Morrison Hotel

After the decidedly weakened Soft Parade, the Doors went back to the bars - literally, in the case of Morrison Hotel's back cover. Playing their hardest rock yet, and keeping everything under five minutes, they dug in like hungry men looking for a good meal. "Roadhouse Blues" is the best-remembered track, both for its drive-on sound and for Jim Morrison's partying fatalism. But many classics reside here, "Maggic M'Gill" and the ecstatic "Land Ho," both sea chanteys for new pirates, among them. The band also meshed nervousness and punch on "Peace Frog," Morrison's latest state-of-the-union proclamation. While all the catchiness didn't produce a major hit, Morrison Hotel went a long way toward allaying the fears of listeners who thought that the Doors might have spent their power. Instead, it was the work of a group readying itself for its best work.