For the very first time on officially-sanctioned CD and 180-gram vinyl the two albums released by The Doors – John Densmore, guitarist Robby Krieger, and keyboardist Ray Manzarek – following the 1971 death of Jim Morrison: Other Voices (1971) and Full Circle (1972).The albums will be made available as a two-CD set, newly remastered by The Doors’ longtime associate and original Other Voices co-producer Bruce Botnick. “Treetrunk,” the B-side of the Full Circle single “Get Up and Dance,” has been appended as a bonus track. The vinyl LPs will be released separately, with each album be pressed on virgin 180-gram vinyl and packaged in sleeves described by the label as “historically accurate.” That includes the foldout zoetrope that came with the original release of Full Circle. Once assembled, this basic animation device depicts the human life cycle of a man from infancy to old age.
Other Voices arrived in stores on October 18, 1971 – just six months after the April 19 release ofL.A. Woman and three months after the July 3 death of Jim Morrison. Many of the songs on Other Voices predated Morrison’s untimely death; Ray Manzarek even stated that the charismatic frontman had rehearsed some of them. After his death, the trio agreed to press on with the band’s seventh studio album. Robby Krieger and Ray Manzarek shared lead vocal duties. “Tightrope Ride” cracked the Billboard chart at No. 71, and “Ships w/Sails” was also released as a single. The album itself reached a none-too-shabby No. 31 berth on the Billboard Top LPs chart.
Following a successful U.S. tour, Densmore, Manzarek and Krieger returned to the studio in 1972 to begin recording Full Circle. Released in August 1972, it would be the group’s final recording until the 1978 release of An American Prayer featuring Jim Morrison’s spoken-word poetry. Full Circlepushed the band further into jazz-rock territory on songs including “Verdilac” and “The Piano Bird.” The LP also featured guest players including jazz great Charles Lloyd on flute and saxophone; Chris Ethridge, Leland Sklar and Charles Larkey (onetime husband of Carole King) on bass; Bobbye Hall on percussion; and Venetta Fields and Clydie King on background vocals. Single “The Mosquito” made a No. 85 chart placement, and “Get Up and Dance” reached No. 84 in the United Kingdom. “The Piano Bird” was also released on 45. The album itself didn’t chart as high as its predecessor, making No. 68 on the Top LPs survey.
Both Other Voices and Full Circle were released digitally in 2011, but these reissues mark their first-ever official physical reissues. The albums arrive on CD and 180-gram vinyl on September 4 from Rhino.
