Back catalogue: Rock

Review: Alive She Cried is The Doors' electrifying second live album from 1983, available for the first time on vinyl since its original release. The first live album to be released following the band's explosion in popularity after their incendiary song 'The End' was lucky enough to be featured in the timeless Ford-Coppola movie Apocalypse Now, Elektra Records were more than compelled to pursue the release of more Doors material; this one homes in on various concerts between 1968-70, spanning shows performed in New York, Boston, Detroit, LA and Copenhagen. This 40th anniversary reissue is on emerald vinyl and features 'Light My Fire (including Graveyard Poem)', 'Moonlight Drive', and 'Love Me Two Times', among other Doors hits and favourites.

Review: It's hard to believe there was a time when a band as culturally important as The Doors were still trying to make it, but even after their debut album came out in January 1967 there was a brief patch where they were still little known outside their stomping ground in LA. A couple of months later, they held a three-night stint at The Matrix in San Francisco playing to threadbare crowds, but luckily the sound engineer had the foresight to properly mic up and capture all of the performances and the recordings have since become a massive part of the band's legacy. As well as the classic tracks from the first album, and a few of their later hits, there are a generous dose of covers and obscurities which get a first-time airing thanks to this new expanded and authoritative five-LP edition, with the generous inclusion of an extra 7" with a hidden gem that will blow the minds of lifelong ardent fans, of which there are more than a few.