Out Now: The Doors ‘Morrison Hotel’ 50th Anniversary Deluxe Edition (Listen/Buy)

Morrison Hotel is the 1970 album from The Doors, a major moment in the Los Angeles band‘s career and an enduring classic that elevated the group’s mystique and aura.

Today, the album has been reissued to commemorate its 50th anniversary, and is available as a fancy new remastered 2-CD/1-LP set.

Click here to purchase The Doors’ Morrison Hotel 50th Anniversary Set from our Rock Cellar Store.

The long-awaited day has come – MORRISON HOTEL 50th Anniversary Deluxe Edition 2-CD + 1-LP set is finally here.

This set features the original 1970 stereo mix remastered, and includes over 70 minutes of never-before-heard outtakes, including… pic.twitter.com/XUToNNjLKs

— The Doors (@TheDoors) October 9, 2020

The recording process that led to Morrison Hotel in its final form only took a few weeks, the album featured artwork taken by famed photographer Henry Diltz, who snapped a photo of Jim Morrison, Robby Krieger, John Densmore and Ray Manzarek inside the front window of the Morrison Hotel in L.A.’s Skid Row.

Here’s Diltz reminiscing about the photo shoot for the album cover:

Doors fans, here is a special treat for you. Join MORRISON HOTEL cover photographer Henry Diltz as he reminisces on the iconic photoshoot from 50 years ago.#TheDoors #MorrisonHotel50 #MH50 #MorrisonHotel #HenryDiltz #Iconic #LosAngeles pic.twitter.com/KyurjD41Wa

— The Doors (@TheDoors) October 8, 2020

The album has been made available in expanded format with a wealth of bonus material, with more than an hour of previously unreleased recordings included, all remastered by the Doors’ longtime mixer and engineer Bruce Botnick.

Said Botnick of the extra material:

“There are many takes, different arrangements, false starts, and insightful studio conversations between the band – who were in the studio – and producer Paul Rothchild – who was in the control room. It’s like being a fly on the wall.”

More details, from the band’s announcement:

Several of these unheard recordings spotlight how “Queen Of The Highway” and “Roadhouse Blues” evolved across multiple sessions. It’s especially interesting to hear how the band played with different bass players on “Roadhouse Blues.” Early versions include Harvey Brooks, who played on the band’s previous album, The Soft Parade. Later takes feature guitar legend Lonnie Mack on bass along with The Lovin’ Spoonful’s John Sebastian on harmonica who, due to contractual restrictions at the time, had to be credited as “G. Puglese.”

Among the treasure trove of unreleased outtakes are also rough versions of Morrison Hotel tracks “Peace Frog” and “Blue Sunday,” as well as The Doors rarity “I Will Never Be Untrue.” The collection also captures some incredible session outtakes of the band jamming on cover versions of the Motown classic “Money (That’s What I Want)” and B.B. King’s “Rock Me.”

It’s a great anniversary treatment of a crucial Doors record, and it’s sure to appeal to dedicated fans of the group.

Listen to the remastered set below, via Spotify: