The Doors: 50th Anniversary Edition of ‘L.A. Woman’ 12/3; Stream Original Demo of “Riders on the Storm”

On Dec. 3, The Doors will commemorate the 50th anniversary of 1971’s L.A. Woman with a deluxe revisiting of the classic record.

As officially detailed on Wednesday, the special reissue will feature more than two hours of previously unreleased session outtakes from the Los Angeles-based psychedelic/rock band.

Celebrate the 50th anniversary of The Doors' sixth studio album L.A. WOMAN: 50TH ANNIVERSARY DELUXE EDITION! This special 3-CD/1-LP boxed set includes the original album newly remastered by The Doors’ longtime engineer and mixer Bruce Botnick, two bonus discs of unreleased… pic.twitter.com/HDNIgyCM2B

— The Doors (@TheDoors) September 1, 2021

As a preview, the Doors shared the original Sunset Sound demo of “Riders on the Storm”:

Click here to pre-order L.A. Woman 50th Anniversary Edition on CD from our Rock Cellar Store

More details regarding the lavish reissue and its wealth of material, per the band’s announcement:

For this new collection, the original album has been expanded with more than two hours of unreleased recordings taken from the sessions for L.A. Woman, allowing the listener to experience the progression of each song as it developed in the studio. An early demo for “Hyacinth House” recorded at Robby Krieger’s home studio in 1969 is also included.

The outtakes feature Jim Morrison, John Densmore, Robby Krieger, and Ray Manzarek working in the studio with two additional musicians. The first was rhythm guitarist Marc Benno, who worked with Leon Russell in The Asylum Choir. The other was bassist Jerry Scheff, who was a member of Elvis Presley’s TCB band.

Among the outtakes of album tracks, you can also hear the band joyously ripping through the kinds of classic blues songs that Morrison once described as “original blues.” There are great takes of Junior Parker’s “Mystery Train,” John Lee Hooker’s “Crawling King Snake,” Big Joe Williams’ “Baby Please Don’t Go,” and “Get Out Of My Life Woman,” Lee Dorsey’s funky 1966 classic, written by his producer Allen Toussaint.

In the collection’s extensive liner notes, veteran rock journalist David Fricke explores the whirlwind making of the album, which would be the last with Morrison, who died in Paris a few months after its release. “Morrison may never have come back to The Doors,” he writes. “But with his death, L.A. Woman became rebirth, achievement, and finale, all at once. It’s the blues too – original blues, as Morrison promised. Fifty years later, there is still nothing like it.”

And the track listing for the 3-CD/1-LP set:

Disc One: Original Stereo Mix Remastered

“The Changeling”
“Love Her Madly”
“Been Down So Long”
“Cars Hiss By My Window”
“L.A. Woman”
“L’America”
“Hyacinth House”
“Crawling King Snake”
“The WASP (Texas Radio And The Big Beat)”
“Riders On The Storm”
Bonus Tracks

“Hyacinth House” – Demo
“Riders On The Storm” – Sunset Sound Version *
Disc Two: L.A. Woman Sessions, Part 1

“The Changeling” *
“Love Her Madly” *
“Riders On The Storm” *
“L.A. Woman” (Part 1) *
Disc Three: L.A. Woman Sessions, Part 2

“L.A. Woman” (Part 2) *
“She Smells So Nice” *
“Rock Me Baby” *
“Mr. Mojo Risin’” *
“Baby Please Don’t Go” *
“L.A. Woman” (Part 3) *
“Been Down So Long” *
“Get Out Of My Life Woman” *
“Crawling King Snake” *
“The Bastard Son Of Jimmy & Mama Reed (Cars Hiss By My Window)” *
“Been Down So Long” *
“Mystery Train” *
“The WASP (Texas Radio And The Big Beat)” *
L.A. WOMAN (ORIGINAL STEREO MIX REMASTERED)

LP Track Listing

Side One

“The Changeling”
“Love Her Madly”
“Been Down So Long”
“Cars Hiss By My Window”
“L.A. Woman”
Side Two

“L’America”
“Hyacinth House”
“Crawling King Snake”
“The WASP (Texas Radio And The Big Beat)”
“Riders On The Storm”