10 Most Overrated Rock Albums Of The '70s
5. The Doors - L.A. Woman
By 1971, the mystique of Jim Morrison was undoubtedly on the wane. Health and legal troubles were piling up, and the once-powerful, shamanic frontman was running on fumes. Through such a set of circumstances, we get L.A. Woman.
The sixth album by The Doors isn’t terrible, exactly, but it’s often uninspired and doesn’t sound like a great deal of fun to record. Whereas Morrison was previously a lithe presence, fully committing to his mystical nonsense, here the sound is of a tired, sickly man sitting in a studio and barking the blues as best he can.
This leads to the likes of “Been Down So Long”, one of Morrison’s most self pitying numbers, and "Love Her Madly", a far cry away from the singles that promoted their older work. There’s great stuff here, notably the title track and “Riders On The Storm”, the two times Morrison seems to find his confidence and conjure something otherworldly and weird,
For the most part, though, it’s a baggy collection of blues by the numbers by a group whose collective heart just wasn’t in it anymore.