This Doors fans are a demanding lot. Even despite the release of 1997's "The Doors Box Set", which offered previously-shelved live recordings, devoted fans wanted more. According to The Doors' management, Danny Sugerman, this and future discs in the Bright Midnight series are a direct response to that need. In this first compilation, 14 songs--some in whole, others in part--from eight 1969 and 1970 concerts are presented, in no particular order. And although the sound quality of some selections--particularly Love Me Two Times--is relatively inferior as a result of the original 8-track tape recording, nothing can detract from the electricity of The Doors' live performances. Throughout the tunes, and Jim Morrison's wild, often booze-and-drug-induced on-stage banter, we are provided a glimpse of the Electric Poet rarely captured in studio recordings. The passion is there, as always, but in these songs--especially The Crystal Ship and The End--we can almost hear the desperation of a soul that would soon break free from the body that tried to shelter it from its own excesses. "Bright Midnight Live in America" is a must-have for Doors aficionados, and a great intro for the curious beginner.