Published in the New York Times
By DON HECKMAN
MORRISON HOTEL: The Doors. (Elektra EKS- 750070 The Doors have shown remarkably little inclination toward change in their years on top of the pop heap. The elements of their music are still basically the same as when “Light My Fire” seemed to herald the arrival of a genuinely original new rock style. Ray Manzarek’s keyboard gymnastics, Robbie Krieger’s discreet guitar and, of course, the omnipresent, erotically insinuating voice of Jim Morrison, were the most prominent qualities of the Doors’s music then, and are the most prominent qualities now.
This new collection is typical; no surprise here. Morrison’s lyrics continue to have vaguely poetic pretensions, usually with little genuine content, although when they are matched by Manzarek’s barrelhouse piano – as on “The Spy” –they at least have the virtue of emphasizing the group’s best qualities. But aside from a few bright bits and pieces, the Doors’ creative lode appears to be thinning out.