The Doors L.A. Woman 50th Anniversary

For the band's sixth album L.A. Woman, The Doors continued the trajectory of Morrison Hotel return to blues. On L.A. Woman, Morrison’s vocals were raw and loose, Manzarek’s varied organ lines were masterful, Densmore was powerfully tight and Krieger was sharp and biting. If anyone felt the Doors had lost a step dealing with Morrison’s obscenity bust in Miami and subsequent tour cancellations, this was a strong opening rebuttal. 

The album was fresh and free-flowing, and critics unanimously praised L.A. Woman. Rolling Stone’s Robert Meltzer wrote, “You can kick me in the ass for saying this (I don’t mind), this is the Doors greatest album and including their first, the best album so far this year. A landmark worthy of dancing in the streets.” The album went to number five in the charts and the first single, the Krieger-penned “Love Her Madly”, reached number seven. The album also included L.A. Woman, and arguably the Doors' most well known track Riders On the Storm (which was also the last time the four Doors recorded together). 

Our inspiration for the L.A. Woman 50th Anniversary print was from Doors co-founder and keyboardist Ray Manzarek's own description of the classic album: 

"[L.A. Woman] represents to me a drive across the great American Southwest. Driving on the freeways and highways through the desert - Arizona or New Mexico - or driving up the coast of California on Highway 1, from L.A. to San Francisco. It's alive, it's free, it's young and it's wild.

The illustration was designed by Steve Thomas, whose style is a mix of vintage poster, travel and product art from the early 20th century. We hope it transports you from wherever you may be to Highway 1 on the Californian coast, with the sun shining and music of the Doors in your ears.