The Doors’ L.A. Woman was hotly anticipated.  The band’s sixth studio set and a return to the blues-rock on which the band made its name, it followed the concert album Absolutely Live and the compilation 13, both in 1970, as well as the hit single “Love Her Madly.”  The March 1971 release of “Love Her Madly” teased the new album which finally arrived in April and shot to a top 10 berth on the Billboard 200.  Three months later, Jim Morrison was found dead in his Paris apartment and the original era of The Doors was over.  Now, that final, seminal record from the original band is receiving a new 50th Anniversary deluxe edition from Rhino in the same 3CD/1LP format afforded four of the Doors’ first five releases.  It’s due on December 3.

The new release will feature the original, stereo album on CD 1 (as freshly remastered by Bruce Botnick) joined by two bonus tracks: the demo of album cut “Hyacinth House” (first issued in 1997) and a previously unreleased, long-thought-to-be-lost early version of the top 20 hit “Riders on the Storm” recorded at Sunset Sound.  This is the version recorded with producer Paul A. Rothchild who dismissed it as “cocktail music” and departed the project.  With Rothchild out of the picture, The Doors decamped to their own Workshop, a makeshift studio in a Santa Monica Boulevard rehearsal space.  Co-producing with Botnick, they recorded the entire album in just six days.

The second and third discs – The L.A. Woman Sessions – present a total of 17 session alternates and outtakes including lengthy sessions for “Riders,” “Love Her Madly,” and more; “She Smells So Nice” and “Rock Me [Baby]” (indicated to be unique versions from those previously released); a cover of Allen Toussaint’s “Get Out of My Life, Woman;” snippets of “Baby, Please Don’t Go” and “Mystery Train;” and more.  These discs boast over two hours of previously unheard music.  In addition to Messrs. Morrison, Manzarek, Krieger, and Densmore, the outtakes feature guest bassist Jerry Scheff of Elvis Presley’s TCB Band and rhythm guitarist Marc Benno of The Asylum Choir.  The LP also has the original album, remastered on vinyl.

This will make for the most expansive version of the oft-reissued L.A. Woman yet.  A 2006 reissue (from the Perception series and box set) added the bonus tracks “Orange County Suite” and “(You Need Meat) Don’t Go No Further.”  The 40th anniversary edition in 2011 had a bonus disc of nine songs including “She Smells So Nice,” “Rock Me,” and alternates of selected album tracks.  That version was originally planned to be followed by a 3-CD, 88-track box set of L.A. Woman Workshop sessions but that box never materialized.  (See our 2012 coverage of that abortive set here.)  David Fricke has provided the liner notes here.

The 50th Anniversary Edition of L.A. Woman hits stores on December 3.  On the same day, the music will be available on digital download/streaming services along with a new Dolby Atmos mix by Botnick of the original album.  The early, even more jazz-influenced “Riders on the Storm” is streaming now.  You’ll find pre-order links and the full track listing below.

The Doors, L.A. Woman (50th Anniversary Edition) (Elektra/Rhino, 2021) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / Rhino.com)

Disc 1: Original album (originally released as Elektra EKS-75011, 1971) and bonus tracks

1. The Changeling
2. Love Her Madly
3. Been Down So Long
4. Cars Hiss by My Window
5. L.A. Woman
6. L’America
7. Hyacinth House
8. Crawling King Snake
9. The WASP (Texas Radio and the Big Beat)
10. Riders on the Storm
11. Hyacinth House (Demo) (previously released on The Doors Box Set – Elektra 62123-2, 1997)
12. Riders on the Storm (Sunset Sound Version) (previously unreleased)

Disc 2: The L.A. Woman Sessions Part 1 (all tracks previously unreleased)

1. The Changeling
2. Love Her Madly
3. Riders On The Storm
4. L.A. Woman (Part 1)

Disc 3: The L.A. Woman Sessions Part 2 (all tracks previously unreleased)

1. L.A. Woman (Part 2)
2. She Smells So Nice
3. Rock Me Baby
4. Mr. Mojo Rising
5. Baby Please Don’t Go
6. L.A. Woman (Part 3)
7. Been Down So Long
8. Get Out of My Life Woman
9. Crawling King Snake
10. The Bastard Song of Jimmy & Mama Reed (Cars Hiss by My Window)
11. Been Down So Long
12. Mystery Train
13. The WASP (Texas Radio and the Big Beat) (Take 1)

LP: Original stereo album