Live At The Bowl '68[DVD]

I found watching this concert absolutely incredible. Over the decades media and the movie about the Doors would have have us believe Jim Morrison was a totally dysfunctional out of control front man who mostly ruined concerts for the Doors, and their entire time as a band was a roller coaster of wondering if 'Jimbo' (the nickname for drunken, stoned, erratic Jim Morrison) was out tonight. The truth was probably that 'Jimbo' did come out on occasion, but for most shows he was on top of his game - and good guy Jim Morrison performed. This is definitely one where the real Jim Morrison can be observed in one of the best Doors concerts ever filmed and recorded - and is absolutely beautiful. The place, the set, the audience, the tightness of the band, the relaxed pace they approached the running order of the songs they performed. They were truly enjoying this show, you can easily see as Jim Morrison sometimes smiled and had not an ounce of the angst he seems to be more known for. One of his bandmates in a 2012 interview, which is in the DVD extras, said he took some LSD before going on stage, and also had about 3 drinks at dinner before they got there. Ray Manzarek, however, says he cannot say one way or the other if he took the drug; the viewer will have to come to their own conclusion if he shows any sign of that, but its clear to me, he is in control of his mind the whole time. He makes every que, nicely delivers his poetry readings in some of the songs or as segues to the next number. His voice is superb start to finish on each song. Another aspect that is so great about this, is Bruce Botnick, who produced some of the Doors records in the 1960s and did the audio recording for this very concert in 1968 - and in 2012 used the latest technology to restore this to an absolute masterpiece of clarity and quality. The DVD has several choices of audio to listen from: Surround Sound, 1.5 K mix, and New Stereo. The extras are a must see: interviews by the three remaining members in 2012, two performances from television variety shows, and the Gloria video. A tremendous concert, a superb restoration of this piece of history, now well preserved forever.

Great DVD / Concert.

This is the best sounding audio of any concert I have viewed from the 1960s. As soon as Jim Morrison walked on stage I thought "wow, he is stoned". He just has that glassy-eyed look about him and kind of slinks around slowly on stage. Sure enough, it turns out he dropped acid just before the concert, verified by the liner notes and interviews in the bonus features. Somehow he turns in a professional performance. He is one of those performers that somehow commands your attention. The performances from the band are outstanding and you really get to see and hear how great of musicians they are. The Doors did not have a bass player, so Ray Manzarek plays bass on the keyboard with his left hand, and plays all the other keyboard parts with his right hand. How he does this is a mystery - very talented. Thankfully, this was recorded on film before directors discovered all the fast editing of today's filmed concerts. You have nice lingering shots of Jim Morrison and the entire band, the way it should be. Some interesting shots of the audience as well. For some reason the audience was shooting off fireworks throughout the concert which was a little distracting. My only minor gripe was that the concert was fairly short (1 hr. 15 min.) and some of your favorites might not have made the set list (notably "Soul Kitchen", one of my faves).

This blu-ray dvd is the best quality audio/video that you will find of the Doors. Some say the concert was their best. I doubt that. It is a very good purchase for anyone that wants to sample a great band who was ahead of their time.

Pretty much just Jim singing in front of a mic for slightly more than an hour, but they sound good and it’s an entertaining live show. Not a lot of band theatrics and pretty bare bones all things considered, but worth a watch. Jim performs a large number of The Doors famous hits.

Original.

Watching this concert gives you a front row seat to one fantastic concert. The restoration of the original film was beautifully done and the sound was crisp and clear. You really feel like you were put in a time capsule and whooshed back in time to 1968. For any fan of The Doors or someone wanting to learn more about them, this is a must watch. The band looked and sounded great - no fireworks, laser light shows or fog needed here. The Doors talent shines and Jim Morrison is as mesmerizing as ever! The extras on the dvd are stunning tv performances which alone are worth it. I can't wait to see this in the movie theatre - don't miss this one - there will never be anyone like Jim Morrison and in watching this, makes you miss him even more.

I got the DVD and played it on my McIntosh Labs Home Theater. 6,000 plus amps. It is remastered in DTS. The drums and Jim Morrisons voice come clearly blasting through the center speaker. The rest of the band is perfect as far as audio. It is really better then being there. I only paid 10 bucks for this ticket!

La importancia de Bruce Botnick, ingeniero de sonido de toda la discografía de The Doors, con la excepción del An american prayer y el directo en el Matrix,que sólo los remasterizó,es enorme. El trabajo de orfebrería musical que hizo,restaurando nota a nota,temas sin la voz de Morrison por fallos del micrófono,es verdaderamente de otra galaxia. Poder ver y escuchar el concierto completo en el Hollywood Bowl de julio del 68' con esa nitidez y calidad sónica es realmente asombroso. Además con los bonus,declaraciones de Manzarek,Krieger,Densmore y el propio Botnick más que interesantes.

J'ai commandé ce BR en me demandant ce que cela pourrait donner : un concert des Doors datant de 68 ! Et bien, bravo tout simplement encore une fois à "Eagle Vision" pour cette remasterisation ! D'abord, les images sont stupéfiantes, c'est franchement étonnant de voir que des images argentiques de cette époque puissent être aussi bien restaurées, l'image est nette, les éclairages étant spartiates, il n'y a pas de jeux de lumière multicolores, les éclairages sont fixes sur les musiciens et sur fond noir, aucun décor, bref la sobriété ! Le son a été superbement restauré, en LPCM sur une bonne chaîne, c'est excellent ! (disponible également en DTS HD Master) Le concert démarre sur une musique minimaliste scandée par Manzarek, puis Krieger et Densmore se joignent à lui, et apparaît un jeune éphèbe, hésitant, marchant doucement sur la scène, il attrape le micro et ça commence ! Il est beau comme un dieu (mais ça on le savait déjà) et les morceaux s'enchaînent, tantôt très lents, tantôt rythmés, les nappes d'orgues de Manzarek sont divines, la guitare de Krieger est magique et Densmore assure le tempo, se débrouillant pour toujours coller au mieux à toutes les variations. Morrison est visiblement en forme, il chante divinement bien. Tout est bon, les morceaux connus comme ceux qui le sont moins. When the music's over est une excellente introduction, puis suivent les "Back door man", "Hello, I love you", "Hey, what would you guys like to hear ?", une très bonne version de "Light my fire", et puis ce merveilleux "The end" pour finir (forcément) étiré au maximum, mais tout simplement divin, nous n'étions qu'en 1968, mais tout (ou presque) était déjà dit, une musique sophistiquée, sobre et sans concessions, à des années lumières de la musique commerciale de nos jours. Ce disque est une bénédiction, merci de l'avoir sorti, que vous soyez fans ou pas, ruez-vous sur ce Blu-ray, il est indispensable à tout amateur de vraie musique.

La edición en Bluray es magnífica. Imagen prístina, sonido fantástico que con un teatro en casa te sentirás inmerso en el concierto de esta fantástica banda de rock. El precio del artículo es insuperable debido a la calidad de lo que obtienes. Altamente recomendable, ya seas o no fan del cuarteto californiano.

本当に半世紀も前の映像か？音も画も凄すぎて嘘くさいくらい。 そのくらい素晴らしいです。

I know this concert well. I had the VHS, then the DVD and now the updated BluRay version. I must say the BluRay is superb. What immediately grabbed me is how clear the images are. There is a more intimate feel of the band on stage. You see a lot more interaction between the band, Jim's subtle cues to the band and even a few smiles from Jim, he is obviously having a great time on stage. The sound is also excellent, sounds like it may have been if you we're there, can't fault it. Yes I am aware there was a bit of tweaking here and there to give us a more complete film but it sure is not obvious to me that there was a lot of re-editing with sound, it is seamless. As a concert it is a great show, the band is into it and a good selection of their 1st 3 albums are included particularly Jim's poetry. There is a bit of sloppiness and a few missed cues etc but it's the 60s man, this was the norm as a performer, it was more important to feel the vibes and the music and The Doors succeeded here. The extras are also a good addition to this BluRay, overall it's a great music document of The Doors in a time when Jim was still in great form, before he became more unreliable.