7. Riders On The Storm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lS-af9Q-zvQ On The Record Come the winter of 1970 a lot had changed for the band since the days of their debut. Morrison's drinking was going beyond the realms of excess and the infamous Miami incident weighed heavy on his often slouched shoulders, the rest of the band were dog tired and longtime producer Paul Rothchild had backed out of the recording of what would be their sixth and final album. Thankfully, the band's desire to create something great hadn't waned and in Bruce Botnick they had a replacement producer who shared their bluesy vision of a record crafted in the spirit of Howlin' Wolf and Elvis Presley. Using canny techniques - the band relocated to their own workshop to record and Morrison sang the majority of his vocals in a bathroom, for effect - Botnick and the band successfully guided L.A.Woman to an April, 1971 release date. The album was a great success and while 'Love Her Madly' was the record's big commercial hit it was closing track 'Riders On The Storm' that stands out as L.A.Woman's high point. Ethereal, and soaring this western-inspired track takes the listener on an unforgettable journey and, as the last song to be both recorded and released by the band as a single, it's hard to imagine a more fitting curtain call. Waxing Lyrical Girl, you gotta love your man/ take him by the hand/ make him understand This immortal line is said to be a plea from Morrison to his girlfriend, Pamela Courson.
Shaun Davis
Contributor
Shaun is a former contributor for a number of Future Publishing titles and more recently worked as a staffer at Imagine Publishing.
He can now be found banking in the daytime and writing a variety of articles for What Culture, namely around his favourite topics of film, retro gaming, music, TV and, when he's feeling clever, literature.
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