''Essential Rarities'' is a compilation album by

the Doors The Doors were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1965, with vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, guitarist Robby Krieger, and drummer John Densmore. They were among the most controversial and influential rock acts ...

, originally released as part of the

boxed set A box set or (its original name) boxed set is a set of items (for example, a compilation of books, musical recordings, films or television programs) traditionally packaged in a box and offered for sale as a single unit. Music Artists and bands ...

'' The Complete Studio Recordings'' in 1999, but reissued in 2000 as a single CD, containing studio cuts, live cuts and

demos Demos may refer to: Computing * DEMOS, a Soviet Unix-like operating system * DEMOS (ISP), the first internet service provider in the USSR * Demos Commander, an Orthodox File Manager for Unix-like systems * plural for Demo (computer programming ...

taken from the 1997 '' The Doors: Box Set''.

Releases

All the tracks on the album had been officially released on the 1997 box set, with the exception of the bonus track "Woman Is a Devil," which was edited from the 1969 " Rock Is Dead" sessions from

Elektra Records Elektra Records (or Elektra Entertainment) is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group, founded in 1950 by Jac Holzman and Paul Rickolt. It played an important role in the development of contemporary folk and rock music between th ...

Elektra Sound Recorders Elektra Sound Recorders was Elektra Records's recording studio in Los Angeles, California, United States located at 962 La Cienega Boulevard. Electric Entertainment currently provides video production services at this location. History In 1958, J ...

, and was not included in the box set version of the album. Some songs appear in more complete form than their ''Box Set'' versions: "Roadhouse Blues" has a 35-second section that was cut from the bridge of the song, and "Who Scared You" has an extra verse.

Track listing

All songs written by

(

John Densmore John Paul Densmore (born December 1, 1944) is an American musician, songwriter, author and actor. He is best known as the drummer of the rock band the Doors, and as such is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He appeared on every record ...

Robby Krieger Robert Alan Krieger (born January 8, 1946) is an American guitarist and founding member of the rock band the Doors. Krieger wrote or co-wrote many of the Doors' songs, including the hits " Light My Fire", " Love Me Two Times", " Touch Me", and ...

Ray Manzarek Raymond Daniel Manzarek Jr. (né Manczarek; February 12, 1939 – May 20, 2013) was an American keyboardist. He is best known as a member of the Doors, co-founding the band with singer and lyricist Jim Morrison in 1965. Manzarek was induct ...

and

Jim Morrison James Douglas Morrison (December 8, 1943 – July 3, 1971) was an American singer, poet and songwriter who was the lead vocalist of the rock band the Doors. Due to his wild personality, poetic lyrics, distinctive voice, unpredictable and e ...

), except where noted. # "Hello to the Cities" (Live on ''

The Ed Sullivan Show ''The Ed Sullivan Show'' is an American television program, television variety show that ran on CBS from June 20, 1948, to March 28, 1971, and was hosted by New York City, New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It was replaced in Septembe ...

'', 1967 and at

Cobo Hall Huntington Place (formerly known as Cobo Hall, Cobo Center, and briefly as TCF Center) is a convention center in Downtown Detroit, owned by the Detroit Regional Convention Facility Authority (DRCFA) and operated by ASM Global. Located at 1 Wash ...

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

, 1970) – 0:57 # " Break On Through (To the Other Side)" (Jim Morrison) (Recorded live at the

Isle of Wight Festival The Isle of Wight Festival is a British music festival which takes place annually in Newport on the Isle of Wight, England. It was originally a counterculture event held from 1968 to 1970. The 1970 event was by far the largest of these earl ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

, UK, 1970) – 4:44 # "

Roadhouse Blues "Roadhouse Blues" is a song by the American rock band the Doors from their 1970 album ''Morrison Hotel''. It was released as the B-side of "You Make Me Real", which peaked at No. 50 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100. "Roadhouse Blues" charted i ...

" (Morrison) (Recorded live at

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsyl ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, 1970) – 4:31 # " Hyacinth House" (Ray Manzarek, Morrison) (Demo recorded at Robby Krieger's home studio, 1969) – 2:38 # "Who Scared You" (Recorded at

Elektra Electra was a daughter of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra in Greek mythology. Electra or Elektra may also refer to: Greek mythology *Electra (Pleiad), one of the Pleiades * Electra, one of the Danaids, daughter of Danaus and Polyxo * Electra (Oc ...

Sound Recorders Studios, 962

La Cienega Boulevard La Cienega Boulevard is a major north–south arterial road that runs between El Segundo Boulevard in Hawthorne, California on the south and the Sunset Strip/ Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood to the north. It was named for Rancho Las Cien ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

, 90069, 1969) – 3:55 # "Whiskey, Mystics and Men" (Recorded at

Sound Recorders Studios, 962

, 90069, 1970, though it was actually recorded the previous year with

overdubs Overdubbing (also known as layering) is a technique used in audio recording in which audio tracks that have been pre-recorded are then played back and monitored, while simultaneously recording new, doubled, or augmented tracks onto one or more av ...

put in by the surviving members in 1977) – 2:23 # "I Will Never Be Untrue" (Morrison) (Recorded live at the Aquarius Theater,

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywoo ...

, 1969) – 3:58 # "

Moonlight Drive "Moonlight Drive" is a song by American rock band the Doors, released in 1967 on their second album '' Strange Days''. It was edited to a 2:16 length for the 45 rpm single B-side of " Love Me Two Times". Though a conventional blues arrangement, ...

" (Morrison) (Demo recorded at World Pacific Studios, 1965) – 2:31 # "Queen of the Highway" (Morrison, Krieger) (Alternate version recorded at

Sound Recorders Studios, 962

, 90069, 1969) – 3:35 # "Someday Soon" (Recorded live at the

Seattle Center Seattle Center is an arts, educational, tourism and entertainment center in Seattle, Washington, United States. Spanning an area of 74 acres (30 ha), it was originally built for the 1962 World's Fair. Its landmark feature is the tall Space Need ...

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

, 1970) – 3:49 # "

Hello, I Love You "Hello, I Love You" is a song recorded by American rock band the Doors for their 1968 album ''Waiting for the Sun''. Elektra Records released it as a single that same year, which topped the charts in the U.S. and Canada. Although the Doors are ...

" (Morrison) (Demo recorded at World Pacific Studios, 1965) – 2:31 # "Orange County Suite" (Morrison) (Recorded at

Sound Recorders Studios, 962

, 90069, 1970) – 5:44 # "

The Soft Parade ''The Soft Parade'' is the fourth studio album by American rock band the Doors, released on July 18, 1969, by Elektra Records. Most of the album was recorded following a grueling tour during which the band was left with little time to compose n ...

" (Morrison) (Recorded live on

PBS Television The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educati ...

, New York, 1969) – 10:09 # "

The End The End may refer to: Films * ''The End'' (1953 film), a film by Christopher Maclaine * ''The End'' (1978 film), a comedy by Burt Reynolds * ''The End'' (1997 film), a Canadian film of 1997 * ''The End'' (1998 film), a skateboarding document ...

" (Recorded live at Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, 1970) – 17:46 # "Woman Is a Devil" (Morrison) (Recorded at

Sound Recorders Studios, 962

, 90069, 1969) – 4:10

Personnel

The Doors *

– vocals,

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a musica ...

on "Orange County Suite" *

– guitar *

–

organ Organ may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a part of an organism Musical instruments * Organ (music), a family of keyboard musical instruments characterized by sustained tone ** Electronic organ, an electronic keyboard instrument ** Hammond ...

, piano,

keyboard bass Keyboard bass (shortened to keybass and sometimes referred as a synth-bass) is the use of a smaller, low-pitched keyboard with fewer notes than a regular keyboard or pedal keyboard to substitute for the deep notes of a bass guitar or double bass ...

, backing vocals *

– drums, percussion, backing vocals Technical *

Paul A. Rothchild Paul Allen Rothchild (April 18, 1935 – March 30, 1995) was a prominent American record producer of the 1960s and 1970s, widely known for his historic work with the Doors, producing Janis Joplin's final album ''Pearl'' and mid-60s production of ...

– original producer *

Bruce Botnick Bruce Botnick (born 1945) is an American audio engineer and record producer, best known for his work with the Doors, the Beach Boys, Eddie Money, Love and film composer Jerry Goldsmith. Early work Botnick engineered Love's first two albums, a ...

– producer *

Danny Sugerman Daniel Stephen Sugerman (October 11, 1954 – January 5, 2005) was the second manager of the Los Angeles-based rock band the Doors. He wrote several books about Jim Morrison and the Doors, including '' No One Here Gets Out Alive'' (co-authored with ...

– management * Richard Evans – art direction and design * Todd Gray – photo archivist

References

{{Authority control 2000 compilation albums Albums produced by Bruce Botnick Albums produced by Paul A. Rothchild Elektra Records compilation albums The Doors compilation albums