Consumer Guide Album

The Doors: Weird Scenes Inside the Gold Mine [Elektra, 1972]
This two-LP compendium has a theme that goes beyond "He's dead, so we'd better get in there quick." It's Morrison-as-politician, compiled by an a&r guy who took him seriously, and why not--in Morrison's politics, a&r guys were adjuncts of the prime movers of history. This includes enough solid album tracks and post-13 hits to suck in the poppyboppers plus the best of the pretentious stuff--"Five to One," "Horse Latitudes," "When the Music's Over," and of course "The End." Which latter is the test--specifically the line "Mother I want to yeearrrgh." When I first heard it, it made me grimace; how it makes me guffaw. If it still gives you chills, you may want to buy this for your favorite niece of nephew. Inspirational Image: "mute nostril agony." B-