An American Prayer

An American Prayer is the last studio album by The Doors.^[3] In 1978, seven years after lead singer Jim Morrison died and five years after the remaining members of the band broke up, Ray Manzarek, Robby Krieger, and John Densmore reunited and recorded backing tracks over Morrison's poetry (originally recorded in 1969 and 1970). Other pieces of music and spoken word recorded by the Doors and Morrison were also used in the audio collage, such as dialogue from Morrison's film HWY and snippets from jam sessions. The album received mixed reviews and still divides critics, yet it has managed a platinum certification in the US. When the album was originally released, longtime Doors' producer Paul Rothchild labeled the album a "rape of Jim Morrison". Rothchild claimed that he had heard all of the reels of master tapes from both the 1969 and the 1970 poetry sessions, insisting that the three remaining Doors failed to realize Morrison's original intent for an audio presentation of the poetry. Morrison himself, prior to leaving for Paris, had approached composer Lalo Schifrin as a possible contributor for the music tracks meant to accompany the poetry, with no participation from any of the other Doors members. In addition, he had developed some conception of the album cover art work by January 1971, and was in correspondence with artist T. E. Breitenbach to design this cover in the form of a tryptich (a three-paneled painting with various images embedded in each panel).

Track listing

Poetry, lyrics and stories by Jim Morrison; music by Ray Manzarek, Robby Krieger, and John Densmore.

Original release

Side one

1. "Awake" – 0:36
2. "Ghost Song" – 4:13
3. "Dawn's Highway / Newborn Awakening" – 3:48
4. "To Come of Age" – 1:02
5. "Black Polished Chrome / Latino Chrome" – 3:22
6. "Angels and Sailors / Stoned Immaculate" – 4:20
7. "The Movie" – 1:36
8. "Curses, Invocations" – 1:58

Side two

1. "American Night" – 0:29
2. "Roadhouse Blues" [Live] – 6:59
3. "Lament" – 2:19
4. "The Hitchhiker" – 2:16
5. "An American Prayer" – 6:53
   • "The End"
   • "Albinoni: Adagio"

DJ Promotional release (edited for broadcast)

Side one

1. "Awake" – 0:35
2. "Ghost Song" – 2:48
3. "Dawn's Highway" – 1:25
4. "Newborn Awakening" – 2:20
5. "Black Polished Chrome / Latino Chrome" – 2:47
6. "Stoned Immaculate" – 1:34

Side two

1. "American Night" – 0:40
2. "Roadhouse Blues" [Live] – 4:55
3. "Astrology Rap" – :44
4. "The World on Fire" – 1:10
5. "The Hitchhiker" – 2:10
6. "An American Prayer (Ghost Song II)" – 3:00
   • "The End" – 1:38
   • "Albinoni: Adagio" – 2:10

1995 remastered edition

Awake

1. "Awake" – 0:36
2. "Ghost Song" (edit) – 2:50
3. "Dawn's Highway" – 1:21
4. "Newborn Awakening" – 2:26

To Come of Age

5. "To Come of Age" – 1:01
6. "Black Polished Chrome" – 1:07
7. "Latino Chrome" – 2:14
8. "Angels and Sailors" – 2:46
9. "Stoned Immaculate" – 1:33

The Poet's Dream

10. "The Movie" – 1:35
11. "Curses, Invocations" – 1:57

World on Fire

12. "American Night" – 0:28
13. "Roadhouse Blues" – 5:53
14. "The World on Fire" – 1:06
15. "Lament" – 2:18
16. "The Hitchhiker" – 2:15

An American Prayer

17. "An American Prayer" – 3:04
18. "Hour for Magic" – 1:17
19. "Freedom Exists" – 0:20
20. "A Feast of Friends" – 2:10 (also known as "The Severed Garden")

Bonus tracks

21. "Babylon Fading" – 1:40
22. "Bird of Prey" - 1:03
23. "The Ghost Song" (Extended Version) – 5:16 (There's a "hidden track" at about 4:41.)

Staff

1969 readings

• Jim Morrison – Vocals, spoken word (recorded on an undisclosed date in March 1969)

1970 readings

• Jim Morrison – Vocals, spoken word (recorded on December 8, 1970)

The Doors

• John Densmore – Drums
• Robby Krieger – Guitar
• Ray Manzarek – Keyboards, Keyboard bass

Additional staff

• Arthur Barrow - Synthesizer Programming on "The Movie"
• Reinol Andino – percussion
• Bob Glaub – bass on "Albinoni – Adagio"
• Jerry Scheff – bass

Production

• Producer – John Densmore, Robby Krieger, Ray Manzarek, John Haeny, Frank Lisciandro
• Assistant producer – Paul Black
• Engineers – Paul Black, Bruce Botnick, Cheech d'Amico, Paul Ferrara, Ron Garrett, John Haeny, Babe Hill, James Ledner, Frank Lisciandro, Rik Pekkonen, Fritz Richmond, Dr. Thomas G. Stockham, John Weaver
• Assistant engineer – Paul Black
• Directors – John Densmore, Robby Krieger, Ray Manzarek, Frank Lisciandro
• Mastering – Bernie Grundman
• Remastering – Bruce Botnick, Paul Rothchild
• Synthesizer programming – Arthur Barrow on "The Movie"
• Art direction – Ron Coro, Johnny Lee, John Van Hamersveld
• Illustrations – Jim Morrison
• Photography – Joel Brodsky, Paul Ferrara, Art Kane, Edmund Teske, Frank Lisciandro

Notes

• Morrison's vocals in "Bird of Prey" were later sampled for the 2000 Fatboy Slim song "Sunset (Bird of Prey)."
• Morrison's shout, "Wake up!" in "Awake" was sampled in the 1991 Orbital song "Choice."

Charts

Album

Singles

References