary. The masters were drawn from the same remixes/remasters used for the 2006 Perception box set and 2007 Doors reissues.
The Doors Collection is a music video compilation by the American rock band the Doors, released on Laserdisc and DVD in 1995 and 1999, respectively. It compiles three films previously released on VHS by MCA/Universal Home Video: Dance on Fire (1985), Live at the Hollywood Bowl (1987) and The Soft Parade – A Retrospective (1991).
The Future Starts Here: The Essential Doors Hits is a compilation album by the rock band the Doors. It was released in the U.S. in 2008 to commemorate the band's 40th anniversary and contains new stereo audio mixes of the songs.
A Tribute to Jim Morrison is a 1981 documentary about Jim Morrison, lead singer of American rock band the Doors who died in July 1971.
Now a live version of 'Roadhouse Blues' from An American Prayer is back on the radio as a single ...
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