The Doors

At least superficially, The Doors’ story represents rock’n’roll writ large. For starters, there’s the band’s mercurial, rags-to-riches rise to stardom; then there are run-ins with the law and, of course, frontman Jim Morrison’s tragically premature death: an event which continues to fuel conspiracy theories to this day. 

However, beyond the excess-all-areas legend, The Doors’ catalogue remains something to cherish. Though broadly a blues- and jazz-infused rock outfit, this enduring Los Angeles quartet possessed a singular intensity and, when they married Morrison’s evocatively poetic lyrics and menacing croon to their dark, psych-inflected soundscapes, they created something highly distinctive and uniquely theirs. The best of their releases – not least their seminal, self-titled debut album, it’s follow-up, Strange Days, and their sublime swansong, LA Woman – rank highly among the defining records of the late 1960s and early 70s, and their achievements continue to be endorsed by stellar performers ranging from Iggy Pop and Patti Smith through to Nick Cave and Mark Lanegan.