Chords for Doors dummer John Densmore discusses the making of "L.A. Woman"
Tempo:
93.125 bpm
Chords used:
G
Ab
A
Bb
B
Tuning:Standard Tuning (EADGBE)Capo:+0fret
Start Jamming...
Not many rock drummers use brushes,
and I [G] loved that you asked about
Cars Hiss By My Window,
and also I use brushes on
Spy and the House of Love.
So [Bb] it's definitely a jazz musician's thing.
Joe [Em] Jones invented brushes in the 20s,
a great drummer,
[G] [Ab] and you sort of just swish around,
but you gotta have some technique.
[N]
[B] [G] Oh my God!
[D] Anyway,
that's my jazz influence
seeping into rock & roll.
Here's this song,
and it's got a really nice groove.
Da-da-da-da-da, da-da-da-da-da-da [A]-da
Da-da-da-da-da-da-da
[Db] And then, I [Eb] don't know why,
but we broke it down
and went into the slow section.
Da [A]-da-da-da-da-da-da [G]
[Fm] [N]
-da
And that began Mr.
Mojo Rising.
Well, mojo is a blues term for sexuality, and so I thought, well, what if I slowly increase
the tempo like an orgasm?
The problem was that it was a seven-minute piece, we did these epics, which I like, breaking
that three-minute barrier.
I wanted to get back to the same exact tempo I had at the beginning.
[G] And so here I am.
[A]
[Gm]
I'll do it fast, I'll speed up the process.
[Eb]
[Ab] And I want [G] to get back to it.
And so it's been five [N] minutes since I heard that, and we did everything live, so I had
to approximate the tempo of where we were five minutes ago.
I was close.
I think I'm rushing it a little bit for you drummers, but it was a real challenge, and
I'm really proud of that song, you know?
I love the feel.
The whole album was here.
Hello.
It was blues-based, and it was an answer to perfection.
Our middle period, Soft Parade, was like, God, hundreds of takes, you know?
And I'm still, I like that album.
Actually, the idea of strings and horns was something Ray and I talked about before we
even made our first album, because we love jazz.
And it's something we wanted to experiment with and go through.
And the critics kind of dissed us for changing our sound, and it was number one.
And I say, if we hadn't gone through that, we wouldn't have gotten back to Morrison Hotel
and finally L.A. Woman, which is the garage masterpiece, because it was done in the garage,
practically.
Bruce's idea of, you guys made a lot of records, we don't need to be perfectionists, we'll
just do a couple takes on everything.
And he was right.
And I said to Ray, you know, Miles Davis, on one of his albums, there's a big blaring
trumpet mistake, [Ab] and [E] the producer said, well, we gotta do it over?
And he said, nah, the feel's too good.
Exactly.
That's the [Bb] approach of L.A. Woman.
And it was perfect that we did it with Bruce.
And in fact, Jim, [N] it's interesting, with Jim's demise, still, we made the last album, it was excellent.
His drinking never affected the work in the studio.
I mean, Paul used to have [G] to close the session down, because he'd be too [E] loaded.
But I think he got empowered by us producing L.A. Woman ourselves.
[B] We all did.
[N] And that was a plus.
So it was good to say goodbye to Paul.
Although he taught us how to make records.
Here's something wonderful that Jack Holtzman did.
After Jim passed, there was a billboard on Sunset of L.A. Woman album.
And he left it up there.
I mean, I don't know, back then it was a thousand bucks a month, let's say.
And he left it up there for six months or something.
And the other beautiful thing is that it's right, it's sort of facing the Chateau Marmont,
facing the West.
And our original album, the first album ever, was on a billboard right across from it, facing the East.
And so I think of how we went to the East and conquered the Occidental, and then the
last album is facing the end of Western civilization, bookends to our career.
And that's the gateway to Laurel Canyon.
Pam wanted to get him out of L.A., hoping that that might slow down his descent.
Unfortunately it didn't.
They drink wine for breakfast in Paris.
So, I don't know.
I mean, I know Jim admired the expats who went over, Hemingway and crew, and wanted
to emulate them.
When he called me and I was telling him how, well, we're having a second single, Riders,
people are crazy for this, you know.
And he said, cool, I'll come back.
and I [G] loved that you asked about
Cars Hiss By My Window,
and also I use brushes on
Spy and the House of Love.
So [Bb] it's definitely a jazz musician's thing.
Joe [Em] Jones invented brushes in the 20s,
a great drummer,
[G] [Ab] and you sort of just swish around,
but you gotta have some technique.
[N]
[B] [G] Oh my God!
[D] Anyway,
that's my jazz influence
seeping into rock & roll.
Here's this song,
and it's got a really nice groove.
Da-da-da-da-da, da-da-da-da-da-da [A]-da
Da-da-da-da-da-da-da
[Db] And then, I [Eb] don't know why,
but we broke it down
and went into the slow section.
Da [A]-da-da-da-da-da-da [G]
[Fm] [N]
-da
And that began Mr.
Mojo Rising.
Well, mojo is a blues term for sexuality, and so I thought, well, what if I slowly increase
the tempo like an orgasm?
The problem was that it was a seven-minute piece, we did these epics, which I like, breaking
that three-minute barrier.
I wanted to get back to the same exact tempo I had at the beginning.
[G] And so here I am.
[A]
[Gm]
I'll do it fast, I'll speed up the process.
[Eb]
[Ab] And I want [G] to get back to it.
And so it's been five [N] minutes since I heard that, and we did everything live, so I had
to approximate the tempo of where we were five minutes ago.
I was close.
I think I'm rushing it a little bit for you drummers, but it was a real challenge, and
I'm really proud of that song, you know?
I love the feel.
The whole album was here.
Hello.
It was blues-based, and it was an answer to perfection.
Our middle period, Soft Parade, was like, God, hundreds of takes, you know?
And I'm still, I like that album.
Actually, the idea of strings and horns was something Ray and I talked about before we
even made our first album, because we love jazz.
And it's something we wanted to experiment with and go through.
And the critics kind of dissed us for changing our sound, and it was number one.
And I say, if we hadn't gone through that, we wouldn't have gotten back to Morrison Hotel
and finally L.A. Woman, which is the garage masterpiece, because it was done in the garage,
practically.
Bruce's idea of, you guys made a lot of records, we don't need to be perfectionists, we'll
just do a couple takes on everything.
And he was right.
And I said to Ray, you know, Miles Davis, on one of his albums, there's a big blaring
trumpet mistake, [Ab] and [E] the producer said, well, we gotta do it over?
And he said, nah, the feel's too good.
Exactly.
That's the [Bb] approach of L.A. Woman.
And it was perfect that we did it with Bruce.
And in fact, Jim, [N] it's interesting, with Jim's demise, still, we made the last album, it was excellent.
His drinking never affected the work in the studio.
I mean, Paul used to have [G] to close the session down, because he'd be too [E] loaded.
But I think he got empowered by us producing L.A. Woman ourselves.
[B] We all did.
[N] And that was a plus.
So it was good to say goodbye to Paul.
Although he taught us how to make records.
Here's something wonderful that Jack Holtzman did.
After Jim passed, there was a billboard on Sunset of L.A. Woman album.
And he left it up there.
I mean, I don't know, back then it was a thousand bucks a month, let's say.
And he left it up there for six months or something.
And the other beautiful thing is that it's right, it's sort of facing the Chateau Marmont,
facing the West.
And our original album, the first album ever, was on a billboard right across from it, facing the East.
And so I think of how we went to the East and conquered the Occidental, and then the
last album is facing the end of Western civilization, bookends to our career.
And that's the gateway to Laurel Canyon.
Pam wanted to get him out of L.A., hoping that that might slow down his descent.
Unfortunately it didn't.
They drink wine for breakfast in Paris.
So, I don't know.
I mean, I know Jim admired the expats who went over, Hemingway and crew, and wanted
to emulate them.
When he called me and I was telling him how, well, we're having a second single, Riders,
people are crazy for this, you know.
And he said, cool, I'll come back.
Key:
G
Ab
A
Bb
B
G
Ab
A
_ Not many rock drummers use brushes,
and I [G] loved that you asked about
Cars Hiss By My Window,
and also I use brushes on
Spy and the House of Love.
So [Bb] it's definitely a jazz musician's thing.
Joe [Em] Jones invented brushes in the 20s,
a great drummer, _
[G] _ [Ab] and you sort of just swish around,
but you gotta have some technique.
_ _ _ _ _ [N] _ _ _
[B] _ _ _ [G] _ _ Oh my God!
_ [D] Anyway, _ _ _ _ _
that's my jazz influence
seeping into rock & roll.
Here's this song,
and it's got a really nice groove.
Da-da-da-da-da, da-da-da-da-da-da [A]-da_
Da-da-da-da-da-da-da_
_ [Db] And then, _ I [Eb] don't know why,
but we broke it down
and went into the slow section.
Da [A]-da-da-da-da-da-da _ [G] _
_ _ [Fm] _ _ _ _ _ [N] _
-da_
And that began Mr.
Mojo Rising. _ _
_ Well, mojo is a _ blues term for sexuality, and so I thought, well, what if I slowly increase
the tempo like an orgasm?
The problem was that it was a seven-minute piece, we did these epics, which I like, breaking
that three-minute barrier.
I wanted to get back to the same exact tempo I had at the beginning. _
[G] And so here I am.
_ [A] _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ [Gm] _ _
I'll do it fast, I'll speed up the process.
_ [Eb] _
[Ab] _ _ And I _ want [G] to get back to it.
_ _ _ And so it's been five [N] minutes since I heard that, and we did everything live, so I had
to approximate the tempo of where we were five minutes ago.
I was close.
I think I'm rushing it a little bit for you drummers, but it was a real challenge, and
I'm really proud of that song, you know?
I love the feel.
The whole album was here.
Hello.
_ It was blues-based, and it was an answer to _ perfection.
_ Our middle period, _ Soft Parade, was like, God, hundreds of takes, you know?
And I'm still, I like that album.
Actually, _ the idea of strings and horns was something Ray and I talked about before we
even made our first album, because we love jazz.
And it's something we wanted to experiment with and go through.
And the critics kind of dissed us for changing our sound, and it was number one.
And I say, _ if we hadn't gone through that, we wouldn't have gotten back to Morrison Hotel
and finally L.A. Woman, which is the garage masterpiece, because it was done in the garage,
practically.
_ _ Bruce's idea of, you guys made a lot of records, we don't need to be perfectionists, we'll
just do a couple takes on everything.
And he was right.
And I said to Ray, you know, _ Miles Davis, on one of his albums, there's a big blaring
trumpet mistake, [Ab] and [E] the producer said, well, we gotta do it over?
And he said, nah, the feel's too good.
_ Exactly.
That's the [Bb] approach of L.A. Woman.
And it was perfect that we did it with Bruce.
And in fact, Jim, _ [N] it's interesting, with Jim's demise, still, we made the last album, it was excellent. _ _ _
His drinking never affected _ the work in the studio.
I mean, Paul used to have [G] to close the session down, because he'd be too [E] loaded.
But I think he got empowered by us producing L.A. Woman ourselves.
[B] _ We all did.
[N] And that was a plus.
So it was good to say goodbye to Paul.
Although he taught us how to make records.
Here's something wonderful that Jack Holtzman did.
After Jim passed, there was a billboard on Sunset of L.A. Woman album.
And he left it up there.
I mean, I don't know, back then it was a thousand bucks a month, let's say.
And he left it up there for six months or something.
And the other beautiful thing is that it's right, it's sort of facing the Chateau Marmont,
facing the West. _
And our original album, the first album ever, was on a billboard right across from it, facing the East.
And so I think of how we went to the East and conquered the Occidental, and then the
last album is facing the end of Western civilization, bookends to our career.
And that's the gateway to Laurel Canyon. _ _ _
Pam wanted to get him out of L.A., hoping that that might slow down his descent. _
Unfortunately it didn't.
They drink wine for breakfast in Paris.
_ _ _ So, I don't know.
I mean, I know Jim admired the expats who went over, Hemingway and crew, and wanted
to emulate them.
When he called me and I was telling him how, well, we're having a second single, Riders,
people are crazy for this, you know.
And he said, cool, I'll come back. _ _
and I [G] loved that you asked about
Cars Hiss By My Window,
and also I use brushes on
Spy and the House of Love.
So [Bb] it's definitely a jazz musician's thing.
Joe [Em] Jones invented brushes in the 20s,
a great drummer, _
[G] _ [Ab] and you sort of just swish around,
but you gotta have some technique.
_ _ _ _ _ [N] _ _ _
[B] _ _ _ [G] _ _ Oh my God!
_ [D] Anyway, _ _ _ _ _
that's my jazz influence
seeping into rock & roll.
Here's this song,
and it's got a really nice groove.
Da-da-da-da-da, da-da-da-da-da-da [A]-da_
Da-da-da-da-da-da-da_
_ [Db] And then, _ I [Eb] don't know why,
but we broke it down
and went into the slow section.
Da [A]-da-da-da-da-da-da _ [G] _
_ _ [Fm] _ _ _ _ _ [N] _
-da_
And that began Mr.
Mojo Rising. _ _
_ Well, mojo is a _ blues term for sexuality, and so I thought, well, what if I slowly increase
the tempo like an orgasm?
The problem was that it was a seven-minute piece, we did these epics, which I like, breaking
that three-minute barrier.
I wanted to get back to the same exact tempo I had at the beginning. _
[G] And so here I am.
_ [A] _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ [Gm] _ _
I'll do it fast, I'll speed up the process.
_ [Eb] _
[Ab] _ _ And I _ want [G] to get back to it.
_ _ _ And so it's been five [N] minutes since I heard that, and we did everything live, so I had
to approximate the tempo of where we were five minutes ago.
I was close.
I think I'm rushing it a little bit for you drummers, but it was a real challenge, and
I'm really proud of that song, you know?
I love the feel.
The whole album was here.
Hello.
_ It was blues-based, and it was an answer to _ perfection.
_ Our middle period, _ Soft Parade, was like, God, hundreds of takes, you know?
And I'm still, I like that album.
Actually, _ the idea of strings and horns was something Ray and I talked about before we
even made our first album, because we love jazz.
And it's something we wanted to experiment with and go through.
And the critics kind of dissed us for changing our sound, and it was number one.
And I say, _ if we hadn't gone through that, we wouldn't have gotten back to Morrison Hotel
and finally L.A. Woman, which is the garage masterpiece, because it was done in the garage,
practically.
_ _ Bruce's idea of, you guys made a lot of records, we don't need to be perfectionists, we'll
just do a couple takes on everything.
And he was right.
And I said to Ray, you know, _ Miles Davis, on one of his albums, there's a big blaring
trumpet mistake, [Ab] and [E] the producer said, well, we gotta do it over?
And he said, nah, the feel's too good.
_ Exactly.
That's the [Bb] approach of L.A. Woman.
And it was perfect that we did it with Bruce.
And in fact, Jim, _ [N] it's interesting, with Jim's demise, still, we made the last album, it was excellent. _ _ _
His drinking never affected _ the work in the studio.
I mean, Paul used to have [G] to close the session down, because he'd be too [E] loaded.
But I think he got empowered by us producing L.A. Woman ourselves.
[B] _ We all did.
[N] And that was a plus.
So it was good to say goodbye to Paul.
Although he taught us how to make records.
Here's something wonderful that Jack Holtzman did.
After Jim passed, there was a billboard on Sunset of L.A. Woman album.
And he left it up there.
I mean, I don't know, back then it was a thousand bucks a month, let's say.
And he left it up there for six months or something.
And the other beautiful thing is that it's right, it's sort of facing the Chateau Marmont,
facing the West. _
And our original album, the first album ever, was on a billboard right across from it, facing the East.
And so I think of how we went to the East and conquered the Occidental, and then the
last album is facing the end of Western civilization, bookends to our career.
And that's the gateway to Laurel Canyon. _ _ _
Pam wanted to get him out of L.A., hoping that that might slow down his descent. _
Unfortunately it didn't.
They drink wine for breakfast in Paris.
_ _ _ So, I don't know.
I mean, I know Jim admired the expats who went over, Hemingway and crew, and wanted
to emulate them.
When he called me and I was telling him how, well, we're having a second single, Riders,
people are crazy for this, you know.
And he said, cool, I'll come back. _ _