An American Prayer
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An American Prayer
Studio album by The Doors
Released	November 17, 1978
Recorded	December 1970 (spoken word) 1978 (music)
Genre	Rock, Psychedelic rock, spoken word
Length	38:28
Label	Elektra
Producer	John Densmore, Robbie Krieger, Ray Manzarek, Frank Lisciandro, John Haeny
Professional reviews
All Music Guide link
The Doors chronology
Full Circle (1972) An American Prayer (1978)

An American Prayer is a studio album by rock band The Doors. In 1978, seven years after Jim Morrison died and the band broke up, Ray Manzarek, Robby Krieger, and John Densmore reunited and recorded backing tracks over Morrison's poetry (originally recorded in a poetry session, in 1969). Other pieces of music and spoken word recorded by the Doors and Morrison were also used in the audio collage, such as dialogue from Morrison's film HWY and snippets from jam sessions. The result was the album. Morrison's poetry was often considered too raunchy to use in the sixties. The album received mixed reviews and is still considered unusual today, yet it has managed a platinum certification in the US, placing it roughly as high in US sales as most of the Doors studio albums (only "The Doors" and "L.A. Woman" are so far multi-platinum), a quite remarkable feat for such an untraditional album.

Track listing

Poems, lyrics and stories by Jim Morrison; music by Ray Manzarek, Robby Krieger, and John Densmore.

Original release

1. "Awake" – 0:36
2. "Ghost Song" – 2:50
3. "Dawn's Highway / Newborn Awakening" – 3:48
4. "To Come Of Age" – 1:02
5. "Black Polished Chrome / Latino Chrome" – 3:22
6. "Angels And Sailors / Stoned Immaculate" – 4:20
7. "The Movie" – 1:36
8. "Curses, Invocations" – 1:58
9. "American Night" – 0:29
10. "Roadhouse Blues" – 6:59
11. "Lament" – 2:19
12. "The Hitchhiker" – 2:16
13. "An American Prayer" – 6:53
    • "The End"
    • "Albinoni: Adagio"

1995 remastered edition

1. "Awake" – 0:35
2. "Ghost Song" – 2:50
3. "Dawn's Highway" – 1:21
4. "Newborn Awakening" – 2:26
5. "To Come Of Age" – 1:01
6. "Black Polished Chrome" – 1:07
7. "Latino Chrome" – 2:14
8. "Angels And Sailors" – 2:46
9. "Stoned Immaculate" – 1:33
10. "The Movie" – 1:35
11. "Curses, Invocations" – 1:57
12. "American Night" – 0:28
13. "Roadhouse Blues" – 5:53
14. "The World On Fire" – 1:06
15. "Lament" – 2:18
16. "The Hitchhiker" – 2:15
17. "An American Prayer" – 3:04
18. "Hour For Magic" – 1:17
19. "Freedom Exists" – 0:20
20. "A Feast Of Friends" – 2:10
21. "Babylon Fading" [Bonus Track] – 1:40
22. "Bird Of Prey" [Bonus Track] – 1:03
23. "The Ghost Song" [Extended Version] – 5:15

Personnel

The Doors

• John Densmore – drums (recorded in 1978)
• Robbie Krieger – guitar (recorded in 1978)
• Ray Manzarek – keyboards, bass (recorded in 1978)

• Jim Morrison – vocals, spoken word (recorded in 1969)

Additional personnel

• Reinol Andino – percussion
• Bob Glaub – bass on "Albinoni – Adagio"
• Jerry Scheff – bass

Production

• Producer – John Densmore, Robbie Krieger, Ray Manzarek, John Haeny, Frank Lisciandro
• Assistant producer – Paul Black
• Engineers – Paul Black, Bruce Botnick, Cheech d'Amico, Paul Ferrara, Ron Garrett, John Haeny, Babe Hill, James Ledner, Frank Lisciandro, Rik Pekkonen, Fritz Richmond, Dr. Thomas G. Stockham, John Weaver
• Assistant engineer – Paul Black
• Directors – John Densmore, Robbie Krieger, Ray Manzarek, Frank Lisciandro
• Mastering – Bernie Grundman
• Remastering – Bruce Botnick, Paul Rothchild
• Synthesizer programming – Arthur Barrow (on "The Movie")
• Art direction – Ron Coro, Johnny Lee, John Van Hamersveld
• Illustrations – Jim Morrison
• Photography – Joe Bradsky, Paul Ferrara, Art Kane, Edmond Teske, Frank Lisciandro

Charts

Album