Morrison's Mystique LA Times Jan 7 1990

[darkstar3]

The Unknown Soldier Crawdaddy Issue #21
newdoorstalk.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=Interviews&thread=1562

[casandra]

Thanks, darkstar. Great job. I agree with you, Jim was under a lot of pressure in 1968 and probably it aggravated his problem with alcohol.

I think all started to go wrong in 1968 (how says Ray) not because of Jim drank more but because in that year his mates became hard and cold businessmen.

I'm speculating...

He tries to leave the band and they convinced him to follow 6 months more. Did they ask him? or did they threaten to sue him if he left the band? There was contract signed, concerts, records,…They didn’t need to do a direct threat but they possibly did him to see that it wasn’t the right moment.

Then in October 1968 the Buick episode, in which they reached an agreement behind Jim’s back and they throw the blame on Elektra. This episode opened to Jim his eyes about his “friends”, if he still trusted on them.

In February 8, 1969 (one month before Miami) they officially become partners (Statement of facts, paragraph 4, Trial 2003).

But more sinister is the 7 paragraph of the Statement of facts that says: "Morrison wanted to record his poetry without the group and agreed to a drastic cut in his customary salary to do it". Is this the right way to behave them (his mates or “friends”) with someone who wants to explore new artistic facets?

I think they tied him down the band all they could. He didn’t leave the band until he had fulfilled his obligations. And when they hadn’t anything to tie him down, they did to sign him the amendment in March 1971.

Inside the band, the problems were money, money and more money. Then and now. Jim had some ethical principles and limits about the money and the others didn’t miss an opportunity to earn more money. I think this was the cause the most of the conflicts. I believe that disputes over different artistic visions weren't so important, and they could easily be agreed about them.

[adam]

interesting...

i haven't read the contract, but myth has the doors split the income 4 ways @ 25% each (true?)

so what does that mean if jim records a poetry album? he gets less than 25% (his customary salary) for doing 100% of the material composition

that in essence means (as Cassandra points out) that jim had to pay the other 3 to record his album

[it could of course mean that the record company take a bigger slice, but that doesn't really hold water to me, cos the production costs would be cheaper than a whole band album & it would sell well enough initially, maybe the lower volume production run would push up costs of record pressing, but economies of scale shouldn't effect it that much... i'd imagine that the doors were on a percentage -we know they were- so x% of y% is still x, so why wouldn't he get his normal cut?]

[TheWallsScreamedPoetry]

Jim signed a deal to make a poetry album with Jac Holzman that would have been seperate from The Doors so he would not have had to pay them a penny I would think.
Ray got nothing from the Butts Band and Robby and John got nothing from the Golden Scarab.
Jim's poetry would have been seen as a solo project.
It's the same as the poetry sessions. The three Doors have no claim on any of that.

[casandra]

But, what do you think that sentence means?.

"Morrison wanted to record his poetry without the group and agreed to a drastic cut in his customary salary to do it"

If the partnership agreement was to divide at 25%, each partner would received 25%. Why did he agree to reduce his salary? Is it referring to his salary on The Doors company? or what? I don't know if I can't understand it or get to find the correct translation.

[TheWallsScreamedPoetry]

Feb 8, 2011 21:03:52 GMT casandra said:

But, what do you think that sentence means?.

"Morrison wanted to record his poetry without the group and agreed to a drastic cut in his customary salary to do it"

All that refers to I do believe is that Jim cut a deal with Jac for Elektra to allow him to do a poetry album at a price lower than what he had gotten in the last Doors contract.
He did not renegotiate his Doors salary as this was a different contract altogether.
He took a cut in what Elektra would have paid to ensure that Jac was behind his poetry project as he had great belief in what he felt he could bring.
The 25% each for the four Doors via The Doors partnership Agreement had nothing to do with this project and it was completely seperate from his Doors activity and therefore not shared between his band mates.

[adam]

so you think basically the deal with jac amounted too

"ok jim we'll do this album, but as it'll sell less than a doors album, we can't offer you our normal artist percentage"

[jim, "suits me jac, it's the first poetry that anyone's offered to pay me for, rather than having to get it published myself"]

so not sure the doors would have got any cut at all?

or is there a clause in the doors contact whereby Jim can't do a solo project?

after all had the album been released, it would HAVE to have been marketed as "jim from the doors" so maybes the other doors expected a cut if the band's name was to be used?

who knows...

[darkstar3]

According to Jac Holzman Jim was offered and accepted a separate contract to record his poetry of which the other Doors were not a part of.

That said, when it came time to put together the 1978, "An American Prayer" album the surviving Doors spliced bits and pieces of Jim's original poetry tapes, recorded a soundtrack for the spliced bits and released the album from which they would have each received royalties.


Interview With Jac Holzman
Doors Collectors Magazine
Jan Morris


DCM: Did Jim ever talk about wanting to record his poetry?

Jac: Yes, we talked about that. He wanted to do it. And I agreed so we entered into a separate non-Doors agreement about the poetry. Some people thought that we entered into this as a sop to Jim. I don't think it was that. There was a willingness to accommodate him. He hadn't told me that he planned to burn the candle at both ends and die. We did go in on a Sunday and we did record several hours of his poetry. Then I couldn't get him back into the studio to do any more.

I think he was unsure of himself. He liked the idea of electronics and poetry but he had no notion as to how to complete the idea and that's why the thing lay fallow for awhile until it was resurrected on An American Prayer. Now I think if he's got a record player wherever he is that he would be pleased with An American Prayer. I think it's a wonderful record.
www.cinetropic.com/janeloisemorris/interview/holzman/index.htm

Interview With Paul Rothchild
BAM Magazine
March 7 1981

BAM: What did you think about An American Prayer,
the posthumous poetry album put out in 1978?

PAUL: I think anything that was done during Jim's lifetime that might have offended him would disappear into total insignificance compared to what I'm positive would have been his reaction to An American Prayer. That album is a rape of Jim Morrison. It was heavily edited. I have a tape of Jim reading most of that poetry in the style and meter that he intended. Jim and I discussed poetry a great deal. I got him to listen to poets like Dylan Thomas reading his own works and Jim definately got things out of it. Him was always talking to me about the progress of words, their meter, their sequence, their flow. He was very concerned about how he presented his poetry.

When I listen to that original tape, I hear something compelling. To Doors fans - and there are a few who have heard it - the poetry is chilling.

To me, what was done on An American Prayer is the same as taking a Picasso and cutting it into postage
stamp sized pieces spreading it across a supermarket
wall.

All Jim's poetry has been cut into bits and
spread across a long instrumental composition that is
irrelevant. Jim never intended this kind of approach to be done with his poetry. When he went into the studio to record it, it was to get away from The Doors. In a way it was his signal to the other Doors that he was moving away from them. He definately wouldn't have used Doors music. He was talking to people as diverse as Lalo Schifrin whom he wanted to write some very
avant-garde classical music. He wanted it to be sparely
orchestrated.

I think An American Prayer is rude. The Doors and Danny and me - anyone involved - should be concerned with preserving the integrity of The Doors' career and the memory of Jim Morrison. But An American Prayer was an embarrassment. It was the first commerical sell out of Jim Morrison. Jim would be humiliated by it as a sensitive person, and incensed by it as a poet.

The damage is done, I'm afraid. Let's all hope that this sort of thing doesn't happen again, though, because it takes The Doors farther away from what they really were - one of the all time great rock and roll bands. Proof of that is already out there for everyone to see.

[casandra]

Thanks for the explanations.

[adam]

i think the sad thing is had the doors followed led zep's lead of refusing to relase singles & expecting fans to look on their work as a complete albums then jim could've had the freedom to do what he wanted

as it was jac wanted sales & the doors couldn't say no (well one could, but he was told to go get a drink & shut up about it)

not sure i've posted this in the right place, i'm mainly talking about COTL & it's non appearance on the album...

[gizmo]

did the 3 remaining doors just used the poetry without permission? or did electra sell the poetry(plus jim's contract) to them to make a few extra bucks? jim wouldn't have agreed with it so how did the 3 remaining doors got involved into this?

[TheWallsScreamedPoetry]

As far as I am aware everybody was involved in American Prayer.
The Coursons own the rights to December 8th session and made it available for the album.
Elektra do not own any of Jim's poetry as far as I know and would have had to seek permission to use the poem that was placed on the 40 Year Remaster of TSP.
The poem on the Morrison Scrapbook disc was also a project that The Coursons were involved in.

[gizmo]

i thought you said before that there was a none doors agreement for the poetry, so i thought that the poetry used for an american prayer was from that contract and later used by the doors.

[TheWallsScreamedPoetry]

Feb 25, 2011 14:05:41 GMT gizmo said:

i thought you said before that there was a none doors agreement for the poetry, so i thought that the poetry used for an american prayer was from that contract and later used by the doors.

the poetry has never had anything to do with The Doors mate. Jim left it to Pam and she left it to her folks. The Morrison's ended up coming to an agreement with them and share the poetry 50/50.
I don't know what the status is with any poetry Jim recorded during Elektra sessions but would imagine it was the same and they have to seek permission to use it.

[gizmo]

and it's good that way, though i think they did a rather good job on an american prayer (the way it sounds etc) on the other handis it strange that the leftovers from what once was a great band used jim again for their financial benefits

[adam]

i think the ultimate irony of AP is that had the doors been so supportive of morrison's poetry projects during his life time things might have been different

not sure how to take AP really

1 - it's an ok album, wtf is roadhouse blues doing on it tho?

2 - it's prob not what jim would've wanted

3 - maybe he'd like it in a "its better than nothing" sort of way & be proud that it's (allegedly) the biggest ever selling poetry album

[TheWallsScreamedPoetry]

Mar 3, 2011 16:21:28 GMT adam said:

wtf is roadhouse blues doing on it tho?

Exactly mate.
That was put on to appease Doors fans.
No other reason for it. It is completely out of place.
I must admit I don't mind the music but would have preffered it without if I was given a vote.

Another thing that is there that absolutely should not have been is 'Death Of My Cock' which simply panders to the Miami Myth and Ray Manzareks viewpoint of The Doors.

If Manzarek hated 'Jimbo' so much why remind everyone about Miami by including that poem.
There are a huge amount of better poems to have included.
Ray Manzarek is obsessed with Jim Morrison's cock because he is THE biggest Morrison Groupie on the planet.

Bit of Doors live, bit of cock to spice things up and create controversy equals more dollars than an album of Jim poetry would ever have brought in.

I don't completely agree with Rotchilds argument that it was a 'rape' of Jim Morrison but I do understand where he is coming from with it.

The Doors and for that read Ray Manzarek sensationalised Jim's poetry and brought it to a wider audience.
It's hard to be too harsh on them as the end result was more Doors fans got into Morrison poetry.
But I still think Ray is a complete asshole.

[darkstar3]

Mar 3, 2011 16:21:28 GMT adam said:

i think the ultimate irony of AP is that had the doors been so supportive of morrison's poetry projects during his life time things might have been different

not sure how to take AP really

1 - it's an ok album, wtf is roadhouse blues doing on it tho?

2 - it's prob not what jim would've wanted

3 - maybe he'd like it in a "its better than nothing" sort of way & be proud that it's (allegedly) the biggest ever selling poetry album

I bought the American Prayer back in '78 when it was released and I liked it a lot. At the time I was unaware that Jim had recorded his poetry via a separate contract and his original intent was that the Doors not be included.

In 1994 or 95 I got a hold of a CD called "The Lost Paris Tapes" and like Alex, if I had a vote, I would lean towards the release of a poetry album without the instrumental effects being added by the surviving Doors.

The way I understand how American Prayer was set up for recording was Robby got a hold of John Haeny and inquired where Jim's poetry tapes might be. John Haeny supplied the tapes and the surviving Doors went about the task of listening to them. It is unlikely they had ever heard them before considering Jim's original wishes that this project was apart from The Doors.

The surviving Doors picked out lines from Jim's original tape(s) sometimes whole sentences, sometimes just a word or two and then pasted them together in a time line from what they thought was the beginning of Jim's life to his death. The inclusion of Roadhouse Blues was added to show the part in Jim's life when he was performing the song and also as a reminder of what the Doors sounded like in concert. Of course they left the part in at the end of the track where you can hear a woman suggest that Jim take the back door out the arena to avoid being attacked by fans 'who want to grab his body.'

Of course, the spliced up version with instrumental accompaniment was not Jim's intended idea. This method is the idea of those who worked on putting together An American Prayer. By splicing up Jim's words the original meaning of the poems he recorded loose there intended meaning. This fact is obvious when compared to hearing the "Lost Paris Tapes" CD and what is heard on "An American Prayer."

Like, Alex said, I don't quite agree with Rothchild's assessment completely that An American Prayer is a rape of Jim Morrison. I find it more like a disrespect of Jim's wishes. The album did bring more Doors fans into the fold and combined with the interest in "The End" being used in "Apocalypse Now" there was a considerable rise to the fan base at the end of the 1970s.

Jim Ladd promoted American Prayer on his radio show in L.A, during late night hours in 1979. This radio show was called The Doors Innerview back in '79 now days it is known as No One Here Gets Out Alive which was released by BMR.

Jim's poetry tapes were further used in another radio show which aired in the early 80's and hosted by Scott Muni called, "Three Hours For Magic."

Alex said Manzarek is an asshole. I think of him as a long time pervert as referenced by his sudden discharge from the Army way back in 1961. Over the years his perversions have been well documented in the press and on selected forums where there is no censorship.

[darkstar3]

Unfortunately I don't have a copy of the contract that Jim signed with Elektra for a poetry album but I have noticed some of you were inquiring about the Morrison/Courson Agreement that was signed back in 1975. Here is a copy of that agreement:


Morrison/Courson Agreement signed in 1975. This document was created to split Jim Morrison's Estate between the parents of James and Pamela.

[casandra]

Mar 3, 2011 19:08:52 GMT darkstar3 said:

Like, Alex said, I don't quite agree with Rothchild's assessment completely that An American Prayer is a rape of Jim Morrison. I find it more like a disrespect of Jim's wishes. The album did bring more Doors fans into the fold and combined with the interest in "The End" being used in "Apocalypse Now" there was a considerable rise to the fan base at the end of the 1970s.

After Rotschild should have changed his opinion about An American Prayer, because in the 1995 remastered version appears his name.

I like more The Lost Paris Tapes than An American Prayer. However, I think An American Prayer is good if you don't know other pieces of Jim's recording poetry. This is better than nothing.

I once read in a Spanish magazine that it was considered the worst kind of musical necrophilia. Well, I think this is a rather exaggerated claim.