Quote:
Originally Posted by Screen13
Pink Floyd. Here's a comparison through The Late 60's to 1971, even without going to great albums like Dark Side of the Moon and Animals which really put them in a stronger advantage.
Starting Years - Syd Barrett's Literary and Drug influenced cool English whimsy with some supersonic Psych Out Garage Punk vs. Morrison's almost convincing Literary and Drug influenced Rebel style with cool sounding Garage Punk style music backing which still kind of resembles that Lounge Act you just saw at a Steak House who sounded like they just heard The Music Machine but without getting to the edge that made the all-in-black band a one-time Garage Punk powerhouse.
1968 - Post-Barrett experimentation that goes into some very progessive areas (With "Jug Band Blues" winding up the Syd era very well) vs. Morrison's Wanna-be rebellious Politic that sounded like the "Shape of Things to Come" camp violence of Wild in the Streets...with the sound of a Lounge Act and a better singer.
1969 - Pink Floyd working on Artsy Late 60's Film soundtracks which still have some cool progressive Space Outs and some very heavy music ("The Nile Song" for More and "Come In No. 51, Your Time Is Up" for Zabriskie Point - Need I say more?) vs. The Soft Parade ("Tell All the People" starting off a very sad album that showed The Doors moving dangerously to Las Vegas territory with lyrics that could be like the poetry of a 16 Magazine reader...No more needs to be said).
1970 - Here's when The Doors finally start to really gain speed. Pink Floyd slipping quite a bit with half-inspired albums (Atom Heart Mother) vs. Morrison Hotel - Doors win this round with ease thanks to Morrison getting a full grip on his mix of Rebellion, Americana, The Blues, and his more poetic inspirations. This is where I feel he earned his reputation and when the Lounge Band sound actually gelled into something great.
1971 - Again The Doors win. Pink Floyd had "Echoes" which seriously proved their worth as Prog Legends, but when it comes to the amount of cool on the grooves, The Doors' LA Woman was a second good album in a row...then Jim went to Paris. You have to admit that at least the last two Doors albums showed quite a bit of maturity.
Still, when it all comes down to it, and adding the best parts of Barrett (and later Waters) and Morrison which gave their bands uniqueness and style, the musicianship of Pink Floyd was stronger and more forceful than The Doors, and you could even say examples of that would be the albums without their visionary songwriters - Other Voices and Full Circle remain only curious listens that showed something was missing while A Momentary Lapse of Reason and The Division Bell at least connected with a mass audience.
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I prefer Pink Floyd overall but in terms of musicianship I'd say it should go to The Doors, at least if you're talking about overall musical abillity. Densmoore is a much better drummer than Mason, Manzerek has a very impressive range that people overlook, he can play lead, rhythm, ambient atmospheric stuff, and he often plays the bass parts with his left hand, Wright was also very diverse but he never put his skills on display quite as much.
I'd say Gilmour and Krieger are about equal in skill as guitarists, however Krieger can play both rhythm and lead, and he's a great improviser, Gilmour rarely improvises or plays rhythm, Krieger also has a bit more stylistic diversity while Gilmour usually sticks to blues but giving it a psychedelic touch. It terms of precision and just plain crafting kickass solos, then of course I'd have to give it to Gilmour.
Composition goes to Floyd, at least during certain periods of their career, if I were to compare the bands from when both were still active, as in from 65 to 71, then I would say The Doors had the edge.
Overall, these are very different bands and there's not much to compare them by except that they are both thought of as "stoner" bands.