Although often regarded as their least convincing album (barring the two LPs cut after singer Jim Morrison's death), The Soft Parade contains some of the band's most eccentric and uncharacteristic music. This fourth album by The Doors broadened the sound of the band by adding a horn section, congas, fiddle, and mandolin on some of the tracks.
 
The Doors played with a variety of styles, ranging from the countrified hoe-down of "Runnin' Blue" to the cheesy easy-listening mid-section of the title song. There are also some classic tunes here: "Shaman's Blues" returns to the psychedelic blues-rock of earlier LPs, and the final track 'The Soft Parade' is another epic album-closer. The rest of the songs--among them Robby Krieger compositions such as "Wishful Sinful"--reveal the band in a more reflective and relaxed mode.