The studio in which The Doors recorded L.A. Woman was unusually basic, essentially just a rehearsal space. It was located in their office building, The Doors Workshop (on the corner of La Cienega and Santa Monica Boulevards), where a clubhouse atmosphere prevailed and there was a pinball machine. ‘It was a place where they could come and go with zero pressure,’ observed their manager Bill Siddons.
The room was not large – about 20ft by 12ft – but it had to accommodate six musicians, a large drum kit, two guitars, a piano, a Hammond B3 organ, a Fender Rhodes, a Wurlitzer, a Farfisa, various amps, an eight-track tape machine (borrowed from Sunset Sound studios) and, of course, that pinball table. ‘It was tight,’ noted producer Bruce Botnick. ‘It was like…