A previously unreleased alternate take of The Doors’ classic song “Roadhouse Blues” that will be featured on the upcoming expanded 50th anniversary reissue of the band’s 1970 album Morrison Hotel premiered on RollingStone.com recently and also has been posted on the group’s official YouTube channel.
The clip begins with frontman Jim Morrison delivering a monologue setting the mood and feel of the song for his band mates.
“Now the subject of this song is something all of you have seen at one time or another, it’s an old roadhouse,” Morrison says. “We’re down in the South or in the Midwest or maybe on the way to Bakersfield, and we’re driving in a ’57 Chevy to an old roadhouse…It’s about 1:30 and we’re not driving too fast, but we’re not driving too slow either. We’ve got a six-pack of beer in the car, and a few joints, and we’re just listening to the radio and driving to the old roadhouse through nature.”
The band then kicks into a loose version of the tune, accompanied by John Sebastian of The Lovin’ Spoonful on harmonica and influential blues-rock guitarist Lonnie Mack on bass.
Doors guitarist Robby Krieger tells Rolling Stone with regard to Morrison’s monologue, “I can’t remember him ever doing that before.”
Krieger also reveals that the actual roadhouse Morrison sang about likely was a Los Angeles bar located near the famed Troubadour venue.
“[I]t was where Jim spent quite a bit of time with his drinking buddies,” Robby says. “Even though it was in the city, this place looked like it could have been out in the desert.”
As previously reported, the Morrison Hotel: 50th Anniversary Deluxe Edition will be released on October 9, and will be available as a two-CD/one-LP set.
