The Doors’ third-to-last concert was the biggest of their
career. In fact, it was the biggest of anyone’s career since the 1970 Isle of
Wight Festival even broke Woodstock’s attendance records. Yet it was a gig that
occurred at a tough time for the band, and not just because they went on stage
at 2 A.M. Jim Morrison was mentally beleaguered by the possibility he may have
to face a prison stint for his infamous “indecent exposure” charge and
physically softened by alcohol. He appears bearded, a bit bloated, and
sedentary at the concert. His vocals remain animalistic, though only when he
feels moved to deliver. Listening to the studio version of “When the Music’s
Over” was never the most interesting way to spend eleven minutes, but Morrison
transforms the pretentious epic into a spellbinding stage performance with his
controlled body and uncontrolled voice. “Light My Fire”, a far superior song,
ends up sluggish due to Morrison’s lack of commitment to the hit and a long-winded
and surprisingly sloppy performance from the band. A seemingly endless version
of “The End” is somewhere in between, going on way too long but also supplying
more frenetic energy and sheer wackiness than the studio version—and without the
song’s Oedipal psychodrama centerpiece no less!
So the new concert film The
Doors: Live at the Isle of Wight Festival 1970 is a mixed bag, but it is
still fascinating for its historical value and a brisk new edit of the footage
brings all the energy to this performance that Morrison withheld. The dim,
red-bulb lighting must have seemed totally inadequate to the massive crowd back
in 1970, but it makes the film eerie and atmospheric. For the faithful, this DVD
is an unquestionably valuable artifact.
