 L.A. Woman was released on April 19 , 1971 . It reached number nine on the Billboard 200 , remaining on the charts for 36 weeks , and reached number 28 in the UK , spending four weeks on the UK Albums Charts . The first cover pressing had a burgundy @-@ colored , curved @-@ corner cardboard cutout sleeve , framing a clear embossed cellophane insert , glued in from behind . Photography was credited to Wendell Hamick . According to Jac Holzman , chief executive officer of Elektra Records : " I wasn 't sure there would be another album ever , so I had Bill Harvey create a collector 's cover . The Doors ' faces were printed on clear film . The backing color of the inner sleeve could be changed and would affect the mood of the package . This is the first album in which Jim is bearded [ on the cover ] . His photo is on the right , no bigger , no smaller than the others , just another guy in the band . " 
