[gmku]

Originally Posted by jetengine

Tough call, because the group went through 4 phases over 8 studio albums. The first two are the artsy, proto-New Wave albums, the next two are the jazz albums, after that come the blues/funkish/rootsy rock albums, and then the two post-Morrison albums. Rolling Stone magazine has traditionally gone with Morrison Hotel, but I'm not going to trust their opinion, considering the way they treated The Doors like shit when they were around--considering the way they treated anything outside of Frisco and London like shit, come to think of it.

I think 'My Eyes Have Seen You' off Strange Days is one of my top contenders in the should-have-been-a-hit category. Sadly, they never even released it as a single. Ditto for The Velvet Underground & Nico's 'Femme Fatale'--that would have stood a chance as an A-side.

As for the question of Morrison's poetic abilities, beat legend Michael McClure has called him "the best poet of his [i.e., Morrison's] generation," so I don't think any derisive comments from a cranky (yet lovable) eccentric rock journalist like Lester Bangs means anything to the literary world. I have all three of Morrison's full-length volumes, are they're like far-out, maaaannn. Morrison was a great surrealist.

The mistake is judge his or anyone's rock lyrics as poetry. They're never going to be poetry. They're going to rock lyrics, good or bad, great or mediocre. But thinking about them as poetry is not the way to go.