Starting with the earliest known live recordings of The Doors at the Avalon in 1967 and ending with LA Woman songs from their penultimate show at Dallas State Fair in 1970, the casually named Boot Yer Butt! is the last word in Doors archiving. Generally avoiding the obvious, guitarist Robbie Krieger’s selections mine the blues hinterland of the band (“I’m A Man”, “Little Red Rooster”) and includes the MOR “The Soft Parade” plus brass, as well as all the big classics. High-quality sound and packaging aside, these discs offer a fascinating chronicle of a ’60s band en route from clubs and high school halls to the Madison Square Garden and beyond. A fine distillation of an epic that only lasted for four years.
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