I read these reviews to try and get a better idea of whether or not I'll like something and usually through all the reviews I can gleen the information I'm looking for. It does get a little old listening to people whine for apparently no real reason. They just negative people trying to make you as miserable as they are. They're nit-picky in the face of greatness.

Take for example someone below getting upset that something is listed as live when in fact it's a sound check. Well, it's either studio or it's live. A sound check isn't studio. So, it's live. Period.

I just listened to all 4 discs again and loved the whole set minus the very first song on disc 1, which is the very poor quality version of Five To One. If you make a copy for the car (so if it gets stolen you're not out too much) you'll do well to leave that song off. The rest of the disc flows quite well in my humble opinion. In fact, the whole set is quite amazing.

I have both box sets. And I have a few live albums in addition to that. I also have Legacy - The Absolute Best. I get very tired of reading reviews where people say the greatest hits albums are ONLY for the casual or "new" fan. For me, a box set is TOO MUCH for the car, so I opt to have a nice 2 disc set for most of my favorite bands. 1 disc just isn't enough. Sometimes I start out with 1 disc and that's enough. The way I see it, I like to have a good variety in the car. Not too much, not too little. If I'm at home, I can listen to the albums and the box sets. If I'm in the car I'm usually listening to a best of or compilation that I've created myself from my own albums.

You have two major kinds of box sets: 1. The most popular - What I call a hodgepodge. It has demos, live versions, alternate versions, unreleased versions and original studio or singles. This is a wonderful type of box set to have because usually you get the warts and all. The variety is what makes this type of box set. And The Doors Box Set is just exactly that type of set except that they've seperated it disc by disc. Most box sets of this type do not seperate the material quite the same way this box set does. 2. The other type of box set is exactly what the other Doors box set (7 disc) and that's original studio albums released in a bunch. I like those too. I bought the "other" Doors Box Set the week after I put my original Doors cd's up for sale. All 6 of them sold that week. And the following week I bought that box set.

Both Doors box sets compliment each other. If you're a casual fan I suggest Legacy - The Absolute Best. It's way better than the original Best of the Doors (19 songs on 2 discs) and it has alot more songs. (34 instead of 19) If that's all the doors you need, the remastering is incredible. Really, the remastering is incredible on almost every remastered Doors album or compilation I've heard so far. Most people I've talked to don't have a clear concept or understanding of the difference between first generation cd's and remastered ones. And by all means, if you can't tell the difference and therefore have no reason to upgrade, then I say stay right where you are with your original cd releases. You either know the difference or you don't. And if you don't I see no reason for you to spend money replacing your collection when what you have is way better than the radio in most cases.

Let me just say that the demos were a nice treat. The live tracks were amazing. The obscure stuff and alternate versions were great. And even the original songs are always necessary on a disc of this type. But they're usually all mixed together, not seperated disc by disc. So my only possible complaints on this box set are the first song from disc 1 wasn't necessary at all. And things could've been divided evenly like most of the "hodgepodge" box sets that I have.

Also, I'm not fool enough to believe that any group of live songs are all from one performance unless there's a specific date given for the show and even then it could be the best of the early and later sets. That's just a common thing. Look at The Allman Brothers - Live at The Fillmore East. Hodgepodge! But great! Also, a few edits here and there that sound great on the box don't bother me at all. I'm more interested in what it sounds like.

So again, the sound quality is top notch on this set and this is a nice compliment to your Doors albums just like the SRV box set is a nice compliment to his albums. It's not an either or thing for me. It's a graduation present! I've never had a single disc greatest hits by The Doors because I wanted as much as I could get to begin with. I just liked them that much. And so for a long time The Best of the Doors was my set. Then I got the albums and live albums. And finally both box sets complete my Doors collection. There's always the perfect amount of a band no matter where you are. I went through years of taking WAY TOO MANY cd's with me on a road trip only to listen to 10 of them the whole trip. So I've learned what works well in the car. I can always bring an album (CD) specifically to the car. But usually I just want some of their best stuff for an hour or two. At home I have alot more time for listening to whatever I want.

Dont let the negative reviews keep you from getting this box set from The Doors. Sure the sound quality does vary but its everything that made the group appealing. The live disc is the BEST DOORS live set regardless of where its from and has great renditions of Celebration of the Lizzard and The End. The third disc has a great overall feel of some of the Doors best songs with superb live cuts like Crystal Ship from The Matrix and a nice cheerful song about death called Someday Soon. The first disc has the infamous Five to One from the notorious Miami performance and great renditions of Queen of the Highway and Who Scared you. Sure this set isnt perfect. Rock is dead sounds nothing more than a disjointed mess of recording space and Mental Floss is Jim's poetic muses at its worst but overall there is much to like about this set. Is it perfect? Nope, its everything that was great and pompous, chilling and dysfuntional. In short this Box Set is The Doors as personal as a fingerprint warts and all for those who wish to hear.

Ok, I will admit it; this is going to be a lousy review. This cd is terrible. The Doors first two albums were absolute magic. Jim Morrison's lyrics and voice were incredible. Morrison Hotel and LA Woman were great albums too. But, this "Doors Box Set" should be put in a box with a lock on it. Here is what I want to know. On all the early demos, Morrison's voice is horrible. It's nothing more than a loud whisper. I would never have believed that the guy who sang on those demos was Jim. He certainly got louder as the years went by, but I never heard him sing anywhere as well in concert as he did on the first two studio albums. I now wonder if Paul Rothchild was a genius of smoke and mirrors or did Morrison just have one or two flashing chances at bliss?