The Doors – Strange Days

As many others have stated this is my best for this album with AP45, Rhino HiFi and 1967 Pitman COl-1 both sides very acceptable and more affordable options. I like the detail, clarity and balance of this overall. This one will cost you. It is not a necessary purchase unless this is a desert island album for you but it does sound great. It won’t disappoint you. These don’t include the monos which are a different category and a different write up.

Sounds Absolutely Amazing! I have the AP 45 rpm version and the 2009 Rhino Bernie Grundman cut. I was never happy with the sound of either. This DCC absolutely wipes the floor with those pressings, in Every single way. And not just by a little. ALOT!! This pressing actually makes it obvious what all the other reissues got wrong. It’s the same story with their Self Titled Debut. For the first two studio albums, the DCC wins. For the remaining studio albums I’ll stick with my Analogue Productions. Morrison Hotel and L.A. Woman sound Stellar on the 45 rpm versions. That’s my honest take.

My favorite Doors DCC record (and I have them all). This beats the AP pressing and originals (even the gold labels) by a large margin.

This is IT people, the one to get! This is my favorite Doors album alongside the S/T. First I bought the AP release and always felt like it lacked something. I was never fully satisfied with it. This one brings smiles to your face with the power in bass. It's smooth and punchy where it has to be... Vocals are slightly more present than on the AP, too. A pleasure to listen to in every way.

Now I've got to splash out on the S/T DCC.

Kinda laughing at myself that I was on the fence if I should buy this.
Already owning the AP 45 frankly speaking I was quite satisfied with the sound, however, after I read
many rapturous reviews on SHF decided to order sealed copy for almost 200$ because this is my favourite Doors album and I wanted absolute best sounding version.
So here it is. Terrific pressing. As fab_1 already mentioned below, Morrison's voice is much better mastered: bigger,deeper,cleaner and smoother. I have also noticed significant difference in drums presence, where DCC is a winner. The bass lines are more distinguishable too. So punchy and tight, fun to listen. And there's a lot of genius bass to hear on this album, trust me !!
Never heard 'I Can't See Your Face In My Mind' any better, fascinating song, carnival dooogs...
I also own debut album DCC pressing (even more glorious) and really feel like I want to replace all my 45 AP with the DCC copies.
Apart from sound quality differences, flipping the record 4 times in 40 mins is super annoying.
However, if you are not an 'ultimate best' pressing digger like me, the AP 45 rpm reissues will do a great job, seriously.
But if you have enough budget and the Doors among your favourite bands - get this without a doubt, you won't regret, this is pure gold.

Update: I find myself listening to this a lot more than the AP. I think this might just be my new favorite copy. Not because of the speed differences but because the DCC does a great job at cleaning Morrison’s vocals up as well as giving more of a crunch on Densmore’s kit. Although I will say, the AP has better dynamics on “Horse Latitudes” and “Moonlight Drive”. I do have some sibilance issues on “When the Music’s Over,” but it’s not unlistenable.

Comparing this to the ‘67 original, this wipes the floor with the 67 pressing. Mine is a Monarch and it sounds like tin cans. Its a revelation how great this cut sounds in comparison to the original.

Did a mini-shoot out between this and the AP 45;

Both are not far off from each other. The DCCs have been so hyped up to the point where I expected an entirely different sound. This might be true from the self titled, but for Strange Days, it’s really close. The difference is that Robby’s guitar is very clean sounding on the DCC while it’s very loud and raw on the AP (especially noticeable on “My Eyes Have Seen You”). Densmore’s drums are also more present on the AP, it’s there on the DCC but it falls in line with the other instruments, which all sound pretty clean. In the end, if you have either the AP or the DCC, dont even bother buying the other, both sound just as great. I’ll give the DCC the edge of being a 33 1/3 RPM, but I’ll give the AP the edge in sound quality