Live At The Matrix 1967: The Original Masters

I am a long-time fan of The Doors who missed seeing them once in San Francisco because I worked at night. And I have the first bootleg of this concert at The Matrix and hadn't heard it in over 40 years because I wisely transferred their lps to cassette in order in the 70s, locked away for 25 years. In this 3-cd collection, you will hear more un-released blues songs than previously released live material. (I never accepted the Oliver Stone movie, though, since The Doors released so many live concerts with Jim in good voice.) That said, this is fascinating the way you hear Jim developing each night into his full force, a private show which displays The Doors on the edge of fame.

I loved this 3 CD set of a week of performances at the Matrix, a club whose owners included members of Jefferson Airplane. This features the Doors right after playing the Fillmore at the beginning of their rise to rock and roll stardom. Not a lot of people in the audience (dozens, maybe?), and showcases the early development of some of their most well known songs. The evolution of "The End" is worth the price of admission alone. They cover Gershwin's "Summertime" which Janis was doing around that time (ABB also covers this in a 1970? bootleg). The Alabama Song shows up more than once with Jim still working on the lyrics on what is probably one of the oldest R&R songs in history (early 1900's I think). So this show seems to come from three of the five days, and I wouldn't be surprised if they "find" the remaining two days of shows for a future release. Several of the Doors best known early songs dominate the disc, as well as blues covers which remained in their set lists for years and others which evolved into other Doors tracks. So from a perspective of musical history, this set really captures the Doors at their earliest, Jim still working out how much screaming to alternate with singing, keyboard and guitar intermingling, you are literally hearing the development of one of the best known rock bands in history. So absolutely fascinating for serious Doors fans. Sound quality is really decent bootleg, so if you get bothered by anything other than crystal clear soundboard quality you may find this a little rough. But if you are somebody used to listening to bootlegs of various qualities you will not be bothered by the sometimes "cavernous" sound quality which is in full effect. Maybe 50 ish minutes per disc, even the repeated songs are distinct from each other, and each disc stands up well on its own. Absolutely fantastic audio from a band on the cusp of super stardom and well worth the price for die hard Doors fans. If I was new to the Doors I would purchase one of the more standard double live albums released by their record company, the one with the black cover with Jim on the front is a good starting point.

These are the tapes of the Doors legendary run at Matrix in 1967, This is the first time that all the 7" tapes have been anthologized. Much of this material was released in 2008's "Live At The Matrix, San Francisco 1967" but they were sourced from a 3rd generation copy, this release comes from the original source tapes, and there are some previously unreleased tracks.

Strongly recalls the community swimming pool PA music the summer of 67

I used to have the Bright Midnight release of these performances from 2008. But since I no longer do, I can't personally compare them. I've seen reviewers say these sound better, but they still have the muffled sound of bootlegs, even though really good ones. I was hoping these would sound as good as the best of the Bright Midnight recordings from the 1970 tour, or at least close. Unfortunately, they don't. But after my first listen, I did enjoy them and am looking forward to listening again. The songs, as you're no doubt aware, are mostly from their first album with a few that would make it to the second, others that would appear later, and a few that would never appear on an official Doors record, including a few good jazz instrumentals. Twenty-six dollars is definitely an agreeable price for a 3 CD set. I also understand the both the CD and vinyl releases are limited, so I think if you're thinking about it, you better move quickly. I snoozed on the "Live at the Aquarius Theatre: The Second Performance" release and see that the CDs can go for over $300. Overall, this is a nice addition to the Doors collection.

i had purchased the bootleg about 45 yrs.ago.you know the one with jim morrison at the bar with all the celebrities.a single record which was great for its time. now this five record set of the whole concert is a must and does it justice! i wish i could have been in that small crowd to witness one of the greatest bands in rock history.what really impresses me is the song selection.songs from their first three albums plus songs which are mainly found on the doors rarities cd.the sound mix is exellent in my humble opinion. a must for the doors fan and well worth the cost!

I was a little skeptical when i saw it was recorded in 1967 @ The Matrix a small club in the glory days of San Francisco psychedelic bands Marty Balin of the Jefferson Airplane i think opened it cause all the bands were playing @Bill Grahams Fillmore later Fillmore West and Chet Helms Avalon Ballroom that was a very cool place with great light shows anyway the guy who ran the Matrix recorded every band that ever played there and these tapes sat in the can for years,they have been remastered by Bruce Botnick & Bernie Grudman and it sounds fantastic The Doors finally have a GREAT live cd now.And the case its in is psychedelic i love this special packaging thanks to Rhino Records,if you love The Doors you have to get this oh yes there are 3 beautiful psychedelic cds in this baby.

Es un buen CD, se escucha mejorado el audio, contiene versiones nuevas vs. la primera version del Live At the Matrix. La version de Gloria de este CD es mi favorita.

Sometimes we never know. The original release 15 years ago was a 2 CD set totaling about 105 minutes. This one ads another to minutes or so.However, this release is from the original tapes. The one 15 years ago were thought to be from the original tapes but we're in fact third generation.The Doors played 5 straight nights with multiple sets but just couple nights and change were released here. The Matrix owner recorded everything. Were the other sets bad lor lost?We can assume that what was in the old release is here. However the old release didn't date or mention which set they came from.(If you recall, the Fillmore release left out material from bootleg releases that are widely available and of decent quality.)The sound quality is good but not great.

Every true doors fan should have this in they collection....🦎 Yes it's a bit raw ,but this 1 of they first live gigs & Jim is reserved & striped back..not quite got his mojo on,,,that said it's a trip😎

Tras toneladas de "bootlegs" con versiones incompletas o una calidad de sonido más que deficiente, por fin los fans pueden apreciar los míticos conciertos de The Doors en The Matrix con una producción y sonido a la altura de las circunstancias. Gran parte del repertorio de los tres primeros discos de estudio de la banda ya está presente en estos conciertos (prácticamente en su forma definitiva, aunque con ligeros cambios en alguna de ellas), pero también podrán disfrutarse algunas versiones que la banda tocó mucho en sus primeros años de andadura pero que virtualmente llegarían a desaparecer de sus conciertos en directo tras aparecer sus primeros discos de estudio (como "Money" o, muy especialmente, "Summertime"). También incluye alguna canción que no se había publicado anteriormente (ni siquiera en "bootlegs").El formato de la caja es imitación de vinilo, en cartón de alta calidad desplegable en cuatro secciones (tres con sus correspondientes discos y una más con un libreto de 8 páginas con curiosidades y datos sobre el concierto (formato habitual en las ediciones de Rhino y BMG, por ejemplo).Este disco representa un imprescindible para cualquier coleccionista de The Doors que se precie.

Das ganze Matrix-konzert auf Drei CD's, der Sound ist sehr gut und auch die Aufmachung geht in Ordnung.Ein Infoblatt ist auch mit dabei, Die CD's kommen mit Lieder wie Moonlight Drive, Soul Kitchen, Gloria und vielen weitern daher. Nicht nur für The Doors'fans etwas.