Other Voices (The Doors album)
{{italic title}}
{{Infobox album
| name = Other Voices
| type = studio
| artist = the Doors
| cover = The Doors - Other Voices.jpg
| alt =
| released = {{Start date|1971|10|18}}
| recorded = June–August 1971
| venue =
| studio = The Doors' Workshop, Los Angeles
| genre = Rock
| length = 39:42
| label = Elektra
| producer =
- The Doors
- Bruce Botnick
| prev_title = L.A. Woman
| prev_year = 1971
| next_title = Weird Scenes Inside the Gold Mine
| next_year = 1972
| misc = {{Singles
| name = Other Voices
| type = studio
| single1 = Tightrope Ride
| single1date = 1971
| single2 = Ships w/Sails
| single2date = 1972
}}
}}
Other Voices is the seventh studio album by the Doors, released by Elektra Records in October 1971. It was the first album released by the band following the death of lead singer Jim Morrison in July 1971 with keyboardist Ray Manzarek and guitarist Robby Krieger sharing lead vocals. Tracks for the album had begun before Morrison's death and the band hoped that Morrison would return from Paris to finish them.
Background and recording
Following the critical and commercial success of L.A. Woman and Jim Morrison's death in 1971, the surviving members of the Doors continued as a trio to record their seventh album.{{cite book |first=John |last=Densmore |author-link=John Densmore |title=Riders on the Storm: My Life with Jim Morrison and the Doors |year=1990 |edition=1st |publisher=Delacorte Press |location=New York City |page=11 |isbn=0-385-30033-6}} Reflecting on the album in 2021, Robby Krieger noted the band's difficulty to continue working after Morrison's death:
{{quote|It was a tough time, of course. When Jim was gone{{nbsp}}… we had kept going. The three of us were practicing all the time, writing new stuff. When Jim passed, we said, "Jeez, what're we going to do?" We could just give it up, or, you know, we have all these songs. Let's go in and record and see what happens. We probably shouldn’t have put it out that quick after Jim’s passing. We just felt like that was all we could do. We could've sat around and be depressed. Which we were. But, I don't know. The record company, Elektra, they were wanting us to continue. It wasn’t that hard of a decision.{{cite web|url=https://www.stereogum.com/2162473/robby-krieger-the-doors-jim-morrison-eddie-vedder-miley-cyrus/interviews/weve-got-a-file-on-you/|title=We've Got A File On You: Robby Krieger|work=Stereogum|date=September 30, 2021|accessdate=October 7, 2021|last=Leas|first=Ryan}}}}
Later releases
{{Album ratings
| rev1 = AllMusic
| rev1Score = {{Rating|3|5}}{{cite web|url={{AllMusic|class=album|id=r35841/review|pure_url=yes}}|title=Other Voices|first=Lindsay |last=Planer |work=AllMusic |access-date=January 11, 2012}}
|rev2 = Christgau's Record Guide
|rev2Score = C+{{cite book|last=Christgau|first=Robert|author-link=Robert Christgau|year=1981|title=Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies|publisher=Ticknor & Fields|isbn=089919026X|chapter=Consumer Guide '70s: D|chapter-url=https://www.robertchristgau.com/get_chap.php?k=D&bk=70|access-date=February 24, 2019|via=robertchristgau.com}}
| rev3 = Classic Rock
|rev3score = 4/10{{cite news|last=Barton|first=Geoff|title=The Doors Full Circle / Other Voices |work=Classic Rock|date=August 2015|page=105}}
| rev4 = PopMatters
| rev4Score = {{Rating|5|10}}{{cite web |url=http://www.popmatters.com/review/153386-the-doors-other-voices-and-full-circle/ |last=Schonbeck |first=Carl |title=The Doors: Other Voices and Full Circle |publisher=PopMatters |date= February 13, 2012 |access-date=August 31, 2015}}
| rev5 = Record Collector
|rev5score = {{Rating|3|5}}{{cite news|url=http://recordcollectormag.com/reviews/voicesfull-circle |last=Bell|first=Max |title=The Doors – Other Voices / Full Circle |work=Record Collector|date=September 2015|access-date=31 August 2015}}
(combined score for Other Voices
and Full Circle)
| rev6 = Sputnikmusic
| rev7 =
| rev7Score =
}}
According to Jac Holzman, Other Voices sold approximately 300,000 copies on its original release.{{cite book |first=Mick |last=Wall |author-link=Mick Wall |title=Love Becomes a Funeral Pyre |date=October 30, 2014 |publisher=Hachette Books |location=UK |page=356 |isbn=978-1409151258}} Record World said that the single "Tightrope Ride" is "a knockout rouser that amply demonstrates the band's ability to rock on successfully with other voices."{{cite magazine|title=Picks of the Week|magazine=Record World|date=December 4, 1971|page=1|accessdate=2023-04-09|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Record-World/70s/71/RW-1971-12-04.pdf}}
The album was not released on CD until October 23, 2006, by the Timeless Holland label, along with the final Doors album, Full Circle. For years, the Doors largely disregarded the last two studio albums that were recorded without Morrison, and had no plans of reissuing the albums on CD. At the time, the Doors stated that they were not in possession of the master tapes, but remastered 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, though made available only via digital download. The original master tapes were confirmed to have been used in these reissues.{{cite web | title=Login | website=The Doors Forum | date=2021-03-25 | url=http://www.thefreedomman.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3896&start=0&postdays=0&postorder=asc&highlight= | access-date=2021-03-25}} On May 29, 2015, it was announced that Other Voices and Full Circle would be re-released together on a 2-CD set and individually on 180-gram vinyl by Rhino Records on September 4 of that year. The CD set features "Treetrunk"—the B-side of the "Get Up and Dance" single—as its only bonus track.{{cite magazine|first=Ryan|last=Reed|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/the-doors-two-post-jim-morrison-albums-set-for-reissue-20150529|title=The Doors' Two Post-Jim Morrison Albums Set for Reissue|magazine=Rolling Stone|date=May 29, 2015|access-date=February 6, 2019}}
Track listing
The LP's original Elektra Records 1971 release show the individual song credits and lengths as listed below (though each songs' lead vocalists are not credited):{{cite AV media notes |others=The Doors |year=1971 |title=Other Voices |type=Liner notes |publisher=Elektra Records |location=US |id=EKS-75017}}
{{Track listing
| headline = Side one
| title1 = In the Eye of the Sun
| writer1 = Ray Manzarek
| length1 = 4:48
| title2 = Variety Is the Spice of Life
| writer2 = Robby Krieger
| length2 = 2:50
| title3 = Ships w/ Sails
| writer3 = Krieger, John Densmore
| length3 = 7:38
| title4 = Tightrope Ride
| writer4 = Manzarek, Krieger
| length4 = 4:15
}}
{{Track listing
| headline = Side two
| title5 = Down on the Farm
| writer5 = Krieger
| length5 = 4:15
| title6 = I'm Horny, I'm Stoned
| writer6 = Krieger
| length6 = 3:55
| title7 = Wandering Musician
| writer7 = Krieger
| length7 = 6:25
| title8 = Hang on to Your Life
| writer8 = Manzarek, Krieger
| length8 = 5:36
}}
Personnel
The Doors
- Ray Manzarek – vocals, keyboards, production
- Robby Krieger – vocals, guitar, production
- John Densmore – drums, production
Additional personnel
- Jack Conrad – bass guitar 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 on "Down on the Farm"
Production
- Bruce Botnick – production, engineering
- Ron Raffaelli – artwork