When the Music's Over

"When the Music's Over"
Song by The Doors
from the album Strange Days
Released September 25, 1967
Recorded May and August 1967
Genre Psychedelic rock, proto-prog
Length 10:58
Label Elektra
Songwriter(s) Jim Morrison
Producer(s) Paul A. Rothchild

"When the Music's Over" is an epic[1][2] rock song by American rock band The Doors from their second album Strange Days, released in September 1967.

Origin

Like several other songs from their second album Strange Days, it was composed before they had a record contract, being performed and elaborated in the summer of 1966 at the Whisky a Go Go in Los Angeles. Especially in the early years, it would often be the opening song at their performances. One such gig was captured on the 2012 rerelease of the record and film Live at the Hollywood Bowl.

The final album version was recorded in September 1967. Morrison wanted the song to be recorded live in the studio without overdubs. However, after being absent from the original studio session for the better part of 24 hours, he found that the band refused to rerecord the song, and he was persuaded to have the vocals recorded on top of the original take (which had Manzarek on vocals).[3].

Ray Manzarek was inspired by Herbie Hancock's Watermelon Man when composing the organ intro.[4]

Structure

The song can be divided into five parts[5], where the fifth returns to the lyrics and theme of the first.

1."Turn out the lights/Dance on fire"

2."Cancel my subscription"

3."What have they done to the Earth?"

4."Persian Night"

5. Return to the main themes

Lyrics

The passage starting with "what have they done to the Earth?" is an early example of environmental themes in rock music.[6]

References

  1. Weidman, Rich (2011). The Doors FAQ: All That's Left to Know About the Kings of Acid Rock. Backbeat Books. ISBN 978-1-61713-017-5.
  2. "The Doors Posts". 2017-09-08. Retrieved 2017-11-08. .
  3. Davis, Stephen (2004). Jim Morrison: Life, Death, Legend pp. 201-202 ISBN 0091900417
  4. Manzarek, Ray (1998). Light My Fire: My Life With the Doors. New York: Putnam. ISBN 978-0-399-14399-1.
  5. Davis, p. 198
  6. Davis, p. 166
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.