Strange Days

STRANGE DAYS, first out in October '67, went to #3 and introduced the Doors classics "People Are Strange," "Love Me Two Times" and "Strange Days." In-depth liner notes by Barney Hoskyns, co-founder of online rock library Rock's Backpages. Two bonus extras include previously unreleased versions of "People Are Strange" and "Love Me Two Times."

Even darker than their purple-hued debut, the Doors' follow-up, Strange Days, closed 1967 with an ominous flourish. Highlighted mostly by short, radio-friendly tunes such as the bluesy "Love Me Two Times" and the cabaret-style "People Are Strange" and featuring a smattering of edgy recitations ("Horse Latitudes") and smoky rockers ("My Eyes Have Seen You"), the album features a centerpiece that was another ambitious extended track, "When the Music's Over." On it, Morrison railed at everything from organized religion to pollution, and his rallying cry--"We want the world, and we want it now!"--became a call to arms for the counterculture rising up around the band. --Billy Altman