Waiting for the Sun is the third studio album by the American rock band the Doors. Recorded at TTG Studios in Los Angeles, the album's 11 tracks were recorded between January and May 1968 and the album was released by Elektra Records on July 3, 1968. It became the band's only number one album (topping the charts for four weeks) and included their second US number one single, "Hello, I Love You" (for two weeks starting August 3, 1968). The first single released off the album was "The Unknown Soldier," which peaked at number 39 on the Billboard Hot 100. It also became the band's first hit album in the UK, where it peaked at number 16.
Having released two records which drew from a large pool of previously composed songs, the Doors started to improvise for this third LP in late 1967. Due to the shortage of original material, the group suffered what drummer John Densmore described as the "third album syndrome", meaning the difficulty of a band to have a stock of good compositions, capable of filling a third disc in a row.[2] The recording sessions also proved difficult for the group due to lead singer Jim Morrison's worsening alcoholism.
The album provoked mixed reactions upon release and in subsequent decades, with critics commenting on the widely varying musical styles and songwriting quality as detriments and inconsistent. However, it has also attracted some more sympathetic appraisal for its mellower sound and experimentation with other genres.[3][4][5] To coincide with the 50th anniversary of the album's release in 2018, a 1-LP/2-CD deluxe version of the album was released by Rhino Records. This was overseen by long-time Doors sound engineer Bruce Botnick.
Track Listing:
- - Disc 1 -
- 1 Hello, I Love You - 2:22
- 2 Love Street - 3:06
- 3 Not to Touch the Earth - 3:54
- 4 Summer's Almost Gone - 3:20
- 5 Wintertime Love - 1:52
- 6 The Unknown Soldier - 3:10
- - Disc 2 -
- 1 Spanish Caravan - 2:58
- 2 My Wild Love - 2:50
- 3 We Could Be So Good Together - 2:20
- 4 Yes, the River Knows - 2:35
- 5 Five to One - 4:22