Waiting for the Sun is The Doors' third studio album. It was released in 1968 and became the band's first and only number one album and spawned their second US number one single, "Hello, I Love You". It also became the band's first hit album in the UK, where it peaked at #16 in the chart. With the exception of two songs, the material for this album was written after the band's initial songs from the formation of the group had been recorded for their debut album and second album, Strange Days. The highlight of this album was supposed to be the lengthy theatrical piece "Celebration of the Lizard", but in the end only the "Not to Touch the Earth" section was used. The song "Waiting for the Sun" would not appear on an album until Morrison Hotel.
Structure
The track "Celebration of the Lizard" was intended to take up an entire album side, but the group was never able to get it right (they would revisit it later in its full-length form on their 1970 album Absolutely Live). Many fans have suggested once "Celebration of the Lizard" was shelved, two of the band's earliest tracks were resurrected and re-recorded for use to fill in the void, those tracks being "Hello, I Love You" and "Summer's Almost Gone". These two tracks had been recorded in an earlier arrangement for the band's original 1965 demo. Waiting for the Sun ended up as the shortest studio album by the band.
"Celebration of the Lizard" and two early takes of "Not to Touch the Earth" were included as bonus tracks on the 40th anniversary expanded edition release of this album.
Though a strong album lyrically, musically it has often been criticized for its softer, mellow sound, a departure from the edgier, more ambitious sound for which the band had become well-known (and notorious). Nonetheless, the album contains some rarely disputed classics, most notably the menacing "Five to One", the controversial anti-war anthem "The Unknown Soldier", and the evocative "Not to Touch the Earth".
The title track "Waiting for the Sun" was left off this album, but would be included on the 1970 album Morrison Hotel.
This album marked keyboardist Ray Manzarek's transition from Vox Continental organ to Gibson G101, the organ he is best known for playing live. The US monophonic pressing - though only a fold down of the stereo mix to mono - is one of the rarest pop/rock LPs and has been sought after by collectors for years.
Track listing
All songs written by The Doors (John Densmore, Robby Krieger, Ray Manzarek and Jim Morrison).
Side one
1. "Hello, I Love You" – 2:14
* The 40th Anniversary Mix includes a longer fade-out making it 2:37.
2. "Love Street" – 2:53
3. "Not to Touch the Earth" – 3:56
4. "Summer's Almost Gone" – 3:22
5. "Wintertime Love" – 1:54
6. "The Unknown Soldier" – 3:23
Side two
7. "Spanish Caravan" – 3:03
8. "My Wild Love" – 3:01
9. "We Could Be So Good Together" – 2:26
10. "Yes, the River Knows" – 2:36
11. "Five to One" – 4:26
40th Anniversary Edition CD bonus tracks
12. "Albinoni's Adagio in G minor" – 4:32
13. "Not to Touch the Earth" (Dialogue) – 0:38
14. "Not to Touch the Earth" (Take 1) – 4:05
15. "Not to Touch the Earth" (Take 2) – 4:18
16. "Celebration of the Lizard (An Experiment/Work in Progress)" – 17:09
Personnel
The Doors
* Jim Morrison – lead vocals
* Ray Manzarek – Gibson G-101 organ on tracks 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 11, piano on tracks 2, 4, 10, harpsichord on track 5, Vox Continental organ on track 9, backing vocals
* Robby Krieger – guitar
* John Densmore – drums
Additional musicians
* Douglas Lubahn – bass guitar on tracks 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 9, 10
* Kerry Magness - bass guitar on track 6
* Leroy Vinnegar - acoustic bass on track 7
Technical staff and artwork
* Bruce Botnick - engineer
* Paul Ferrara - front cover photograph
* William S. Harvey - art direction & design
* Jac Holzman - production supervisor
* Paul A. Rothchild - producer
* Guy Webster - back cover photograph