The Best Of The Doors

Catalog number P-6236~37, pressed in Japan and released in 1985 on Elektra, this is a double-LP compilation of The Doors on the domestic Japanese market. The obi strip and gatefold configuration distinguish it immediately from other regional pressings of the same compilation title; collectors tracking down The Best Of The Doors in various formats will find multiple siblings in this catalog, so the P-6236~37 catalog number is the anchor identifier for this specific object.

The gatefold jacket on this Japanese pressing is constructed with the heavier, stiffer board stock that domestic Japanese pressings of this era routinely used, and it shows the kind of tight seam work and color registration that pressed Western labels frequently could not match at equivalent price points. The exterior artwork follows the familiar compilation design, with the band imagery and logotype that Elektra deployed across international markets for this release, but the Japanese edition carries text on the spine and rear panel printed in both Roman characters and Japanese script, which is a standard but appreciated touch for collectors who use spine text to file and identify records quickly. The obi strip, a full-height wraparound on the left edge of the jacket, carries the catalog number, pricing information in yen, and track information rendered in Japanese. Obi strips on Japanese pressings from this period are notoriously fragile, and finding one intact and unbrowned on a forty-year-old copy significantly affects desirability. The inner sleeves are printed rather than plain paper, and the gatefold interior panels include the lyric insert that the Discogs notes and keyword data both reference. That lyric insert is a dedicated printed sheet or booklet with Japanese translations or transliterations alongside the English originals, which was a standard courtesy for the domestic Japanese buyer but is exactly the kind of supplementary material that gets separated from a copy over decades. A complete copy of P-6236~37 should have the obi, both discs, the printed inner sleeves, and the lyric insert present. The vinyl itself, pressed to the quality standards Japanese plants maintained through the mid-1980s, typically exhibits the low surface noise and tight pressing tolerances that made Japanese pressings sought after by audiophiles as well as collectors. Labels are Elektra Japan issues, with catalog and matrix information stamped or etched in the deadwax; collectors should check both sides of both discs for consistent matrix suffixes that confirm an original pressing rather than a later repress.

The eighteen-track sequence across four sides covers the band's commercial peak and critical catalog in a way that made this compilation the entry point for many Japanese buyers in the mid-1980s. The selection runs from "Break on Through" through "The End," pulling from the first album through L.A. Woman-era material, with the four-side format giving the sequencer room to breathe rather than cramming everything onto two sides. Tracks like "When The Music's Over" and "The End" need that space. This is a studio-track compilation; there are no live recordings or alternate versions, so the value proposition here is entirely about format, packaging, and provenance rather than content exclusivity. Collectors who want to hear the same performances can do so on any number of other pressings, including the various US and European editions documented elsewhere in this catalog, such as Best Of The Doors. What makes P-6236~37 collectible is the specifically Japanese presentation: the obi, the gatefold, and the lyric insert as a unified package. On Discogs, 132 collectors currently list this as owned and 230 have it on their want list, a want-to-have ratio that indicates consistent demand outpacing supply. That spread is healthy without being extreme, placing this in the category of a desirable regional variant rather than a genuinely rare item. Copies surface with some regularity, but complete examples with an unbrowned obi and the lyric insert intact are less common than raw disc-and-jacket copies. Pricing on Discogs reflects this, with complete copies commanding a meaningful premium over incomplete ones. The Japanese market in the 1980s produced a large volume of quality pressings for Western rock artists, and The Doors were well represented; collectors interested in the broader Japanese Doors pressing history may also want to cross-reference the other Best Of The Doors variants in this catalog to understand where P-6236~37 fits in the chronology.

This is a solid double-LP Japanese pressing of a well-known compilation, distinguished by its obi, gatefold jacket, and lyric insert. It is not scarce enough to qualify as a chase item, but a complete, clean copy with the obi intact is meaningfully better than a stripped one, and the want-list numbers confirm sustained collector interest. If you are building a comprehensive regional pressing collection or specifically want the Japanese domestic format, this is the copy to track down; if you only need the music, look elsewhere.