The 40 Essential Albums of 1967

The Doors Strange Days Elektra [Listen]

The Doors' second album lacks the shock value and cohesion of the first, mostly because they made it in the manic wake of their Number One hit, "Light My Fire," and in the precious time between live gigs. "Moonlight Drive" and "My Eyes Have Seen You" were already two years old, first cut as demos in 1965. But the Doors channeled the daily chaos of their new fortunes into fierce performances - "Strange Days," the headlong lust of "Love Me Two Times" - climaxing with "When the Music's Over," an anthem for change driven home by Jim Morrison's ferocious, outraged demand: "We want the world and we want it - now!"