The Bright Midnight Sampler: 14 Songs/8 Concerts Iowa

The Bright Midnight Sampler: 14 Songs/8 Concerts

The Doors

Bright Midnight Records, 2000

REVIEW BY: Christopher Thelen

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED: 01/08/2001

I've said this before, and I'll say it again: The Doors areeither a band you love or hate. I've known this for some time, andit has been re-affirmed as some people have discovered some of theolder reviews here on "The Daily Vault". (And I thought Yes fanswere passionate...)

So it might worry some Doors fans to find out I'll be the onespewing opinion about The Bright Midnight Sampler: 14 Songs / 8 Concerts, thefirst in a series of live discs being released by the band online.(Don't look for this disc in the stores; it's only availablethrough the Internet.) They may expect me to be dumping criticismon Jim Morrison and company faster than Mother Nature can dump snowon Chicago.

Sorry... save your flames for another day. I actually do likethis disc, and it does its purpose by making me want to hear moreof these nuggets found in the vaults when the band was doingresearch for the 1997 box set. (Memo to Cary B.: yes, that's asubtle hint... if the band's willing to have 'em reviewed, I'll doit.)

A wide variety of shows are presented here for the Doors fan inyour household, which were recorded between 1969 and 1970. If allyou know of The Doors are the songs they occasionally play on theradio, expect this sampler to make you think about the versions youknow so well.