Additional personnel: Larry Knechtel (bass).

Recorded at Sunset Sound Recorders, Hollywood, California.

The Doors: Jim Morrison (vocals); Robby Krieger (guitar); Ray Manzarek (keyboards); John Densmore (drums).

Includes liner notes by Danny Sugarman.

Digitally remastered by Bruce Botnick.

The Doors: Jim Morrison (vocals); Robby Krieger (guitar); Ray Manzarek (piano, organ, bass); John Densmore (drums).

Recorded at Sunset Sound Recorders, Hollywood, California in September 1966. Originally released on Electra (74007).

Digitally remastered by Steve Hoffman.

This is an Enhanced CD, which contains both regular audio tracks and multimedia computer files.

The Doors: Jim Morrisson (vocals); Robby Krieger (guitar); Ray Manzarek (keyboards); John Densmore (drums).

Producers: The Doors, Bruce Botnick, Paul A. Rothchild.

Includes liner notes by Max Bell.

All tracks have been digitally remastered.

The Doors: Jim Morrison (vocals); Robby Krieger (guitar); Ray Manzarek (keyboards); John Densmore (drums).

Additional personnel: Marc Benno (guitar); Curtis Amy (saxophone); Douglas Lubahn, Harvey Brooks, Ray Neopolitan, Jerry Scheff (bass).

Producers: Paul Rothchild, Bruce Botnick, The Doors.

Compilation producers: The Doors, David McLees, Gary Stewart.

Recorded at Sunset Sound Recorders, T.T.G./Sunset-Highland Recording Studios, Elektra Sound Recorders and The Doors Workshop, Hollywood, California. Includes liner notes by Max Bell.

Digitally remastered by Bruce Botnick.

The Doors: Jim Morrison (vocals); Robby Krieger (guitar); Ray Manzarek (keyboards); John Densmore (drums).

Producers: Pual A. Rothchild, Bruce Botnick, The Doors.

Compilation producers: The Doors, David McLees.

Recorded between 1967 & 1983. Includes liner notes by Jim Ladd.

Released to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the release of the first Doors album, THE VERY BEST OF THE DOORS supercedes all former Doors compilations. At two discs and 34 tracks, this is quite comprehensive for a band whose key lineup released only half a dozen albums. In addition to all the expected hits like "Light My Fire," "Hello I Love You," and "Roadhouse Blues," this compilation delves much deeper into the catalogue with fan favorites such as "Not To Touch the Earth" and "Wishful Sinful," as well as a handful of previously obscure rarities. Remastered and newly remixed by original engineer Bruce Botnick and the surviving members of the Doors, THE VERY BEST OF THE DOORS is a solid tribute to the band.

Rhino U.K.'s 2007 release The Very Best of the Doors is very similar to Rhino U.S.'s 2001 release The Very Best of the Doors -- and the 2007 comp is also available as a single disc and as a double-disc set, as well as a limited edition that adds a DVD to the two-CD version, so it's very easy to get all three compilations confused. That said, there are notable differences between all three U.K. comps and the original U.S. set. The American disc weighs in at 16 tracks while the single-disc U.K. set is longer at 20 tracks and, in fact, boasts a stronger overall selection of songs, making this arguably the best single-disc introduction to the band yet assembled. The double-disc U.K. set doesn't just add a second disc, it has a different sequencing as well and consequently feels like a very different beast than the original set. It's a compilation that digs deeper into album tracks and radio favorites, sometimes getting songs that maybe should have been on the U.K. single disc -- such as "Five to One," for instance, a Doors standard that's on the U.S. single disc but not the U.K. -- but its real strength is how it paints a richer portrait of the band. It's for the listener who wants a bigger picture of the Doors without investing in the actual albums or a box set and, in that sense, this Very Best of the Doors (along with the version with the DVD) does its job well. So, choose wisely: if you're looking for an introduction or just the hits, take either of the 2001 or 2007 single discs; if you're looking for most of the best, pick the double-disc set, either with or without the DVD; if you know you love the band already, go for Perception. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Not to be confused with the two-disc compilation of the same name (the one that displays Jim Morrison's Jesus Christ pose), and not to be confused with the identically designed The Very Best of the Doors, this particular Best of the Doors was distributed in various territories outside the U.S. in 2000. The Very Best of the Doors, released in 2001, is a preferable single-disc anthology since it's easier to find and is a little smarter with its selections, but this disc does cover a lot of fertile ground, including "Riders on the Storm," "Light My Fire," "Touch Me," "The End," and "Five to One." For whatever reason, a live version of "Roadhouse Blues" gets the nod over the studio version. ~ Andy Kellman

There ought to be a warning label on this double-CD set, and not for parents (though with the Doors you never know) but for fans -- thanks to the "40th Anniversary Remixes," almost every song here is so different from the established versions of the Doors' classic repertory, that it is certain to annoy the hell out of longtime fans and will give new listeners a very misleading picture of what the group's hits sounded like and what their music was about sonically. The Doors were already one of the most heavily anthologized bands of the 1960s -- like the Who, they've had more hits collections and best-of compilations issued on them than the number of official albums that they ever released, which is testimony to their continued popularity across the decades, and this double-CD set is certain to double or triple the confusion associated with that mass of compilation albums. To top it off, this U.S. version of The Very Best of the Doors released in the fall of 2007 comes on top of Rhino UK already releasing two different compilations (single- and double-CD) called The Very Best of the Doors in England earlier in 2007 -- and follows another The Very Best of the Doors issued in the U.S. in 2001. The 2007 U.S. version has the same name as the U.K. set, the same cover art, even the same first disc as the U.K. double-disc compilation, but it is not exactly the same as that U.K. set. Its second disc spans 19 songs, just like the U.K. version, but five songs -- "Bird of Prey," "Orange County Suite," "Runnin' Blue," "Stoned Immaculate," and "Whiskey, Mystics and Men" -- are swapped out from the U.K. edition, and have been replaced by "Twentieth Century Fox," "My Eyes Have Seen You," "Tell All the People," "Not to Touch the Earth," and "Gloria" on the U.S. edition, and the sequencing is shifted slightly. This gives the set a slightly less psychedelic bent in favor of a slightly more straightforward rock & roll feel, which may mean that it's targeted more toward the tastes of an American audience, but it's such a subtle difference it hardly matters; the difference in sequencing just seems like a way to create collectibles in the catalog. In any case, the American two-CD version of The Very Best of the Doors is as good as the British -- not better, not worse, just different -- and either one serves as a comprehensive look at the group. But there's the rub -- it's a very misleading look where it counts, in the listening.

Original engineer and producer Bruce Botnick, in collaboration with the surviving members of the Doors, has remixed most of what is here from the original multi-track session tapes, which has radically transformed the sound on most of what's here. (There was a point, circa 1989, when Ray Manzarek, representing the group, said in an interview that they would never approve remixes of the classic catalog because the sound of those recordings, as represented by those original mixes and the balances between the instruments and Jim Morrison's voice, was inviolate; he even used the word "sacred" in describing those original mixes.) The result is a complete alteration of the sound of almost every song on this set -- Morrison's voice is still what it was, in terms of performance and nuance, but now the instruments have been moved forward in the mix on almost every song, so that John Densmore's drumming, in particular, from the softest hit of his hi hat to the merest touch of the bass drum, is now almost as prominent as Morrison's singing and almost the lead instrument on many of the early songs, and the nuances of Manzarek's keyboards and Robbie Krieger's guitar work are now pushed up and forward as well.

Among other problems, "Love Me Two Times," "Alabama Song," "Strange Days," "Light My Fire," "People Are Strange," "Back Door Man," "Love Her Madly," "Hello I Love You," etc. now sound very different from the original releases, and the way that most of us remember them, which doesn't mean they're bad, just different, and not always for the better. Krieger's guitar and Manzarek's piano on "People Are Strange" now sound almost like exaggerated parodies of the playing they were known for; and while one realizes that Manzarek was never regarded highly for his keyboard bass work, which was probably unfair, moving that instrument so high up in the mix on most of what's here was probably not the answer, as it really results in the complete remaking of the textures of the songs involved. The balances will throw longtime listeners off, while new listeners may get a very different impression of what made these records special -- Morrison's voice was much more the focus of the original records, enough so hat he seemed larger than life -- not that he's easy to lose sight of here, but one was never this up-close-and-personal with the rest of the band at the time they were making their reputation, and the change has altered something essential to what made the Doors unique. Manzarek has said that in listening to the multi-tracks, he heard things that he now recognizes were important to their sound and the members intended to be part of these songs, which he and the others wanted restored. And that's all well and good -- but to deliver them to the public, perhaps they should have thought of something other than a "very best of" package, maybe more along the lines of an anniversary anthology -- just so the established library wasn't altered or remade for the next generation of listeners. ~ Bruce Eder & Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Not to be confused with the two-disc compilation of the same name (the one that displays Jim Morrison's Jesus Christ pose), and not to be confused with the identically designed The Very Best of the Doors, this particular Best of the Doors was distributed in various territories outside the U.S. in 2000. The Very Best of the Doors, released in 2001, is a preferable single-disc anthology since it's easier to find and is a little smarter with its selections, but this disc does cover a lot of fertile ground, including "Riders on the Storm," "Light My Fire," "Touch Me," "The End," and "Five to One." For whatever reason, a live version of "Roadhouse Blues" gets the nod over the studio version. [This edition adds a second full disc of content, wisely swaps out the live version of "Roadhouse Blues" for the studio version, and functions as a much better introduction.] ~ Andy Kellman

A tremendous debut album, and indeed one of the best first-time outings in rock history, introducing the band's fusion of rock, blues, classical, jazz, and poetry with a knockout punch. The lean, spidery guitar and organ riffs interweave with a hypnotic menace, providing a seductive backdrop for Jim Morrison's captivating vocals and probing prose. "Light My Fire" was the cut that topped the charts and established the group as stars, but most of the rest of the album is just as impressive, including some of their best songs: the propulsive "Break On Through" (their first single), the beguiling Oriental mystery of "The Crystal Ship," the mysterious "End of the Night," "Take It as It Comes" (one of several tunes besides "Light My Fire" that also had hit potential), and the stomping rock of "Soul Kitchen" and "Twentieth Century Fox." The 11-minute Oedipal drama "The End" was the group at its most daring and, some would contend, overambitious. It was nonetheless a haunting cap to an album whose nonstop melodicism and dynamic tension would never be equaled by the group again, let alone bettered. ~ Richie Unterberger

Truth be told, most casual Doors fans only need a well-assembled single-disc collection, containing all the hits and radio staples. Since that doesn't exist -- Rhino's 2001 collection The Very Best of the Doors missed too many key songs to suit the bill -- they'll have to settle for the comprehensive 2003 Rhino compilation Legacy: The Absolute Best, a double-disc set that replaces the previous double-disc Doors comp, the 1985 set The Best of the Doors. That collection contained 19 tracks, the number of songs that are on the first disc of this exhaustive 34-track overview. Every one of the tunes from The Best of the Doors is on Legacy, but not in the same order, since the songs on this compilation are put in roughly chronological order. Legacy also tries to give equal weight to each of the Doors albums, pulling anywhere from four to eight tracks from all the studio albums, adding "Gloria" from Alive, She Cried and a previously unissued "Celebration of the Lizard" to the end of the record. This winds up giving a thorough overview of the band's peak, whether it's on the familiar hits or on strong album cuts like "My Eyes Have Seen You" or "The Changeling." There are a couple of omissions -- most notably "Love Street" and "Summer's Almost Gone" from Waiting for the Sun and also "Ship of Fools" and "Land Ho!" from Morrison Hotel -- but overall, this draws as complete a picture as possible. It still may be a little bit much for those who just want the hits (they're all here, plus a whole lot more), but there's little question that Legacy is the best Doors compilation yet assembled. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

This is very, very close to being The Very Best of the Doors, and it does indeed contain most of the group's biggest hits and best-known songs, but this 2001 compilation does not supplant 1985's double-disc set The Best of the Doors as being the best Doors compilation on the market. It's not because the disc is sequenced non-chronologically, since it does have a momentum of its own (plus it does contain full-length album versions), but because it simply misses too many big songs. "The WASP (Texas Radio and the Big Beat)," "Peace Frog," and even the group's version of "Back Door Man" may be fan favorites, but they do not replace "Five to One," "Alabama Song," "Waiting for the Sun," or "When the Music's Over," all missing here. That's not to say what's here isn't good, since it is, and it is given the same exceptional remastering heard on the 1999 set, The Complete Studio Recordings. So, it is indeed a good sampler -- but just don't think that it is a proper introduction, or exhaustive retrospective. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Ideally, one would avoid compilations of the Doors' work, except perhaps for the hit singles and moments when one wanted very light listening. This was a band that took itself very seriously, almost to the point of self-parody at times, and their music ought to be discovered in the setting and context in which it was intended, but assuming that one needs a Doors anthology, this 18-track collection (19 on CD) is the place to start. It started life during the quadrophonic era as a single LP of the same title, with programming intended to combine the concepts behind two earlier compilations, 13 and Weird Scenes Inside the Goldmine, under one cover. In 1985, the two-LP version, the fourth compilation of the group's work, and the most comprehensive, was released, providing a good overview to the most obvious different sides of the group's output, and in 1991 this was remastered for CD with improved sound and an extra track. Good as it is, the compilation misleads somewhat by removing the material from its original context and also shuffling the order, so that songs off of The Soft Parade bump up against tracks from L.A. Woman. The hits can stand on their own, but overall the music lacks the broader impact that it was intended to have when heard juxtaposed with the other tracks on their respective original albums. The 1996 Greatest Hits CD, with its remastered sound, and the remastering of their individual albums that began in the year 2000, also renders this collection somewhat less attractive than it was on its initial release. ~ Bruce Eder

A well-chosen, 19-track compilation balancing the radio hits with the longer, more complex song poems. It's a good sampler (and contains enough of the good tracks from Strange Days that we didn't bother to list that album separately), but this is one group for whom you need to hear the whole story. ~ William Ruhlmann

The first Doors album was an important development in the evolution of rock, representing the dark underbelly of the '60s counterculture, the Jekyll to the Beatles/Beach Boys' Hyde. The Doors were the antithesis of windblown Californian pop. Dark, brooding and alienated, every element of the quartet's metier was unveiled on their debut album. In Jim Morrison they posessed one of rock's authoritative voices, while the group's dense instrumental prowess reflected his lyrical mystery. Highly literate, they wedded Oedipian tragedy with counter-culture nihlism and, in "Light My Fire", expressed exotic images previously unheard in pop. Howlin' Wolf, Brecht and Weill are acknowledged as musical reference points, a conflict between the physical and cerebral that give THE DOORS its undiluted tension. Or you can just enjoy it as a brilliant album that sucks you in as it breathes out the '60's.

In 1965, University of California student Ray Manzarek invited a fellow student, singer/songwriter Jim Morrison, to join his and his two brothers' R&B band, Rick And The Ravens. Manzarek then recruited drummer John Densmore. His brothers then dropped out of the group, replaced by guitarist Robbie Krieger. The group, now named the Doors, became popular on the Los Angeles club scene. Elektra recording artists Love recommended the group to their label, which signed them in 1966. THE DOORS, released in 1967, showcased Manzarek's flowing organ and Morrison's dramatic voice.

The group achieved massive success, but Morrison's frustration with his role as a pop idol grew ever more pronounced. In July 1969, following a concert in Miami, he was indicted for indecent exposure, public intoxication and profane, lewd and lascivious conduct. Although he was later acquitted of all but the minor charges, the incident forced the group to cancel its next few months of concerts. MORRISON HOTEL, a tough R&B-based collection, matched the best of their early releases. However, Morrison now preferred to write poetry. Having completed sessions for a new album, he escaped to Paris to pursue a literary career. On 3 July 1971, he was found dead in his bathtub. The official cause was a heart attack.

LA WOMAN, Morrison's final recording with the Doors, is one of their finest achievements, including 'Riders On The Storm'. The surviving Doors soldiered on for two more albums before disbanding. Interest in the Doors flourished throughout the 70s and in 1991, the film biography The Doors appeared.

The Doors were the antithesis of windblown Californian pop. Dark, brooding and alienated, every element of the quartet's metier was unveiled on their debut album. In Jim Morrison they posessed one of rock's authoritative voices, while the group's dense instrumental prowess reflected his lyrical mystery. Highly literate, they wedded Oedipian tragedy with counter-culture nihlism and, in "Light My Fire", expressed exotic images previously unheard in pop. Howlin' Wolf, Brecht and Weill are acknowledged as musical reference points, a conflict between the physical and cerebral that give THE DOORS its undiluted tension. Or you can just enjoy it as a brilliant album that sucks you in as it breathes out the '60's.

At a time when most of American pop culture was immersed in flower power and hippie notions of peace and love, the Doors were the dark princes of '60s rock. The West Coast equivalent of the Velvet Underground (sort of), they embraced the seamy underbelly of American society and the dark side of the human psyche. The fact that they were able to do so while crafting outrageously catchy songs full of poetic lyrics and innovative music made them indelible rock legends. This collection, which offers a more generous song selection than the pre-existing BEST OF, kicks off appropriately with "Break on Through to the Other Side," the Doors' anthem to pushing the socio-cultural envelope. From there it's off to the blues-powered lust of "Back Door Man," the decidedly gritty wages-of-war excursion "Peace Frog," and of course the epic, once-controversial Oedipus-complex exploration "The End." For a crash course in one of the most important bands of the '60s, it's difficult to do better than THE VERY BEST OF THE DOORS.

There's been no shortage of Doors compilations over the years, but this two-disc 2003 collection is looking like the one to beat. It spans the seminal band's entire (though admittedly brief) career, and perhaps most importantly, it goes well beyond the usual hits and radio fodder. LEGACY digs deep into the Doors' catalog, fully capturing the mysterious beauty and hypnotic intensity of their work. Naturally all the standards are included ("Light My Fire," "Love Me Two Times," "Hello, I Love You," etc.), and truth be told those are fully as majestic as their more obscure brethren, whether or not they've been overplayed throughout the decades.

It's a pleasure to scour the less traveled corners via the poetic-yet-visceral "Peace Frog," the twisted carnival of souls that is "Not to Touch the Earth," and the mystical narrative of "Celebration of the Lizard." "Strange Days" is true psychedelia, full of transcendent intrigue and absent of flower-power nostalgia. "Tell All the People" is something of a celebratory anomaly with a gospel-revival tint. Traveling the full breadth of the Doors' recordings makes one realize exactly why their appeal has lasted for so long.