Other Voices (The Doors album)

Other Voices
Studio album by The Doors
Released	October 25, 1971
Recorded	June–August 1971
Genre	Blues rock, psychedelic rock
Length	39:42
Label	Elektra
Producer	The Doors, Bruce Botnick
The Doors chronology
L.A. Woman (1971) Other Voices (1971) Full Circle (1972)
Singles from Other Voices
"Tightrope Ride" Released: 1971

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
Starpulse	[2]
Robert Christgau	(C+)[3]

Other Voices is the seventh studio album by The Doors released in 1971. It was the first album released by the band following the death of lead singer Jim Morrison.

Recording

The recording of the album began while lead singer Jim Morrison was on holiday in France. The song "Down on the Farm" was allegedly already written at the time of the recording of the previous album^{[citation needed]}, but Morrison did not want to include it. According to Manzarek, some of the songs had been rehearsed with Morrison before he left for Paris.

The three remaining members of the band regrouped and released the album in October three months after Morrison's death. Keyboardist Ray Manzarek and guitarist Robby Krieger took Morrison's place as lead singers.

CD releases

The album was not released on CD until October 23, 2006, by the Timeless Holland label, along with the final Doors album, Full Circle.

The Doors have largely disregarded the last two studio albums that were recorded without Jim Morrison, had no plans of re-issuing the albums on CD. At the time, The Doors stated that they were not in possession of the master tapes, but re-mastered material from both the albums has appeared on various compilations, most notably the 1997 Box Set and the 2000 compilation The Best of the Doors.

On September 27, 2011 - The Doors finally gave Other Voices, along with Full Circle, its first official reissue that's currently available only for digital download via stores such as ITunes, Amazon.com, and Emusic. It is not known whether the original master tapes were used in these re-issues.

Track listing

While Other Voices' inside gatefold cover states "All songs written by Krieger, Densmore, Manzarek," a lyric sheet was included with early LP editions of the album that listed individual writing credits, and some early versions of the LP include these credits on the LP record labels as well. These individual credits are listed below.

Side one

1. "In the Eye of the Sun" (Ray Manzarek) – 4:48
2. "Variety Is the Spice of Life" (Robby Krieger) – 2:50
3. "Ships w/Sails" (Robby Krieger/John Densmore) – 7:38
4. "Tightrope Ride" (Ray Manzarek/Robby Krieger) – 4:15

Side two

1. "Down on the Farm" (Robby Krieger) – 4:15
2. "I'm Horny, I'm Stoned" (Robby Krieger) – 3:55
3. "Wandering Musician" (Robby Krieger) – 6:25
4. "Hang on to Your Life" (Ray Manzarek/Robby Krieger) – 5:36

Personnel

The Doors

• Ray Manzarek – vocals, keyboards, keyboard bass
• Robby Krieger – vocals, guitar, harmonica
• John Densmore – drums

Additional personnel

• Jack Conrad – bass on "In the Eye of the Sun", "Variety Is the Spice of Life" and "Tightrope Ride"
• Jerry Scheff – bass on "Down On The Farm", "I'm Horny, I'm Stoned" and "Wandering Musician"
• Wolfgang Melz – bass on "Hang on to Your Life"
• Ray Neapolitan – bass on "Ships w/Sails"
• Willie Ruff – acoustic bass on "Ships w/Sails"
• Francisco Aguabella – percussion on "Ships w/Sails" and "Hang on to Your Life"
• Emil Richards – marimba, kickshaws and whimwhams on "Down on the Farm"

Chart information

Album

Billboard (North America)

Year	Chart	Position
1971	Pop Albums	31

Singles

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1971	"Tightrope Ride"	The Billboard Hot 100	71[4]

Production

• Producers – The Doors, Bruce Botnick
• Engineer – Bruce Botnick
• Cover photo – Ron Raffaelli

References

1. ^ http://www.allmusic.com/album/r35841/review
2. ^ http://www.starpulse.com/Music/Doors,_The/Discography/album/P4119/R35841/
3. ^ http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_album.php?id=6746
4. ^ Whitburn, Joel. The Billboard Hot 100 Annual 1955-2005. Menomonee Falls: Record Research,2006