Music / L.A. Woman

Mr. Mojo Risin'...

L.A. Woman is the sixth studio album by The Doors, released in 1971. It is their final studio album with Jim Morrison, who died shortly after release - at least during his lifetime. Their final studio album - An American Prayer - was released in 1978 and it uses archive recordings of Morrison. Like Morrison Hotel, this album saw the band shifting away from Psychedelic Rock and moving towards Blues Rock.

Hits include the title track, "Love Her Madly" and "Riders on the Storm".

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Tracklist:

Side One

1. "The Changeling" (4:21)
2. "Love Her Madly" (3:20)
3. "Been Down So Long" (4:41)
4. "Cars Hiss by My Window" (4:12)
5. "L.A. Woman" (7:49)

Side Two

1. "L'America" (4:37)
2. "Hyacinth House" (3:11)
3. "Crawling King Snake" (5:00)
4. "The WASP (Texas Radio and the Big Beat)" (4:16)
5. "Riders on the Storm" (7:09)

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Bonus Tracks (40th Anniversary Edition):

1. "Orange County Suite"
2. "(You Need Meat) Don't Go No Further"

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Bonus Disc (40th Anniversary Edition):

1. "The Changeling (Alternate Version)"
2. "Love Her Madly (Alternate Version)"
3. "Cars Hiss by My Window (Alternate Version)"
4. "L.A. Woman (Alternate Version)"
5. "The WASP (Texas Radio and the Big Beat) (Alternate Version)"
6. "Been Down So Long (Alternate Version)"
7. "Riders on the Storm (Alternate Version)"
8. "She Smells So Nice"
9. "Rock Me"

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Principal Members:

• John Densmore - drums
• Robby Krieger - guitar
• Ray Manzarek - keyboard, organ, piano, tack piano, guitar, lead vocals ^note On the bonus track "(You Need Meat) Don't Go No Further"
• Jim Morrison - lead vocals, piano, percussion, tambourine

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"Tropers on the Storm":

• Added Alliterative Appeal: "L.A. Woman".
  Are you a lucky little lady in the City of Light?
  (...)Motel, money, murder, madness
• Album Title Drop: "L.A. Woman"
  L.A. Woman, you're my woman
• Alliterative Title: "Hyacinth House".
• Badass Boast: "Crawling King Snake"
  Because I'm a crawlin' king snake, baby, and I rule my den
• Blasphemous Boast: "The WASP (Texas Radio and the Big Beat)"
  No Eternal Reward Will FORGIVE US NOW for WASTING the Dawn.
• Break-Up Song: "Love Her Madly"
  Don't ya love her as she's walking out the door?
  Like she did one thousand times before
• Car Song: "Cars Hiss By My Window"
• Cover Version: "Crawling King Snake" and the bonus track "(You Need Meat) Don't Go No Further".
• Cradle of Loneliness: "L.A. Woman"
  Never saw a woman... so alone, so alone, so alone
• Desperately Looking for a Purpose in Life: "Riders on the Storm"
  Into this house we're born
  Into this world we're thrown
  Like a dog without a bone
  An actor out on loan
  Riders on the storm
• Downer Ending: Both the album and Morrison’s career end with “Riders on the Storm.”
• Drinking on Duty: Jim Morrison required some heroic sobering-up to get him to provide vocals. The title track was apparently performed while he was near-completely drunk. The funny thing is, it still works.
• Driving Song: "L.A. Woman".
• Epic Rocking: "L.A. Woman", "Riders on the Storm".
• Face on the Cover: The band is framed inside a picture central on the cover image.
• Heavy Meta: "The WASP (Texas Radio and the Big Beat)" has several references to locations The Doors used to perform.
• Last-Second Word Swap: In "L'America":
  Come on people, don't ya look so down
  You know the rain man's comin' ta town
  Change the weather, change your luck
  And then he'll teach ya how to... find yourself
  L'America
• Made Myself Sad: "Been Down So Long" where the protagonist has felt down so long that it "feels like up to me".
• Metal Scream: Jim lets a few out in "The Changeling".
• Murder Ballad: "Riders on the Storm", where a "killer on the road" is described.
• One-Woman Song: "L.A. Woman".
• Perpetual Poverty: "The Changeling"
  I had money, and I had none
  But I never been so broke that I couldn't leave town
• Silly Love Songs: "L.A. Woman" and "Love Her Madly" are love songs, though in the latter the loved one has already left.
• Properly Paranoid: "Hyacinth House"
  I think that somebody's near
  I'm sure that someone is following me, oh yeah
• Scatting: Jim imitates a harmonica with his voice in "Cars Hiss By My Window".
• Self-Backing Vocalist: In "Riders on the Storm", there are two Jim Morrison vocal tracks throughout: One has him singing the melody, but the other has him just whispering the lyrics through a reverb effect.
• Serial Killer: "Riders on the Storm".
  There's a killer on the road
  His brain is squirming like a toad
  Take a long holiday
  Let your children play
  If you give this man a ride
  Sweet family will die
  Killer on the road, yeah
• Shout-Out:
  • "Been Down So Long" takes its title and refrain ("Well, I've been down so [goddamn/very damn] long / That it looks like up to me") from Been Down So Long It Looks Like Up to Me, an autobiographical novel by folk singer Richard Fariña.
  • "Love Her Madly" was used in Forrest Gump in the scene where Jenny leaves the apartment of some hippie she met.
• Significant Anagram: "Mr. Mojo Risin'", sung during "L.A. Woman" is an anagram of Jim Morrison's name.
• Vocal Evolution: Heavy smoking and drinking took a toll on Morrison's voice towards the end. His voice is noticeably rougher on this album.

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