The Doors Unlock Their Archives

ByABC News
December 4, 2000, 8:05 PM

November 30 -- Twenty-nine years after the death of singer Jim Morrison, the remaining members of the Doors are gearing up for the release of a wealth of previously unavailable material from the group's archive, including nearly 30 hours of concert records and a clutch of rare studio gems. The band plans to release the music through a series of 36 CDs, at a rate of three new titles every six months for six years.

The material in question was uncovered after the band set out to consolidate its audio and film works, previously scattered in vaults across the globe, into a comprehensive archive. Highlights from the dozens of hours of rare and unheard recordings will now be released on CD, beginning with three new discs due out by the end of the year, on the band's own Bright Midnight Records label. The discs, available exclusively via the Doors' official Web site, www.thedoors.com, won't be sold in stores.

The first offering, The Bright Midnight Sampler: 14 Songs/8 Concerts, out now, features highlights from eight U.S. concerts recorded at various venues in 1969, on the tour that eventually spawned 1970's Absolutely Live album. The double-disc The Doors Live in Detroit captures a two-plus-hour gig from the Motor City's Cobo Hall.

The third release in the series, No One Gets Out of Here Alive, preserves a historic radio show, originally broadcast in 1981, that features interviews with the surviving members of the band John Densmore, Robby Krieger, and Ray Manzarek and rare tracks, for the first time on CD. On the black market, third- and fourth-generation copies of the show, originally issued on four, 45-minute promotional LPs, fetch up to $500.

The three surviving members of the group which recently reunited to collaborate with members of Aerosmith, Creed, the Stone Temple Pilots, and others on new versions of Doors tunes for the album Stoned Immaculate and a VH1 Storytellers episode decided to put out the archival recordings so fans could hear more examples of the group in its raw, raucous prime.