Rocktober Deep Cut D: "Soul Kitchen" by The Doors

The letter "D" presented another dilemma for me, since there are a bunch of great "D" bands, including, but not limited to, Def Leppard, The Darkness, Deep Purple, Derek & the Dominos, Dio, and The Doors.  In the end (pun intended), I decided to go with The Doors for no real reason, other than the fact that they have a lot of great deep cuts.  The song I am going with is "Soul Kitchen," which is the second track off of the band's 1967 self-titled debut album.  There is not a bad song on the entire album, although "Light My Fire" and "Break On Through (To The Other Side)" are the ones that get a ton of airplay, and, of course, "The End" is a legendary 11-minute Oedipal nightmare of a song that was later given new life in Apocalypse Now.  You might even see "Crystal Ship," "Alabama Song," or "Twentieth Century Fox" on a greatest hits album here or there. 

Yet somehow fame and airplay have eluded "Soul Kitchen," and I'm not sure why because it's a great song (and probably my favorite song off of the debut album).  The song was apparently inspired by a soul food restaurant in Venice Beach that Jim Morrison frequented.  It starts off with a catchy organ riff by Ray Manzarek (not unlike the organ riff in "When The Music's Over") and that repeats throughout the song, and a meandering guitar line from Robby Krieger.  The verses are kind of low-key, with the aforementioned organ riff and a James Brown-esque jangly guitar.  But then, everyone turns up the energy for the chorus.  As the band bashes away on their respective instruments, Morrison belts out: "Let me sleep all night in your soul kitchen / Warm my mind near your gentle stove / Turn me out and I'll wander baby / Stumblin' in the neon groves."  I had always assumed this song was about sex (or at least a giant vagina), but I guess it's actually about a soul kitchen.