The Doors’ historic debut album has seen many rereleases over the past half-century-plus, but here comes one of the most collectable — and most likely the priciest.
The Electric Recording Company, a London outfit devoted to ultra-high-end reissues, is scheduling a “true mono” version of “The Doors,” said to be “directly from the original dedicated mono master tapes.”
“No equalisation, compression or any other processing was added during the cutting process,” the company said in a news post anticipating the release.
ERC has released more than 80 titles, typically retailing for upwards of $400. They sell out — in a hurry — and often end up being resold for $1,000 or more.
ERC’s early releases were classical or jazz, but the label ventured into rock with Love’s “Forever Changes,” and continued with the White Stripes’ “White Blood Cells.” Both now out of stock, of course. And ERC vows not to repress or rerelease any titles.
Audio engineer Steven Hoffman, who has said ERC’s “fantastic cutting system can make magic,” isn’t so sure about this Doors rerelease:
He wrote on his forum that the source tape appeared to be a LEDO — “leadered, EQ’d, duplicate original. In other words, a ‘leveled’ cutting dub.” He said “it’s not the (engineer Bruce) Botnick original mix.” (ERC photos of the tapes clearly show “mono LEDO.”)
While mono versions of some 1960s titles enjoy continued popularity due to the punch in their vintage sonics — the early Beatles albums, for instance — the Doors’ 1967 bow does not appear to be one of them. There have been occasional mono rereleases of the title over the years, however.
ERC is clearly excited, however: “Possessing the hypnotic magnetism of pure transcendence this album containing so many influences, acts as a portal to social revolution, the collective conscience, and psychedelic immortality. “
ERC’s mono release of “Forever Changes” was followed quickly by a stereo rerelease — yep, two more sold-out titles — there was no indication this would be the case with “The Doors.”
ERC’s catalog includes jazz gems such as John Coltrane’s “Giant Steps” and Thelonious Monk’s “Brilliant Corners.” There are blues (John Lee Hooker) and of course lots of classical (the Beethoven Nine, Debussy, Chopin Noctures).