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Earlier this year, the self-titled 1967 debut album by The Doors arrived in a 50th anniversary box set presenting the original album on CD in both mono and stereo plus the mono version on vinyl. Much as The Doors followed that debut months later with Strange Days, Rhino is following up the reissue of The Doors with a 50th anniversary presentation of that sophomore album, due on November 17. Strange Days: 50th Anniversary Edition will be released in two configurations: a 2-CD set with the mono and stereo versions of the album, each on its own CD; and a 1-LP vinyl reissue of the original mono album only. Digital streaming and download versions will also be released.
Strange Days, originally issued on Elektra in September 1967, reached No. 3 on the Billboard 200, and yielded two hit singles with “People Are Strange” (No. 12 Pop) and “Love Me Two Times” (No. 25 Pop). Recorded like The Doors at Hollywood’s Sunset Sound, the LP was the band’s first to be recorded on eight tracks, allowing for a more expansive and experimental sound than its predecessor. Its songs were a mix of both current tunes and older ones tested onstage; the band performed “Strange Days” during its 1966 residency at the London Fog in L.A., and “My Eyes Have Seen You” dates back to 1965. “Moonlight Drive” was a similarly early composition, and one of the first songs Jim Morrison, Ray Manzarek, Robby Krieger, and John Densmore ever rehearsed together.
The Strange Days: 50th Anniversary Edition has been produced by the album’s original engineer Bruce Botnick and restores the original stereo mix to CD for the first time in over a decade, fully remastering it for the first time in 30 years. The second disc features the album’s original mono mix, which has been remastered for this set and is making its CD debut. No additional audio material has been included. Liner notes have been provided by David Fricke, and his notes are accompanied in the booklet by rare and previously unseen photographs.
Strange Days: 50th Anniversary Edition will be available from Rhino on November 17 and pre-order links are available below!
The Doors, Strange Days: 50th Anniversary Edition (Elektra EKM/S-74014, 1967 – reissued Rhino, 2017)
2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Links TBD
Mono LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Links TBD
Mono/Stereo:
- Strange Days
- You’re Lost Little Girl
- Love Me Two Times
- Unhappy Girl
- Horse Latitudes
- Moonlight Drive
- People are Strange
- My Eyes Have Seen You
- I Can’t See Your Face in My Head
- When the Music’s Over
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Why couldn’t they release the debut album like this as a two CD set (mono and stereo) WITHOUT the vinyl LP which I would not want.
With as much attention as these reissues get from the fans, you would think the record companies would be attuned to what we want.
Joe. Rhino does whatever they want. They don’t give a ripping **** what the fans want.
Not Rhino/WMG in this case, but Doors manager Jeff Jampol. I’d be surprised if Rhino were all that eager about doing a 2CD reissue with NO bonus tracks whatsoever.
The Boors must have had their catalogue reissued more than any other band by now. They must have exhausted all permutations … and fans’ wallets.
All but two songs in this mono mix have been folded down from the stereo mix. This release is pointless product. Doors estate manager Jeff Jampol is totally out of touch with the fans’ wishes.
I was STUNNED to hear how miserable the re-release of the debut album sounded in mono; distorted and very ‘crowded’. Apparently, this is how that ‘legendary’ mono version always sounded. That package was a case of “Be careful what you wish for”. And yeah, what a nasty joke that they made everyone pay for the vinyl when at least 50% of the collectors who had been waiting to hear the mono mix don’t collect LPs.
And since ‘Strange Days’ has only tow unique mono mixes, this seems like this is a bit of a ripoff, too. For heaven’s ake , the album has a runtime of only 35:25! Why not give us a stereo/mono disc like they did years ago with ‘Surrealistic Pillow’? The answer is simple. Greed. Even if it’s only a buck we’re psychologically conditioned to pay more for two discs than for one … so they’ll go after that buck!
Jeff Jampol needs to reach out to the folks at Apple, who have finally realized how to make the Beatles’ fan base VERY happy with their reissues.