Song of the Day: The Doors - Blue Sunday

Morrison Hotel, the album that followed the stylistic experiments of Waiting for the Sun and The Soft Parade, is often viewed as The Doors going "back to basics," drawing more on blues and basic hard rock as opposed to the strings, brass and softer lyrical themes of those two albums. As with most tenets of rock mythology, this is a simplistic, reductionist way of looking at the band's evolution. In reality, the lines between these three albums are illusionary, blurred by exceptions here and there that betray the strict divisions favoured by some. Songs like "Not to Touch the Earth," "My Wild Love," "Five to One" and "The Soft Parade" contain stylistic experimentation and often disturbing lyrics and atmosphere, defying the consensus that they are overtly commercial works. Similarly defiant, "Blue Sunday" from Morrison Hotel showcases a soft, restrained rhythm section bathed in resplendant organ lines. Thematically, Morrison penned a love song, complimenting the music perfectly and collectively creating one of the finest songs in The Doors' back catalogue. Not only does "Blue Sunday" demonstrate the dual nature that defined the majority of their career, it also destroys the notion that the love song and "softness" represents a sell out or a regression into despised showbiz pop.