Patricia Kennely
Last Updated on June 7, 2022, by eNotes Editorial. Word Count: 195
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Absolutely Live is one of the absolutely finest live rock and roll albums ever made, and no mistake….
Absolutely Live is good…. [Enough] new songs are fitted in to make the double-record set less of a Doors anthology than an actual, carefully programmed concert caught on record, complete with rock-ya-sock-ya curtain-raiser (Who Do You Love), medley (three standbys and Love Hides—one of the most beautiful lyrics the Doors ever had), theatrics (When The Music's Over), production number (The Celebration Of The Lizard), and encore (Soul Kitchen)….
[This] album does contain upon its last side The Celebration Of The Lizard, that somewhat legendary leviathan of a Doors "theatre piece." Now this is what I call poetry; its total effect is a truly vertiginous dazzle, and though it may not be the greatest work of poetic art in the history of Western civilization, it is possibly the most powerful piece of music and words ever recorded by any rock group, anywhere, and it alone is worth the price of the entire album.
Patricia Kennely, "Record Reviews: 'Absolutely Live'," in Jazz & Pop (© 1970 by Jazz Press Inc.; reprinted by permission of the author), Vol. 9, No. 10, October, 1970, p. 60.
