This year marks 50 years since the album “Morrison Hotel” (1970) by The Doors was released, which will now be reissued with additional material, specifically discards from the studio sessions. This collection will be available on CD and vinyl from October 9 and will contain the album remastered by Bruce Botnick (one of the band’s regular collaborators), as well as 19 studio discards to the delight of fans.
“Now the subject of this song is something that all of you have seen at one time or another, it’s an old roadhouse,” explains Morrison. “We’re down in the South or in the Midwest or maybe on the way to Bakersfield, and we’re driving in a ’57 Chevy to an old roadhouse. Can you dig it? It’s about 1:30 and we’re not driving too fast, but we’re not driving too slow either. We’ve got a six-pack of beer in the car, and a few joints, and we’re just listening to the radio and driving to the roadhouse through nature. Dig it?”
After having known a track simply titled “Take 4”, which contains hints of “Peace Frog” and “Blue Sunday”, now a new advance was released with takes 1 and 2 of what would end up being “Roadhouse Blues”, which you can review and listen to below.
“Actually, the real roadhouse was this place that was right down the street from our studio,” says Robbie Krieger. “It was kind of across the street from the Troubadour and a little bit east. It was a bar — I forget what it was called — but it was where Jim spent quite a bit of time with his drinking buddies. Even though it was in the city, this place looked like it could have been out in the desert. To me, that was what he was singing about.”
Listen to the track below: