The Doors – The Doors

This one is a great sounding recored. Still it doesn't beat the Monarch OG, but I would place it right next to second Monarch press with "RE" in the deadwax. Kevin Grey did the best possible job with this almost 60 years old tape.

Genuinely up there with the best of the series so far and im not just saying this to sell a copy! I seem to either love or hate the Rhino Hifi cuts (assuming its also not been pressed badly). This has put paid to my AP45rpm (which i despised for its terrible choice of mix) and it just edges the 2010 Bernie 33rpm. This recording needs clarity and EQ at the top and bottom to sound even listenable and thankfully this mix and KPG's mastering has both. It has just a smidge more clarity over the Bernie G cut. Theres very little in them to be fair, at least at the start of each side but i found the KPG to stay more consistent to the end of sides where the Bernie cut suffers more (these are quite long sides at the end of the day!).
I still recommend a narrow tip to get the best out of these 33's.

Its also good to get an unwarped and non fill free copy. Not a given with Optimals work on this series!

No complaints and all positives with one caveat.... i wish it was a double 45rpm!!!

Does anyone else get a bit of IGD/distortion on Light My Fire? All other tracks sound incredible but my turntable is struggling with that one

This is definitely the best this album has ever sounded. It’s not exactly an audiophile album to begin with, but Kevin Gray was able to really squeeze everything he could out of the tape he had to work with, and it really presents this album in its best light. It’s still available on Rhino’s site as an unnumbered edition, and is really worth it in my opinion.

Packaging is too tight and as a result my copy is significantly dished. Also this has that annoying "she get -" edit that the doors were forced to adopt. Yes it was released this way, and yes this is inferior to the full line "she get high." on this pressing and just get whatever pressing has the unedited version - plus no dishing risk.

First my thoughts on the album itself. I think Kevin Gray did an excellent job with the mastering. There’s a level of clarity on this pressing that was missing on so many other versions I’ve heard in the past. It lacks much of the compression that’s often synonymous with this record, and while it took some time for me to get used to it, I came away loving it in the end. I would have liked a tad more meat to the low end and the record is cut a bit quieter than I normally prefer, but overall it’s probably my favorite version of this album to date. I won’t say it’s definitively better than the Analogue Productions version, but it’s damn excellent nonetheless (especially since it’s single LP 33rpm).

Now, briefly on the jacket: yes it’s almost impossible to slide the LP back into the gatefold. And yes, the gatefold is so thick it won’t fit the vast majority of outer sleeves. I had to use the 13” sleeves from Vinyl Storage Solutions in order to cover them and they work great. That’s pretty much been the case for every RHF release I’ve bought thus far.

I hate this damn gatefold👹 Once you take the record out, it'll absolutely impossible to put it back! And this gatefold doesn't fit the outer sleeve also lol. I ended up using two sleeves for each side of the gatefold, not a problem, but I hate these tightness so much. The record itself is a masterpiece! The Doors never sounded so damn good! Thick, meaty, clear af, the quality is superb!

Rhino says sold out but you can still grab one on The Doors website. Sounds wonderful and the packaging is top notch.

This mastering sounds wonderful, and the vinyl quality is great too - quiet, consistent, and noise-free. No warping or pressing issues here. Overall, it's a fantastic release, and I really love it!

As others have mentioned, I'm frustrated at how difficult it is to slide the record into the gatefold outer sleeve. It's way too tight, and replacing the inner sleeve with a thinner one still doesn't solve the problem. Sure, there are workarounds like storing the inner sleeve outside of the outer sleeve, but that really shouldn't be necessary. For such an otherwise excellent release, this is particularly disappointing.

For an at-home fix, I gently slid a pair of thin socks down into the base of the gatefold pocket, one sock at each inside corner, and left them there for a day or two. That eventually expanded the cardboard pocket enough to make it easier to slide the record inside. If you're having the same trouble, this might work for you too.

Still, overall, this is a great release, and highly recommended!

It's pretty good. Beats the AP for sure, but the DCC CD and LP are better.