Morrison Hotel

Morrison Hotel (sometimes referred to as Hard Rock Cafe from the title of the first side of the LP, whose second side is titled Morrison Hotel) is The Doors’ fifth album. It was released in 1970. After their experimental work The Soft Parade was not as well received as anticipated, the group went back to basics and back to their roots. On this album, there is a slight steer toward blues, which would be fully explored by the band on their next album, L.A. Woman. The strategy worked; even though no major hit singles were drawn from the album, Morrison Hotel reestablished The Doors as favorites of the critics, and when they followed with L. A. Woman the next year, they were rewarded with two more US Top 20 hits.

Additional musicians include harmonica whiz G. Puglese (aka John Sebastian) and blues master Lonnie Mack on bass.

The cover photo was taken at the actual Morrison Hotel located at 1246 South Hope Street in Los Angeles. The band asked the owners if they could photograph the hotel and they declined, so the band went inside when nobody was looking and took the photograph.