The Doors - Strange Days [Mono Version]

     One of the rarest releases in Elektra's esteemed catalogue, the L.A. group's second LP, mixed for mono. Long has raged the debate on music websites and chat rooms as to whether or not this album received a "dedicated" mono mix. For the uninitiated, up until around 1968 or so, the multi-track tape of any rock recording was separately mixed for two-channel playback ("stereo"), or one-channel ("mono"). Both mixes received enhancements specific to the mix, with more care and attention usually afforded to the mono version, as further depth and dimension improved the sound coming out of a small phonograph speaker or the harsh, tinny sound of AM radio. Listening back to mono mixes of the 60s through today's equipment is revelatory - listen to the Beatles' "Sgt. Pepper" or "Revolver" in stereo, then in mono - the difference is astounding.

     Elektra Records head Jac Holzman has been an audiophile since starting the company in his college dorm room in 1951, and as equipment improved over the next two decades, his label's output tipped the scales on post-production in stereo's favour, as Holzman's impeccable sense for coming trends (the same that served him so well in signing innovative and influential acts to his label) was, as usual, right on the mark. As early as 1966, some Elektra releases began receiving "fold-down" mono mixes, meaning the two channels of a stereo mix were "folded down" into one channel for what's sometimes known as "fake mono", in an effort to save time and money. Combining two channels adds a little extra bass and depth by association only, otherwise the mixes are indentical. Elektra release EKL-4013, the catalogue number assigned to Love's 1967 masterpiece "Forever Changes", is a fold-down. The next catalogue number, EKL-4014, or the Doors' "Strange Days", is also assumed by many to be a fold-down. One listen will disavow any doubter of this notion - there are specific differences in the mix that prove this unequivocally.

     Album opener "Strange Days" has much louder bass guitar and organ, and John Densmore's toms are also much higher in the mix. "You're Lost, Little Girl" puts extra emphasis on Robby Krieger's strident guitar leads, that here sound more like a cat lazily pursuing its quarry; slick and smooth with an underlying menace, exactly what the song's subject matter calls for. Third song and massive hit "Love Me Two Times" differs little from its stereo counterpart, although the harpsichord benefits from a boost in mono. Song four, "Unhappy Girl", which also served as the flip-side to LP single "People Are Strange", is a very different beast. Krieger's lead guitar sounds as if it's double-tracked here rather than just echo-processed or possibly phased, and audible handclaps confirm that Elektra was looking for a double-A side hit with this release, obviously an attempt to make it more radio-friendly. "Horse Latitudes", the weakest "track" on the album (and anathema to anyone who thinks Jim Morrison's description of himself as a "poet" is dubious at best), has the sound effects mixed louder and ramps up what little tension Morrison's struggling to create here with his pretentious read. This segues into "Moonlight Drive" that also has louder guitar runs and piano.

     Side Two starts with "People Are Strange", again not deviating much from the stereo version we're subjected to every time the Doors catalogue is re-packaged or re-released. The next track, the highly underrated "My Eyes Have Seen You", has to be the highlight of this mono LP. Ray Manzarek's piano sounds like it's in the room with the listener, driving the song forward in a manner the stereo version can only suggest.  On song nine, "I Can't See Your Face In My Mind", Krieger's guitar combines with Manzarek's organ and some kind of percussion as answers to Morrison's repetitions of the title lyric, and you can clearly hear these elements in this mix; they're far muddier in stereo. The eleven-minute closer, "When The Music's Over", a cousin of the first album's "The End", sounds much more violent and urgent in mono - the dynamic between soft and loud is amplified, making for a much more interesting listen.

     This is yet another plea to Elektra, Rhino or Universal to reissue this long unavailable mono mix, either coupled with the stereo version in a deluxe edition CD, or on heavyweight 180-gram vinyl (as they recently did with the Doors' debut LP), or both. Why a mix this rich and revealing is still sitting in the can points to one of two things: ignorance on the part of those in possession of the master tapes; or, as in the case of Jimi Hendrix's "Are You Experienced", a missing mono master. For now, troll ebay or keep on crate-digging - this copy was found at a used record store in Toronto in great shape, with the original inner sleeve, for less than $50. It's worth a listen.