There are a bunch of THE DOORS live DVDs out there on the market today, such as THE DOORS: LIVE IN EUROPE, THE DOORS ARE OPEN, and THE DOORS: LIVE AT THE HOLLYWOOD BOWL (among others); but EagleVision’s THE DOORS: SOUNDSTAGE PERFORMANCES disc offers three more live performances from this classic band, in a format rarely seen by the band’s fans. The difference is that these three performances are not live concerts; rather they are studio-only jam sessions. This means you get a front row seat to witness Jim Morrison’s rocking poetry set to the great musicianship of Ray Manzarek (keyboards/bass), John Densmore (drums), and Robby Krieger (guitar). There are no screaming fans, no groupies, no security guards. For classic rock lovers, its like the musical equivalent of shooting %100 pure heroine into your major artery. Or, imagine sitting in a cramped garage and watching the band jam out in front of your disbelieving eyes. Also, what makes THE DOORS: SOUNDSTAGE PERFORMANCES truly indispensable to DOORS fans is that EagleVision just doesn’t show these performances chronologically. They took the time to interview Ray Manzarek, John Densmore, and Robby Kreiger circa 2001 exclusively for THE DOORS: SOUNDSTAGE PERFORMANCES. The end (no pun intended) result is far more than mere performance footage, but rather an all-encompassing documentary bookended by the remastered audio and video that only DVD can provide. The surviving band members reminisce about the events that shaped their career from the early days, to Jim Morrison’s controversial stage behavior, and to his untimely death.

The program begins with a one-off performance from a 1967 Toronto television appearance, where THE DOORS perform The End. The band performs a 10-minute long version of the song that bristles with raw energy and dark emotion. Next, we see the band performing in a Denmark television studio a year later in 1968. This Black & White musical footage includes Whiskey Bar/Alabama Song, Back Door Man, Texas Radio/Love Me Two Times, and When the Music’s Over. Then Manzarek, Densmore, and Kreiger address the notorious Miami live concert where Jim Morrison took his clothes off onstage and mooned the audience. This was unheard of in the 1960’s, and resulted in THE DOORS getting banned from playing live gigs all over America (except California). They had no place to play in 1969 until the NYC television show called PBS Critique gave THE DOORS the opportunity to be heard (and seen) again by the masses. For this studio performance, the band ripped into some songs that they don’t always play live. At this time, THE DOORS were pushing their latest album, THE SOFT PARADE, leading them to play most of the songs on that album for the first (and only) time, including Tell All The People, Wishful Sin, Build Me A Woman, Unknown Soldier, and The Soft Parade. Along with the Critique studio gig, the PBS station increased their ratings by interviewing THE DOORS after the gig. This is even more interesting than EagleVision’s 2002 chats with Densmore, Manzarek, and Kreiger for the production of this DVD, because this older interview includes footage from the late Jim Morrisson himself. He reveals how heavily he was/is fond of poetry and attempts to bring this poetic flair to his music, among other things.

EagleVision makes hard rock fan’s dreams comes true. THE DOORS: SOUNDSTAGE PERFORMANCES contains numerous studio performances and clips from the late 1960s that does not normally age well. EagleVision fully remasters the picture quality and restores the psychedelic colors and imagery of the archive footage used for this release. The Toronto television appearance is filmed in color. The Denmark studio footage is shown in B & W. And the PBS Critique television gig is in color. All three performances are filmed on videotape. The new interviews with Densmore, Manzarek, and Kreiger are shot on color film. Whether it’s color or B & W, all archival footage is been digitally cleaned by the authoring wizards at EagleVision. There is practically no distortion or video noise in this footage; the picture quality is crystal clear and allows perfect depth perception. The camerawork for these performances is perfect and creates a sense of intimacy between the band and the viewer. This is very refreshing when compared to the multi-million dollar production overkill used by bands today (like AC/DC: LIVE AT DONNINGTON) which feature 15 cameras and other glossy enhancements. EagleVision also completely remasters the original mono sound element into a full-fledged Dolby Digital 5.1 experience. There is no DTS track because this was produced in 1992 before EagleVision started including DTS sound on their music DVDs. Also included is Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo track. Both sound tracks are equally clear and concise, with the DD 5.1 track getting the edge in ambiance and bass response (check out Densmore’s restrained drumming style to confirm to this). The DD 5.1 track also gets thumbs up for clearer and undistorted delivery of Jim Morrison’s singing. Ditto for Robby Kreiger’s guitar playing which sounds far more heavier and precise than normal. The only extras on this disc are a photogallery of THE DOORS.

EagleVision Entertainment has done some remarkable work here that is sure to please anyone who appreciates great classic rock performances. They digs up old footage from the Rock archives and makes it look like new again. Then they work the same technological miracles by producing some outstanding musical presentations in DTS and Dolby Digital sound that will challenge your home theater system. The only weakness on THE DOORS: SOUNDSTAGE PERFORMANCES is the lack of extras. But in this case the usual supplemental materials (like interviews, commentary, etc.) are included in the main program itself. Great work from EagleVision!

THE DOORS: THE SOUNDSTAGE PERFORMANCES is available from DVDEmpire.com