When Robby Krieger got frustrated at the progress he was making in trying to write this song and shoved it away in a drawer imagine what would have happened if his bandmates hadn't encouraged him to take it out again. One great big hole in the heart of the '60s, that's what. This first song that the Doors carpetbagged onto the charts may well be the best of all theirs; at least it's certainly an impressive statement of purpose, and the most successful too—though, in Billboard terms, just by one week at #1 over "Hello, I Love You." The long version, which got played late at night on all the FM stations, which became the classic rock stations, which still play it late at night and all day long too, now, when they feel like it, offers only a hint of the kind of thing that could be found on the albums. Ray Manzarek strikes the tone with his swirling organ play. Guitarist Krieger steps up and gets off a lovely solo. And the singer, Jim Morrison, who also fancied himself a poet, equates fire to sexuality to doom with his sincere brow all furrowed. I think he means it. In fact, when I hear what he's going on about on the long tracks from the albums—"The End," "When the Music's Over," like that—I know for sure he means it, every syllable. He's really into funeral pyres for one thing, see. Oh, and I promise not to make a habit of this, but the parade of covers on this one is pretty impressive too: Jose Feliciano (but you knew that), Nancy Sinatra, Astrud Gilberto, Julie London, Brian Auger, Shirley Bassey, Cibo Matto, UB40, Massive Attack, Minnie Riperton, Al Green, Stevie Wonder, Type O Negative, B.J. Thomas, and Trini Lopez. Among others. So that settles it. Another major icon.
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