The Roots of The Doors

The Roots of The Doors, released February 23, 2009 on the UK imprint Complete Roots, catalog number SBLUECD066, is a budget-tier compilation assembled in the United Kingdom. It makes no claim to any official connection with the band or Elektra Records, and the cover copy positions it as a survey of recordings that, in the label's words, "infiltrated the dark twisted world of the doors." Twenty-one tracks, all sourced from pre-existing historical recordings by artists who shaped the band's musical vocabulary.

The packaging is utilitarian at best. The jewel case format is standard, and the cover art leans on a darkened, atmospheric aesthetic that gestures toward the band's gothic reputation without producing anything particularly striking. The typeface choices are generic, the layout unambitious. There is no indication of a booklet with substantive liner notes; buyers of Complete Roots releases in this era will recognize the house style immediately, which typically means minimal annotation, sparse credits, and little in the way of recording provenance for the individual tracks. The back panel lists all twenty-one tracks with artist attributions but does not supply original label information, recording dates, or session details. For a compilation whose entire value proposition rests on historical context, that omission is a significant shortcoming. The disc itself carries no special printing; it is a standard pressed CD with basic label art. Collectors accustomed to serious archival releases from labels like Bear Family, Mosaic, or even Rhino will find the production values here noticeably thin. There are no inserts beyond what the standard jewel case accommodates. The overall physical presentation communicates that this was produced quickly and inexpensively, with distribution to budget bins and online marketplaces as the primary commercial target.

The track selection is where the disc makes its argument, and the argument is at least coherent, even if the execution is underdeveloped. The twenty-one songs pull from a well-documented set of blues, early rock and roll, and pre-war sources that serious Doors listeners will recognize as touchstones. Slim Harpo's "I'm A King Bee" is an obvious inclusion; the Doors performed it live and it circulated widely in the mid-1960s British Invasion and garage rock scenes. Robert Johnson is represented twice, with "Cross Road Blues" and "Me And The Devil Blues," both of which inform Morrison's preoccupation with myth and transgression. John Lee Hooker's "Crawling King Snake" was a song the Doors actually recorded and released, making its inclusion here directly relevant. Leadbelly's "House Of The Risin' Sun," Muddy Waters appearing three times, Bo Diddley's "Who Do You Love," and Chuck Berry's "Carol" fill out the electric blues and early rock column. The Brecht-Weill "Alabama Song" is the most direct ancestor in the set, having been covered by the Doors on their debut album. Billie Holiday's "Summertime" and Josh White's "St. James Infirmary" point toward the jazz and torch-song side of Morrison's sensibility. Elvis Presley's "Heartbreak Hotel" and Little Willie John's "Fever" round out the rockabilly and R&B axis. The sequence is serviceable but not illuminating; there is no written argument connecting these tracks to the Doors' catalog, no annotation explaining why a particular performance was selected over another available version. The audio quality across the twenty-one tracks varies, as one would expect from recordings spanning several decades and multiple original sources, and the label provides no information about remastering or restoration. On Discogs, 77 collectors have logged this disc and only 5 have it on their want list, which accurately reflects its standing: widely available, not actively sought. This is not a release that belongs in the same conversation as official Doors archival material; for context on the band's own catalog, the Maximum Doors: The Unauthorized Biography of the Doors or releases tied to the band's direct output, such as The Music Is Your Only Friend, offer more substantive collector interest. Similarly, those interested in how the Doors' music has been interpreted and recontextualized over time may find Light My Fire: A Classic Rock Tribute to The Doors a more purposefully constructed listening experience.

SBLUECD066 is a common budget release with no meaningful scarcity, no authoritative liner notes, and no collector premium attached. The track selection is historically sensible and gives casual listeners a reasonable starting point for understanding the Doors' blues and early rock influences, but it delivers nothing that a more carefully annotated compilation from a specialist label would not do better. Skip it if you have access to the original sources; file it if you want a complete catalog of Doors-adjacent releases.