Waiting for the Sun (The Doors song)

"Waiting for the Sun"
Netherlands single picture sleeve
Song by the Doors
from the album Morrison Hotel
B-side	"Peace Frog"
Released	February 9, 1970
Recorded	November 1969 –January 1970
Studio	Elektra, Los Angeles
Genre	psychedelic rock
Length	3:58
Label	Elektra
Songwriter(s)	Jim Morrison
Producer(s)	Paul A. Rothchild

"Waiting for the Sun" is a song by the American rock band the Doors. It was written by lead singer Jim Morrison and featured as the second track on their 1970 album Morrison Hotel . The song is often mistakenly believed to be the title track off their 1968 album of the same name.

Recording and release

The song was first written during the Waiting for the Sun sessions and was originally meant to serve as the title track for their third studio album. However, the band realized they needed to continue working on the song longer but kept the album's title due to their fondness for it. After the poor reception of their fourth studio album, The Soft Parade , the band brought back the song as a way to return to their early beginnings. ^[1]

With the song being based around the title of "Waiting for the Sun", the song deals with themes of longing and the arrival of something new or beautiful with lyrics such as "At first flash of Eden / We race down to the sea" and "Waiting for you to tell me what went wrong". Not to mention that the song is a return to the band's much more psychedelic instrumentation in contrast to the much more blues-oriented sound they had adopted at this point in their discography.

The song was not released as a single in the United States, although it was released as one in both Germany and the Netherlands in 1971, where it had "Peace Frog" as its B-side for the latter's release. ^[2]

Reception

Despite the fact that "Waiting for the Sun" was not released as a single or how it did not surpass Morrison Hotel's much more popular songs "Peace Frog" and "Roadhouse Blues" in significance, "Waiting for the Sun" is considered to be one of the Doors' best songs of all time for its haunting composition and lyrics, with it gaining mostly positive reviews from critics. ^{[3] [4]}

Personnel

According to the 2007 Rhino Records CD 40th Anniversary Edition liner notes. ^[5]

• Jim Morrison  –vocals
• Ray Manzarek  –keyboard
• Robby Krieger  –guitar
• John Densmore  –drums
• Ray Neopolitan –bass guitar
• Paul Beaver  – Moog synthesizer programming ^[6]

References

1. Kubernik, Harvey. "Ray Manzarek on the Doors' 6 Studio Albums: The 'Lost' Interviews". Best Classic Bands. Retrieved March 23, 2021.
2. "The Doors: Waiting for the Sun". Discogs . Retrieved July 26, 2024.
3. Zaleski, Annie. "The Doors' Greatest Songs – Ranked!". The Guardian . Retrieved June 24, 2021.
4. Erlewine, Stephen. "The Doors' 30 Most Essential Songs, Ranked". AVClub . Retrieved December 8, 2023.
5. Botnick, Bruce; Fricke, David (2007). Morrison Hotel (40th Anniversary edition CD booklet). The Doors. Rhino Records. R2 101173.
6. The Doors (2022). Classic Albums: Morrison Hotel (DVD). Eagle Rock Entertainment.