Doors - Soft Parade (15 tracks) +Album Reviews

Good and Bad

D. Allen | McKinney Texas | 04/24/2007

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I haven't yet decided what I think about this remix/remaster. On one hand, there is greater clarity and detail, the recording breathes, and the instruments are well defined in their own space. On the other hand, it lacks fullness and warmth due to being lower-midrange deficient, and it is slightly bass-shy. How many times are they going to sell this to me before they finally get it right?

The remix is another issue: I have nothing against remixing classic titles when they try to duplicate the original mix in an effort to improve the overall sound quality. I also don't have a problem when they remix to deliberately alter the music, but I'm not sure if they don't belong in a box set or as bonus tracks. In this case, the only significant alteration occurs on the title track, and I don't care for it. Unfortunately it's not presented as a bonus track, but as a part of the original album.

This smells like another attempt to simply sell us the same title again. All I want is an identical remix, remastered to sound as good as possible - but if they did that, I wouldn't have to buy it again!"

Worth the money for extra material

Dennis L. Hughes | Austin, TX USA | 05/29/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I don't have much of an opinion about the remastering, other than to note that it sounds clear and I really enjoy the music. I consider the original a 3-star album. If you like The Doors, you'll like the original. My particular favorites include Shaman's Blues, Wild Child and the title track.

The Rhino remix includes several additional tracks including Who Scared You and 2 versions of Whisky, Mystics and Men. These tracks are hard to find elsewhere, very strong, and bump this version of the CD up to 4 stars."

I can say this without hesitation- it's a classic album

B. E Jackson | Pennsylvania | 11/29/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"It's always been a BIG mystery to me why so many people are convinced the Soft Parade is the weakest of the six classic Jim Morrison Doors albums. To me, the songwriting is *just* as good as it has always been. I can't figure out what the problem is with all the negative opinions. A very solid and enjoyable Doors album.

"Tell All the People" has a melody very similar to "Touch Me", and it boggles the mind why "Touch Me" continues to receive all the classic rock radio play when it's not even the best song on the album. Sure, the horns are great, and the vocal melody is really beautiful, but it's NOT the best song on the album.

"Shaman's Blues" might be the very best song on the album. It's a blues song with a special mystical-like atmosphere. Plus it's just an exciting song. I love it. "Do It" has a chorus for a vocal melody and a guitar riff repeating for only a couple minutes. "Wild Child" has a chugging blues riff. It's a highly memorable track as well. You know, the whole album feels really good because it's so exciting and electric and mystical. Great stuff.

What would a Doors album be without a spooky chilling Jim Morrison vocal melody? That's what "Wishful Sinful" is for!

You won't hear rock music like this anymore. Oh, and the title song is over eight minutes of jamming, and not much atmosphere (which is what separates it from stuff like "The End" and "When the Music's Over"). It's more musically focused in comparison. Overall, a very solid effort."

Quite underrated!

finulanu | Here, there, and everywhere | 08/15/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"So I put this on purely because I thought it would be a good laugh, you know? One of those "unintentionally hilarious" deals, like Batman and Robin or those movies they parody on Mystery Science Theater 3000. But then I discovered something I was totally not expecting. I actually like this album! That was not expected. I was expecting to, at best, get a couple laughs out of it. But I honestly liked most of it. Here's the deal, for those who didn't know. Jimbo always had a bit of crooner in him, but on several of these tracks he goes all-out with it. Not only that, but here the Doors enlisted a bunch of guys playing horns and strings to back them up. So this is a lounge album, right? Wrong! The string and horn arrangements are weird and creative and stuff! A great example is "Tell All the People." By all means, it should be bad. Huge, over-the-top horn fanfare, strings, and crooned vocals. But it's good! The strings and horns are used in a good, atmospheric, odd, dark way. I'll admit that sometimes Jimbo's crooning makes me laugh, but not too often. The album's hit, "Touch Me," may sound like a corny Vegas anthem at first brush. But it's not! The string arrangements are very good, the horns add punch, and Jim's vocals are first rate! Plus I love the sax solo. And the chorus. It's a great song! The horns and strings also add a lot to the wistful, menacing, and outright cool "Wishful Sinful," which mixes a rock guitar with an oboe solo. The only song with horns I don't like (and in fact, I hate it) is "Runnin' Blue," one of the Doors' worst songs ever. Interested in what bluegrass and soul would sound like if somebody mixed them? Awful, that's what they'd sound like. It's a tribute to the incredibly talented Otis Redding, who would probably be disgraced by such a song. Robbie Krieger sings the verses, but he can't really sing, and the only good part is the free jazz horn break. Only about half of this album has strings on it. The string-free half is a bit hit-or-miss. While I'm no fan of the weird bluegrass track "Easy Ride," I fully endorse the menacing, underappreciated "Shaman's Blues," the funky "Do It," and the crawling blues "Wild Child." And then there's the title track. God, that is some weird stuff. But it's good weird! It starts off a capella, with Jim going on about how you cannot petition the Lord with prayer. Then it moves into even stranger territory. There's a harpsichord part, a trippy tremolo keyboard part, a bouncy happy music-box part, a funky breakdown section with Jimbo talking about an acid trip, and an overdubbed Jim Morrison part. And I don't have even the faintest idea of what it's about. But it's cool! And, you know what? This album isn't that bad! Yeah, it's got strings and horns and all, but listen to it with an open mind. You might find you really like it! Bonus tracks? A couple alternate versions of "Touch Me," and a couple genuine outtakes ("Whiskey, Mystics, and Men," "Push Push," "Who Scared You")."

BUYER BEWARE

phantomrecluse | Rochester Hills, MI | 02/12/2010

(1 out of 5 stars)

"BUYER BEWARE!

This 2007 version is REMIXED. In fact all 6 DOOR albums have been remixed. It does not clearly indicate this in on the Amazon netsite. Being a Doors fan from way back I know all their songs very well. This MIX is different. As stated in the liner notes of the CD, PARTS HAVE BEEN ADDED. Ray Manzarek says piano, guitar and backing vocals were found on the original tapes and added to this new mix. I don't really like the added material. It was probably left out for a good reason. More is not better. In this case I find it distracting. Wishfull Sinfull and Soft Parade are not better in my opinion. Soft Parade does not have Jim's "what did he say" after the "I really like this part...." Some songs have the instrumentation clearer and more up front than the vocals. The only thing gained is a new part in front of Soft Parade.

The overall sound is much better but it is not the classic mix and Jim was not here to approve or disapprove. If I had known this I would not of bought this version. I wanted to replace my original vinyl copy and this will not do. Even worse, the original REMASTER from 1990 has been discontinued!

I THINK AMAZON NEEDS TO CLEARLY INDICATE REMIXED IN THE PRODUCT DETAILS. There is no mention of this fact. (or I don't see one!)

"

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