Fans of The Doors will have a belated opportunity to revisit one of the later chapters in the band’s history with singer Jim Morrison in early 2018, with the release of an audio and video package capturing the group’s performance at the Isle of Wight Festival in 1970.
Scheduled for a Feb. 23 release and available to pre-order now, the sensibly titled The Doors: Live at the Isle of Wight 1970 will be available on CD/DVD, CD/Blu-ray or digital format, and offers “completely recut and remixed” footage from what turned out to be the band’s final filmed show with Morrison. Held on Aug. 30, 1970, in the midst of Morrison’s obscenity trial, it found the Doors falling back on the music that brought them together at a time when outside factors were on the verge of tearing them apart.
“Our set was subdued but very intense,” recalled organist Ray Manzarek. “We played with a controlled fury and Jim was in fine vocal form. He sang for all he was worth, but moved nary a muscle. Dionysus had been shackled.”
In addition to a new 5.1 Dolby mix supervised by longtime Doors associate Bruce Botnick, The Doors: Live at the Isle of Wight 1970 boasts a new 17-minute documentary, titled This Is the End, that includes freshly filmed and archival interviews with the surviving band members as well as original manager Bill Siddons. Check out the trailer above, and look over the complete track listing below.
The Doors, ‘Live at the Isle of Wight 1970’ Track Listing:
- “Roadhouse Blues”
- “Backdoor Man”
- “Break on Through (To the Other Side)”
- “When the Music’s Over”
- “Ship of Fools”
- “Light My Fire”
- “The End (medley): Across The Sea/Away in India/Crossroads Blues/Wake Up”
