Eldro

The Doors brilliantly chronicled the effects of LSD in all their music. The Soft Parade is in some ways their ultimate masterpiece; as I like to call it, "The Gospel of Acid"...
side one opens with "Tell All the People" and we are immediately introduced to the album's trademarks: orchestration and Robbie Krieger's songwriting craft...following into "Touch Me" (same deal), which ends with a rockin' sax solo, and then, "Shaman's Blues". This is an incredible song,

There will never be another one
like you
There will never be another one who can
do the things you do...

and there never was, anyone who could do what Jim did, with the lyrical genius and mystical anguish of this song, defining what he was about as the Shaman and the Blues-Man. John Densmore hits out an interesting drum-beat, emphasizing the 2nd of 3 beats with the snare, rather than the 3rd or 1st beat, a more common accent in 3-time. This serves to drive the song along and the groove has a very interesting motion.
The side closes with "Do It" and "Easy Ride", two easily forgettable but very fun songs that bring the trip to fruition.
Side two opens with "Wild Child", and we start picking up energy. The trip itself is a Wild Child, full of grace, savior of the human race...Robbie's crazy electric slide guitar fills the space, and the song concludes with Jim softly asking,

Remember when we were in Africa?

and then singing,

Poor Otis, dead and gone,
left me here to sing his song.
Pretty little girl with the red dress on,
Poor Otis, dead and gone...

"Running Blue", Robbie's tribute to Otis Redding, Jim sings the verses and for the first time Robbie sings, on the blue-grass-y-chorus
"Wishful Sinful", (Robbie again), is a beautiful ballad. Robbie's intricate, gentle guitar lines weave through the song like a tapestry,holding the orchestra together as Jim sings in his deep, oceanic voice of love and water...(great lyrics, Robbie!)
then we come at last to the title track, "The Soft Parade". Obviously Jim's song, obviously a tribute to acid.
The song is really a suite, opening with Jim's declaration:

When I was in seminary school,
there was a person there, who put forth the proposition,
that you can petition the Lord, with prayer...
petition the Lord, with prayer...
petition the Lord, with prayer...

YOU CAN-NOT, PET-ITION the LORD, with PRAY-er.....

the song then goes into a very uneasy musical section, with Ray on Clavinet or some shit, very paranoid until...
that funky feeling hits, and things just aint the way they used to be... after another weird little transistory bit, the song gets into its groove and Jim brings his lysergic poetry to the mic, sampling and repeating different phrases in what was a unique prototype of hip-hop and dub, musical developments which Jim Morrison prophecied