The Doors Release ‘Live at the Matrix 1967: Original Masters’ Set
by Best Classic Bands Staff
Concert recordings of The Doors made in March 1967 when they were a few months away from stardom have received a 2023 release. The uninhibited performances, from when the band played five sparsely attended shows at a small club in San Francisco called The Matrix, were recorded by Peter Abram, who co-owned the pizza parlor-turned-nightclub co-founded by Jefferson Airplane singer Marty Balin. An avid recordist, Abram taped concerts at The Matrix regularly and his recordings of The Doors, made between March 7-11, 1967, spawned one of the band’s most storied bootlegs. At long last, all known Matrix recordings, sourced entirely from Abram’s original master recordings, were released on September 8, 2023, as Live at the Matrix 1967: The Original Masters on 3-CD and 5-LP sets via Rhino. The collection includes early performances of such future favorites as “Break on Through,” “People Are Strange” and covers of “Gloria” and “Summertime.” Regrettably, the label has inexplicably decided not to offer the newly remastered recordings via streaming services.
Production of the vinyl version is limited to 14,000 numbered and 21,000 CD set worldwide. The band’s March 7 performance of the jazz instrumental, “Bag’s Groove,” is exclusive to the vinyl set and comes on a 7” single. “Bag’s Groove” and “All Blues” are never-before-heard recordings.
From the July 11 announcement: Bootlegs of The Matrix shows have circulated among fans for years and were popular despite the poor audio quality of most copies. The sound began improving in 1997 when the first two songs from The Matrix shows were officially released on The Doors: Box Set. Even more performances followed in 2008 on Live at the Matrix 1967; regrettably, it was discovered soon after that all the recordings were sourced from third-generation tapes, not the originals.
For the 2023 release, Abram’s original recordings on 7″ reels have been remastered by Bruce Botnick, The Doors’ longtime engineer/mixer. The vinyl version of the new collection includes all 37 songs from the shows sourced from the master tapes. Except for 15 songs released in 2017 and 2018 as Record Store Day exclusives, most of the newly upgraded live recordings are making their debut in the collection, including eight that have never been featured on any of the previous Matrix releases. See the complete track listing below.
Recorded only a few months before “Light My Fire” propelled the band—Jim Morrison, Ray Manzarek, Robby Krieger, and John Densmore—to worldwide success with a #1 single, the tapes capture The Doors playing a wide range of songs, including several from their self-titled debut, like “Break on Through,” “Soul Kitchen,” and “The End.”
Listen to a previously remastered version
They also performed half the songs destined for the group’s soon-to-be-recorded second album, Strange Days, including “Moonlight Drive” and “People Are Strange.” Fifteen sets of music over five nights at The Matrix gave the band time to indulge its love of the blues with extended covers of “I’m a King Bee” and “Crawling King Snake.” The Doors even delivered an instrumental version of “Summertime.”
“We were on the lip of great success, and we didn’t know it,” said Densmore.
LIVE AT THE MATRIX 1967: THE ORIGINAL MASTERS will be available as limited-edition 5-LP and 3-CD sets on September 8th, 2023, and will include two never-before-heard recordings of “All Blues” and “Bag’s Grove.”
Pre-order both versions today: https://t.co/xFWUEeqLfX#TheDoors pic.twitter.com/bartSuXrEp
— The Doors (@TheDoors) July 14, 2023
Joel Selvin writes in the collection’s liner notes, “They were young, fresh, and uninhibited, spreading their wings to fly. The tapes are raw, savage, rough around the edges. This is pure Doors: unselfconscious and unspoiled.”
The complete tracklisting for the 5-LP edition appears below the Amazon links. Best Classic Bands is an authorized Amazon affiliate. We’re grateful for purchases made by our readers.
Related: Much more about the legendary rock club, The Matrix
LIVE AT THE MATRIX 1967: THE ORIGINAL MASTERS 5-LP Track Listing
LP One: Side One
(March 7, 1967) First Set
“Back Door Man”
“My Eyes Have Seen You” *
“Soul Kitchen”
“All Blues” – Instrumental *
Side Two
“Get Out Of My Life Woman” **
“When The Music’s Over” *
LP Two: Side One
(March 7, 1967) Second Set
“Close To You” **
“Crawling King Snake” **
“I Can’t See Your Face In My Mind”
“People Are Strange”
“Alabama Song (Whisky Bar)”
Side Two
“Crystal Ship”
“Twentieth Century Fox”
Third Set
“Moonlight Drive”
“Summer’s Almost Gone” *
“Unhappy Girl”
LP Three: Side One
(March 7, 1967) Third Set
“Woman Is A Devil/Rock Me Baby” **
“Break On Through (To The Other Side)” **
“Light My Fire”
Side Two
“The End”
“The End” (Partial) / Let’s Feed Ice Cream To The Rats (from March 8 or 9, 1967)
LP Four: Side One
(March 10, 1967) First Set
“My Eyes Have Seen You”
“Soul Kitchen” **
“I Can’t See Your Face In My Mind” **
“People Are Strange” **
Side Two
“When The Music’s Over”
Second Set
“Money” **
“Who Do You Love” **
LP Five: Side One
(March 10, 1967) Second Set
“Moonlight Drive” *
“Summer’s Almost Gone”
“I’m A King Bee” **
“Gloria” **
Side Two
“Break On Through (To The Other Side)” *
Third Set
“Summertime” – Instrumental **
“Back Door Man “**
“Alabama Song (Whisky Bar)” *
7” Single
March 7, 1967 (First Set)
“Bag’s Groove” – Instrumental *
*Previously Unreleased
**First Time Released From Original Master Tapes
1 Comment so far
Jump into a conversationThe Matrix has been the location of many various business in the marina district of SanFran. Currently it is a bar called the White Rabbit. So some small part of history still there.