The Best Of The Doors

The 1996 Russian CD (7559-60345-2) is an unlicensed single-disc copy of Elektra's official 2-disc Best Of The Doors set.

Catalog number 7559-60345-2, pressed in Russia circa 1996 and bearing the Elektra name on its label, this single-disc CD edition of The Best Of The Doors is not an official Elektra release. It reproduces the full nineteen-track content of the original 2 CD set on a single disc, carrying the 1985 WEA International Inc. phonogram copyright. The catalog number itself mirrors that of the legitimate Western pressing, which is a red flag collectors should note immediately when sourcing this item.

The packaging here is where things get interesting, and not always in a good way. According to Discogs documentation, this Russian pressing ships in a 2CD thin jewel case configuration with a 4-page booklet, which immediately raises questions for anyone holding the disc, since the content is a single-disc affair crammed into hardware designed for two. The gatefold sleeve notation in the Discogs entry adds another layer of confusion, as gatefold and thin jewel case are contradictory descriptors that suggest variant inconsistencies may exist even within this single catalog number. What collectors tend to find in practice is that Russian pressings of this era often repurpose Western artwork with varying degrees of fidelity; color registration on the booklet printing is frequently off, and the disc itself usually carries generic or minimally adapted label art rather than the clean Elektra design found on legitimate pressings. The 4-page booklet, if present and intact, is slim by any standard, offering little beyond basic track listings and copyright text. Do not expect the kind of robust liner notes or photography packages you get from legitimate Western compilations of this period. Paper stock on Russian pressings of this vintage tends toward thinner, slightly coarser stock, and the printing can look washed out compared to the source material. The disc surface itself is worth inspecting closely; unlicensed pressings from this region and era sometimes show inconsistent lacquer application or off-center pressing, which can affect playback on more sensitive transports. Condition grading on any copy you acquire should account for the fact that these were not manufactured to the same tolerances as official product.

The nineteen tracks here span the full arc of The Doors catalog, from "Break on Through" through "The End," and collectors already familiar with the official 2 CD set will recognize the sequencing immediately. Disc one covers the psychedelic and blues-oriented earlier material, including "The Crystal Ship," "When The Music's Over," and "Spanish Caravan," while the second half moves through the harder-edged later period with "Roadhouse Blues," "Waiting For The Sun," and "L.A. Woman." The track sources are the standard studio recordings; there is nothing here drawn from live sessions or alternate takes, so the musical content itself is identical to what you find on any legitimate compilation pressing. The distinction is entirely in the object, not the audio. From a rarity standpoint, this is a genuinely uncommon piece of Doors collecting history, not because it is desirable in the conventional sense, but because unlicensed regional pressings from 1990s Russia exist in a murky documentation space. Discogs currently shows only 5 collectors owning a copy against 10 in the want list, which reflects how infrequently these surface rather than any particular demand driven by quality or scarcity of content. For collectors who track regional and unlicensed pressings as a subcategory, this sits alongside other gray-market artifacts of the post-Soviet music market. It is a document of a specific moment in how Western rock catalog was distributed and reproduced in Russia during the mid-1990s. If you are building a comprehensive regional variant collection and want to see how Russian pressings of Doors material were handled in this period, this is one of the few compilation examples available. For context on how individual tracks from this set appear on other regional releases, the Roadhouse Blues single page and the Love Me Two Times entry are worth cross-referencing.

This is strictly a collector's curiosity rather than a recommended acquisition for anyone primarily interested in the music or in building a clean, legitimate discography. It is not an official Elektra release, the production quality reflects that, and the content is available in far superior form through authorized pressings. For collectors who specifically document unlicensed and regional variants, catalog number 7559-60345-2 in its Russian 1996 form is a legitimate gap-filler, but go in with clear expectations about what you are acquiring.