Rhino

Before you hit the snooze button on another batch of vintage reissues, dig this: The 40th anniversary mix of the debut Doors album plays at the correct speed in comparison to slightly slow and off-key previous versions. Add a reinstated Jim Morrison vocal on the opening track, "Break on Through (To the Other Side)," a bookend to the "Apocalypse Now" version of "The End," and you've got one helluva debut album.

Rhino has reissued "The Doors" alongside the rest of the back catalog' "Strange Days," "Waiting for the Sun," "The Soft Parade," "Morrison Hotel" and "L.A. Woman"' with bonus tracks and insightful liner notes.

This new ProTools HD transfer showcases the chops of the Doors' rhythm section of guitarist Robbie Krieger, drummer John Densmore and keyboardist Ray Manzarek.

Listening begs the trippy question: When has a band's oeuvre managed to encapsulate the political and culture aura of an era and still remained so timeless?'Rob Collins