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The Doors - 1969 - The Soft Parade (2012 HDtracks) [FLAC@96khz24bit]

Artist: The Doors
Title: The Soft Parade
Format: 9 × File, FLAC, Album, Reissue, Remastered, 24bit 95kHz (HDtracks)
Producer: Paul A. Rothchild
Release Date: July 18, 1969, (2012)
Recorded: July 1968 – May 1969 at Elektra Sound Recorders, Los Angeles, California
Label:  Rhino, Elektra
Genre: Rock, Blues Rock, Psychedelic Rock
Duration: 33:50


The Doors:

Wikipedia:
The Doors were an American rock band formed in 1965 in Los Angeles, with vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, guitarist Robby Krieger and drummer John Densmore. The band got its name from the title of Aldous Huxley's book The Doors of Perception, which itself was a reference to a quote made by William Blake, "If the doors of perception were cleansed, everything would appear to man as it is, infinite." They were unique and among the most controversial and influential rock acts of the 1960s, mostly because of Morrison's lyrics and charismatic but unpredictable stage persona. After Morrison's death in 1971 at age 27, the remaining members continued as a trio until disbanding in 1973.
Signing with Elektra Records in 1966, the Doors released eight albums between 1967 and 1971. All but one hit the Top 10 on the Billboard 200 and went platinum or better. Their self-titled debut album (1967) was their first in a series of Top 10 albums in the United States, followed by Strange Days (also 1967), Waiting for the Sun (1968), The Soft Parade (1969), Morrison Hotel (1970), Absolutely Live (1970) and L.A. Woman (1971), with 20 Gold, 14 Platinum, and 5 Multi-Platinum album awards in the United States alone. By the end of 1971, it was reported that the Doors had sold 4,190,457 albums domestically and 7,750,642 singles. The band had three million-selling singles in the U.S. with "Light My Fire", "Hello, I Love You" and "Touch Me". After Morrison's death in 1971, the surviving trio released two albums Other Voices and Full Circle with Manzarek and Krieger sharing lead vocals. The three members also collaborated on the spoken word recording of Morrison's An American Prayer in 1978 and on the "Orange County Suite" for a 1997 boxed set. Manzarek, Krieger and Densmore reunited in 2000 for an episode of VH1's "Storytellers" and subsequently recorded Stoned Immaculate: The Music of The Doors with a variety of vocalists. Although the Doors' active career ended in 1973, their popularity has persisted. According to the RIAA, they have sold 33 million certified units in the US and over 100 million records worldwide, making them one of the best-selling bands of all time. The Doors have been listed as one of the greatest artists of all time by many magazines, including Rolling Stone, which ranked them 41st on its list of the "100 Greatest Artists of All Time". The Doors were the first American band to accumulate eight consecutive gold and platinum LP's.
In 2002, Manzarek and Krieger started playing together again, branding themselves as the Doors of the 21st Century, with Ian Astbury of the Cult on vocals. Densmore opted to sit out and, along with the Morrison estate, sued the duo over proper use of the band's name and won. After a short time as Riders On the Storm, they settled on the name Manzarek-Krieger and continued to tour until Manzarek's death in 2013 at the age of 74.
Three of the band's studio albums, the self-titled debut, L.A. Woman, and Strange Days, were featured in Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, at positions 42, 362, and 407 respectively. The band, their work, and Morrison's celebrity are considered important to the counterculture of the 1960s. The Doors were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993.


The Soft Parade:

Wikipedia:
The Soft Parade is the fourth studio album by the American rock band the Doors, and was released on July 18, 1969, on Elektra Records. It saw the group departing from the material that encompassed their past three albums. The Doors incorporated brass and string arrangements into their compositions at a point in which the group was experiencing personal issues, particularly related to Jim Morrison. In addition, the album fulfilled the band's desire to feature more jazz and blues influences in their work.
Upon release, the album peaked at number six on the Billboard Top LPs chart. It was preceded by "Touch Me" in December 1968, which awarded the Doors an unexpected top-ten hit on the Billboard Hot 100, and several other accolades, including a number-one listing in the Cashbox charts. Three additional singles, "Wishful Sinful", "Tell All the People", and "Runnin' Blue", also became moderate hits on the Billboard singles charts.

AllMusic Review by Richie Unterberger:
The weakest studio album recorded with Jim Morrison in the group, partially because their experiments with brass and strings on about half the tracks weren't entirely successful. More to the point, though, this was their weakest set of material, low lights including filler like "Do It" and "Runnin' Blue," a strange bluegrass-soul blend that was a small hit. On the other hand, about half the record is quite good, especially the huge hit "Touch Me" (their most successful integration of orchestration), the vicious hard rock riffs of "Wild Child," the overlooked "Shaman's Blues," and the lengthy title track, a multi-part suite that was one of the band's best attempts to mix rock with poetry. "Tell All the People" and "Wishful Sinful," both penned by Robbie Krieger, were uncharacteristically wistful tunes that became small hits but were not all that good, and not sung very convincingly by Morrison.


Tracklist:

01 - Tell All the People - 3:21
02 - Touch Me - 3:12
03 - Shaman's Blues - 4:48
04 - Do It - 3:09
05 - Easy Ride - 2:43
06 - Wild Child - 2:36
07 - Runnin' Blue - 2:28
08 - Wishful Sinful - 2:58
09 - The Soft Parade - 8:35


Personnel:

The Doors:

Jim Morrison – lead vocals, maracas, tambourine
Ray Manzarek – piano, Gibson G-101 organ, RMI Electra Piano (tracks 3 and 9), Hammond organ (tracks 6, 9 and 4), harpsichord (tracks 2 and 9)
Robby Krieger – guitar, chorus vocal on "Runnin' Blue"
John Densmore – drums

Additional Musicians:

Curtis Amy – saxophone solo on "Touch Me"
Reinol Andino – conga
George Bohanan – trombone
Harvey Brooks – bass guitar (tracks 1 to 4, 7 and 9)
Jimmy Buchanan – fiddle on "Runnin' Blue"
Douglass Lubahn – bass guitar (tracks 5, 6 and 8)
Jesse McReynolds – mandolin
Champ Webb – English horn solo on track 8
Paul Harris – orchestral arrangements (tracks 1, 2, 7, 8 and 10)