“Strange Days 1967 – A Work In Progress” is an album of early alternate mixes from the “Strange Days” sessions before the overdubs were complete. The recently unearthed tracks were mixed by Bruce Botnick back in ’67, and feature new liners by him as well.
“Strange Days 1967: A Work In Progress” is an album of rough mixes from the album’s early 1967 sessions discovered after 58 years! Without the final overdubs heard on the original release. “It’s time once again, to visit 1967 during the recording of The Doors’ Strange Days album. These rough mixes are of the moment since they reflect exactly what and where we were during the recording sessions.” – Bruce Botnick
Rediscovered, insists the hype sticker, after 58 years of absence, “Strange Days 1967” offers up The Doors’ second album in its entirety, but as a previously unreleased rough mix. Which does sound great, does sound rough, and does keep your attention fully focussed for those moments when it deviates from the familiar record — for better or worse. There is, after all, something quite exhilarating about peeping in on sessions that were never intended to be heard by the wider world, and the sheer inventiveness of The Doors at work is a sound to behold. “When The Music’s Over” is especially gripping – there’s a lot of last minute overdubbing that had not been done when these tapes were made, rendering this a sparser, but in many ways tougher performance than the familiar one.
The Fat Angel Sings 