End of the Night
{{Short description|1967 song by the Doors}}
{{Infobox song
| name = End of the Night
| cover = Break On Through To the Other Side.jpg
| alt =
| type = single
| artist = the Doors
| album = The Doors
| A-side = Break On Through (To the Other Side)
| released = {{Start date|1967|01|01}}
| recorded = {{Start date|1966|8}}
| studio = Sunset Sound Recorders Hollywood, California
| genre = Psychedelia{{cite web |first=Eddy |last=Bamyasi |date=October 7, 2020 |url=https://medium.com/6-album-sunday/log-102-4-doors-albums-f0160652d586 |title=Log #102–4 Doors Albums. Were the Doors Just a Phase One Went |website=Medium |access-date=April 16, 2021}}
| length = {{Duration|m=2|s=49}}{{cite AV media notes| year = 1967| title = The Doors| title-link = The Doors (album)| type = Album notes| others = The Doors| location = New York City| publisher = Elektra Records| id = ELK-4007| at = Back cover}}
| label = Elektra
| producer = Paul A. Rothchild
| prev_title =
| prev_year =
| next_title = Light My Fire
| next_year = 1967
}}
"End of the Night" is a song by the American psychedelic rock band the Doors. It was featured on the band's debut album and then released as the B-side to the album's first single, "Break On Through (To the Other Side)" in January 1967.
After the band's rise to fame the song was rarely played live in concert; it has since been included in box sets released over the years by the band.
Composition and lyrics
"End of the Night" is essentially a psychedelic track, notated in the key of E Minor, with Jim Morrison's vocal range spanning from D4 to G5. It is also performed throughout in 4/4 time.{{cite web|title=Digital Sheet Music – The Doors – End of the Night |work=Musicnotes.com|date=9 May 2016|publisher=Sony/ATV Music Publishing|url=https://www.musicnotes.com/sheetmusic/mtd.asp?ppn=MN0159884&intcmp=Recommended|access-date=July 3, 2018}} The song was written in the band's early days, before guitarist Robby Krieger had joined the group. It was recorded in 1965 by the band in an attempt to land a deal with Aura Records; however the band failed to get signed. In 1966, when they were signed to Elektra Records, the song was recorded for their self-titled debut album.{{cite web |first=Dave |last=Swanson |date=September 2, 2015 |title=The Day the Doors Recorded Their First Demo, But Under a Different Name |url=https://ultimateclassicrock.com/the-doors-first-demo/ |website=Ultimate Classic Rock |access-date=August 14, 2020}} In the album recording, Krieger provided a distinct slide guitar, tuned in a minor tuning.
{{cite AV media
| people = The Doors
| year = 2008
| title = Classic Albums: The Doors Extras
| medium = DVD
| time =
| publisher = Eagle Rock Entertainment
|website=Music Radar |access-date=March 10, 2021}}{{cite web
|first=Ted |last=Drozdowski |date=October 8, 2010
|url=http://legacy.gibson.com/news-lifestyle/features/en-us/robby-krieger-0810.aspx |title=The Gibson Interview: Doors Legend Robby Krieger |website=Legacy Gibson |access-date=March 10, 2021}} As Krieger himself explained, "I'd try different tunings until one worked".{{cite web |first=Allison |last=Rapp |date=January 4, 2022 |title=Doors, THE DOORS: A Track-by-Track Guide |url=https://ultimateclassicrock.com/the-doors-debut-album-track-by-track/ |website=Ultimate Classic Rock |access-date=June 24, 2022}}
Although the songwriting credit was given to all four members of the Doors, the lyrics were written by lead singer Jim Morrison.{{cite news |url=https://observer.com/2017/01/doors-debut-album-still-dangerous/amp/ |title=The Doors' Debut Is Still One of the Most Dangerous Albums Ever |newspaper=The Observer |first=John |last=Kruth |date=January 4, 2017 |accessdate=February 11, 2021}} Its title is derived from the 1932 French novel Journey to the End of the Night by Louis-Ferdinand Celine.{{cite book |title=Riders on the Storm: My Life with Jim Morrison and the Doors |first=John
|last=Densmore |author-link=John Densmore |year=1990 |page=286 |isbn=978-0307429025|publisher=Random House Publishing Group}} The line "Some are born to sweet delight; some are born to endless night" is lifted from a William Blake poem "Auguries of Innocence", written in 1803 and published in 1863.
Release and reception
| class="wikitable"
! Chart (1967) ! Position |
| align="left"|US Billboard Hot 100 |
The song was chosen as the B-side to the album's first single, "Break On Through (To the Other Side)" and was released in January 1967. The single, however, failed to become a success and only peaked at number 126 in the U.S.Whitburn, Joel. Bubbling Under Singles & Albums (1998): 66. Reviewing the "Break on Through" single, Cash Box said that "End of the Night" is a "bluesy shuffler that also merits watching."{{cite magazine |title=CashBox Record Reviews |date=January 14, 1967 |page=18 |access-date=2022-01-12 |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Cash-Box/60s/1967/CB-1967-01-14.pdf |magazine=Cash Box}}
PopMatters critic Andy Hermann declared "End of the Night" as one of the "weirder" and moodier songs in the Doors' catalogue.{{cite magazine
|first=Andy |last=Hermann |date=September 18, 2001
|url=https://www.popmatters.com/doors-verybest-2495880149.html |title=The Very Best of the Doors – Review |magazine=PopMatters |access-date=July 3, 2022}}
In an AllMusic album review of The Doors, critic Richie Unterberger described the song's melody as being "mysterious", and noted that it was one of several tunes of the album besides "Light My Fire" that "also had hit potential".{{cite web |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-doors-mw0000650088 |title=The Doors – Review |last=Unterberger |first=Richie |author-link=Richie Unterberger|website=AllMusic |access-date=February 23, 2021}} Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine praised Krieger’s guitar solo, for being "sufficiently trippy," but he wrote that the song was "less ambitious (and less successful)" than the other album tracks.{{cite magazine |url=https://www.slantmagazine.com/music/review/the-doors-the-doors/1089 |title=The Doors: The Doors Album Review |last=Cinquemani |first=Sal |date=April 18, 2007 |magazine=Slant Magazine |access-date=February 27, 2021}} Sputnikmusic reviewer Ian Philips noted that the "dreamy, mysterious 'End of the Night{{'"}} highlights "the group's remarkable affinity for shrewd, poetic, profound lyrics."{{cite web |last=Phillips |first=Ian |date=October 1, 2015 |url=https://www.sputnikmusic.com/review/68717/The-Doors-The-Doors/ |title=Review: The Doors – The Doors |publisher=Sputnikmusic |access-date=June 24, 2022}}
Personnel
Personnel are taken from the 50th anniversary edition of The Doors and the 2001 book The Doors – Sounds for Your Soul – Die Musik Der Doors:{{cite AV media notes|title=The Doors|title-link=The Doors|others=The Doors|year=2017|type=Booklet|publisher=Elektra Records|id=R2-558716)}}{{cite book |first=Heinz |last=Gerstenmeyer |title=The Doors – Sounds for Your Soul – Die Musik Der Doors
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8xk_-cOcPH4C&pg=PA11 |year=2001 |isbn=978-3-8311-2057-4 |page=11 |publisher=BoD – Books on Demand |language=de}}
- Jim Morrison – vocals
- Ray Manzarek – Vox Continental organ, keyboard bass, piano
- Robby Krieger – slide guitar
- John Densmore – drums
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{AllMusic|id=mt0041402519}}
{{The Doors songs}}
{{authority control}}
Category:American blues rock songs
Category:American psychedelic rock songs
Category:Elektra Records singles
Category:Song recordings produced by Paul A. Rothchild
Category:Songs written by Jim Morrison
Category:Songs written by John Densmore
Category:Songs written by Ray Manzarek