Does the UHQR "L.A. Woman" Really Beat the Artisan Sound Recorders Original?
dowel box detesters and "I don't want to get up four times" whiners diffused!
Artisan Sound Recorders masterings from "back in the day" were and are held in the highest esteem, kind of like "RL STERLING" (or any Sterling). For instance, if you want the best version of Exile on Main Street you want one with the Artisan stamp on it. The original L.A. Woman has the Artisan stamp.
An original L.A. Woman pressing sounds great as anyone who owns one knows. It's arguably the best sounding Doors album. I have two and both also have CP inscribed in the inner groove area, which stands for "Columbia Pitman" (Columbia Records, Pitman, New Jersey pressing plant).
With longtime producer Paul Rothchild suddenly walking out (bored to near death by what he hear during rehearsals) and less musically fussy engineer Bruce Botnick in, the group set up shop in a makeshift studio with Elvis's bassist Jerry Scheff and Leon Russell/Asylum Choir cohort Marc Benno joining in. The songs were mostly simplified blues numbers which gave Morrison room to stretch. Only limited overdubs were added to the basic tracks. The stripped down of necessity approach produced almost a "lo-fi" sound that sharply contrasted with what came before.
Morrison and company responded well to the new freedom both musically and financially (they weren't paying by the hour at Sunset Sound) and new songs grew magically from riffing around.
Recording to an 8 track rather than the more common at the time 16 tracks probably helped the sound's dynamic punch, but whatever, this is a great sounding recording of a band playing live in a rehearsal space unaided by the usual studio acoustic treatment trappings, though as can be seen in the photos in the box, they did put stuff up on the walls.
Clearly there was neither an echo chamber nor an EMT plate reverb available (or they didn't make much use of such in the rehearsal space or in the mixing suite) so you really hear Morrison's unadorned voice and even though he passed away in Paris not long after the release of the record, he's in fine form, especially on the blues numbers like "Car Hiss By My Window". But Morrison also shines on the "Doorsy" songs like the title tune. On the oddly mixed "L'America", where Morrison's voice is isolated on the right channel there's plenty of reverb.
Let's cut directly to the "chase": if you're a fan of this record, you're going to love this UHQR's sound. From the robust bottom to the energetic top bristling with appropriate snap and sizzle, Bernie Grundman's dynamic cut kills the original. This tape was in good shape when it was used to cut this! Why leave out the middle? Jim's voice is in the room present. Crank it up and you're in that rehearsal space.
If you hear the original as better your system isn't responding well to the energy, slam and goodness. It's that simple. There's a drum thing on "Crawling King Snake" that'll surely grab your attention in ways the original only hints at. I'll just leave it at that.
The new packaging omits the dowel spine/slip case thing. The Chadster says it had nothing to do with cost as much as the time consumed getting them produced. The new spine follows the dowel motif as closely as possible and the packaging retains the brown canvas so collectors won't be too seriously impacted and the 33 1/3 cut means no getting up four times (unless it's to empty your bladder). Inside, you get an exact replication of the direct to board die cut jacket and four pager on heavy glossy stock with photos and Ben Fong-Torres annotation including "The Last Interview" he conducted just because he was hanging out at the right place at the right time five months before Morrison died.
The questions could not be more perfectly to the point or more gloriously offensive. Kudos to Fong-Torres who went right after Morrison's avoirdupois. You'll have to read it yourself while listening to and enjoying this pretty much perfect UHQR reissue.
So what's left to complain about? Well, some people think the single LP price should be $100 not $125. Talk amongst yourselves. My favorite Doors album will always be Strange Days. Bring on the mute nostril agony!
