I got this in the mail yesterday - the hard-to-find seventh and eighth albums by the Doors, recorded after Jim Morrison's death. Anybody else heard/have these?

Ray Manzarek and Robbie Krieger trade off on vocals, which works out better than you might think. Manzarek has a strong, growling voice a little deeper than Jim's. If he'd sang lead on Roadhouse Blues, you probably couldn't tell the difference. Robbie has a higher voice, well suited to comical lyrics. He sang the chorus on The Soft Parade's "Running Blue" for example.

But the vocals are mere placeholders, since for the most part, they sing a little, then do the long instrumental breaks that were always one of their bigger strengths - witness their biggest hits, like Light My Fire, Riders On The Storm, LA Woman - all songs with big jams for the trio (and whichever bassist was sitting in) to really stretch out. They always did it to a certain extent, but without Morrison's lyrics and vocals, it's more notable on these albums.

The one song that really jumps out in this regard is Full Circle's "The Mosquito." In the first minute, Krieger sings a goofy little tune in Spanglish - "No me moleste mosquito, just let me eat my burrito" with a short organ solo, then another verse. But after 1:15 of this, they launch into a monstrous 4-minute bluesy jam that rivals anything from the Morrison albums, and there's no mention of mosquitos or burritos for the rest of the song.

Other Voices' "Wandering Musician" sounds like an outtake from Who By Numbers, which is quite a compliment, I think, because it was recorded 4 years before that album.

"Piano Bird" is also a pretty little tune. "Ships w/ Sails" is cool, too.

With the limitation of no charismatic frontman, that got me thinking - who could they have gotten to fill the Lizard King's shoes? Well, several of the songs had female Gospel backing singers and big horn sections, and it hit me: These songs really would have been a good match for Elvis Presley. He was playing music much like that at the time, and I think Elvis teaming up with Ray, Robbie and John would have been good for all four of them, commercially and artistically.

Anyway, Those are my thoughts. Anybody care to share theirs?

I have a special fondness for these kinds of screwy albums recorded after central members are gone from the band. The Lovin' Spoonful's Revelation/Revolution, the Monkees' Changes, the Guess Who's All This For A Song ...

I bought Other Voices on vinyl about 10 years ago or more for about $2.00. I listed to it once, and all that I can recall was how out of place Rbbbie's high pitched voice seemed to me at time. I was a HUGE Doors fan in high school, and I think that the biggest complaint and reason for never listening again was that Robbie and Ray Were Not Jim.

I wish that the album was with me here in SF. I'd give it a decade overdue second listen.