The soundtrack to the 2009 documentary When You’re Strange hits vinyl for the first time on Dec. 11. The 2-LP set is pressed on crystal-clear vinyl and carries Jim Morrison’s poetry, read aloud by Johnny Depp, according to The Music Universe.
Bruce Botnick, a longtime Doors engineer and mixer, produced, mixed, and mastered the release. It packs 32 tracks onto four sides. Studio masters sit next to live performances from the film, and interviews fill in the gaps.
The live tracks include “Break On Through (To The Other Side)” from the Isle of Wight in 1970 and “Light My Fire” from The Ed Sullivan Show in 1967. “When The Music’s Over” was captured on Danish TV in 1968. “Roadhouse Blues” was recorded in New York in 1970.
Morrison, Ray Manzarek, John Densmore, and Robby Krieger all appear in the interview clips.
The film won a GRAMMY Award for Best Long Form Music Video. It tracks the band from the mid-1960s to Morrison’s death in 1971. Rare, historic footage runs alongside the master recordings.
Tom DiCillo directed the documentary. “The story of The Doors is one of the most compelling in the history of American rock music…,” DiCillo said, according to the Music Connection.
Another set came first. Unbound and Dangerous, a 2-LP live album on translucent red vinyl, came out back Oct. 23. Its 16 tracks were recorded in New York City, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Detroit, and Hollywood. Most are from the 1970 Roadhouse Blues Tour, but “Soul Kitchen” was taped at the Aquarius Theatre in Hollywood on July 21, 1969.
Botnick said in the liner notes, “We went back to the original analog 8-track 15ips tapes to create the mixes. No A.I., just a true document of you are/were there,” per Analog Planet. Krieger, Densmore, and Botnick handled the sequencing.
A third release arrives Nov. 27. Titled 1966, it’s a one-LP Record Store Day exclusive with 18 takes of “Moonlight Drive” and 10 takes of “Indian Summer” from an Aug. 29, 1966, session at Sunset Sound in Hollywood. It’s pressed on translucent tan vinyl. Only 7,000 copies will exist.
The When You’re Strange set carries a suggested retail price of $39.98. Fans can preorder it at The Doors’ store.
