Post by TheWallsScreamedPoetry on Apr 28, 2023 10:12:32 GMT
From Monks to Morrison By Vicki Greenleaf
As former keyboardist and founding member of The Doors - one of the most influential rock'n'roll groups of the formulative and turbulent '60s - Ray Manzarek's reputation precedes him as a manical rock'n'roller. Some 20 years later, Doors records continue to reap laudable sales as they are discovered by each new generation of rock fans. A newly released LP, Alive She Cried (Elektra) - containing previously unreleased, live Doors material - will undoubtedly garner even more listeners. Parasitic films such as the recent Eddie and the Cruisers keep alive speculation on whether Jim Morrison is truely dead or whether he's residing in Africa in obscurity. What did occur in Miami? What happened to the lost tapes - now found and used on the aforementioned Elektra release - Which contained rare footage of The
Doors live in concert at the Aquarius Theatre in Hollywood?
Therefore, it came as a surprise when Manzarek's most recent solo endeavor was a jazz/rock interpretation of a classical cantata, written in 1935 by the late German composer, Carl Orff. The cantata, Carmina Burana (A&M), was originally based on the poetry of 13th century "drop out" Latin monks, who left the Medieval clergy to roam the countryside drinking and enjoying the pleasures of the flesh that had been forbidden in the celibate, cloistered life of the monastery. Orff transformed the writings into invocations and profane chants, accompanied by instrumentation and magical representations.
Manzarek believes, however, that this should come as no surprise whatsoever. According to him, the monks were expressing the same thing that Morrison and The Doors were expressing in the '60s and what he's expressing today; the meaning of being alive and the pleasure of the moment and life. Working with renowned composer Philip Glass, Manzarek contemporized the piece for the 1980s.
Musically, the emotionally stirring quality of the dark and haunting piece is primarily attributable to it's minor overtures, which are readily apparent in Manzarek's keyboard style, in The Doors' music, in the blues that so heavily influenced Manzarek while growing up on the south side of Chicago, and in the Polish/Russian music that is part of Manzarek's Slavic roots. The emotion of the human voice was treated as an instrument rather than a vocal performance.
Manzarek took the time to speak with MR&M in his living room in the hills overlooking Hollywood. He discussed his solo work, working with Glass, who his audience is, his time with The Doors, his friendship with Jim Morrison, his work as record producer of the critically-acclaimed underground rock group X, and his outlook on life.
Modern Recording & Music: Your newly released solo album, Carmina Burana, doesn't seem like it was undertaken as a commercial venture, but as an artistic endeavour.
Ray Manzarek: It isn't a party album, no. But you can still dance to it. I figure it will take a while for people to get used to it and get into it. But the piece itself has a long life. It has been performed repeatedly since 1937. And I think my interpretation of it will have a long life as well. I really don't know what commercial is. What is commercial? To me, commercial is something that a lot of people like. If a lot of people like it and buy the record, it's commercial. If a few people buy it, then it's not commercial. If people like it is the important thing. I would like a lot of people to like it, but if only a small group of people like it, that's okay too. I enjoyed doing it. I really enjoyed doing it. It was lots and lots of fun. Philip Glass was great to work with. All the guys on the record are really good musicians, engineers and producers. First and foremost, the person making the record has to have a good time doing it. Then hopefully the people hearing the record will also have a good time listening to it. That's what I'm hoping for.
MR&M: Don't you think that an interpretation - even a jazz/rock interpretation - of a classical cantata will put a few rock fans, in particular Doors fans, into culture shock?
RM: Let's hope so. But I don't think that this is a cultural piece. I think this is an apocalyptic piece. I think this is a piece of music for the end of the world. I think rock fans - in particular heavy metal people - can really get behind this record and understand it. I think they can understand the power of it. When I made this record, I didn't want to exclude anybody or do any kind of big-deal intellectual trip. This music is for the end of the world, the apocalypse. These are sounds you will hear when the apocalypse comes.
MR&M: So, you're comparing the dark underworld of the monks in the 13th century to the dark underworld of rock 'n' roll?
RM: Yes, exactly! Exactly. That's perfect. That's exactly what's going on. It's representative of the dark underside where all the devils and demons live, but also where the power to create is and where the power of the planet to create life is.
Life comes out of the mud, out of the ooze and the muck. That's where life comes from. You inject electricity into the muck and life forms. That's the dark underside. Carmina Burana and rock 'n' roll represent the same thing. Ozzy Osborne is the dark side, a little overly theatrical, but nonetheless the dark side. He's been wallowing in the mire for some time now, so he could use a little sunlight in those dark corners.
MR&M:So, rather than evolving, art moves in a circular pattern, always returning to the same basic premises?
RM:Circular, circular. The first cut on the album is called "Wheel of Fortune" and that's what happens. Things go around. They don't go in a straight line. They go around and then they disappear for a while, but they come back. Around and around.
MR&M: So art never changes?
RM: Technology changes. That's what changes. The monks who wrote this stuff in the 13th century were writing about the same sort of thing that we're writing about today and that Morrison was writing about in the '60s. It's the same kind of revelry - drunken revelry, just reveling in life; love, sex, drinking, wandering, springtime, drinking. It as the same back then, the same in the '60s and it's the same today. The only thing that has changed is that we now have tape recorders and electric lights and a television set. You can have this printed in a newspaper. Back then, it was all done by hand and that's all they had. Technology changes, but the needs of humanity don't.
MR&M: You're mentioned "the power" of Carmina Burana? What is that power?
RM: The spiritual power, not in a religious sense, but meaning the power of the sprit; the spirit that animates your body.. the soul, if you want. It's what leaves your body when you die. If somebody dies, the body is there, but the sprit - the power - has left the body. And it's the power of all creation, the spirit of all creation.
MR&M: Is Carmina Burana your legacy?
RM: I don't know exactly what to tell you. The moment is infinite, but the moment is the moment. Pleasures of the flesh are so immediate. It's the only thing that exists, but at one in the same time it's lasting. Life is immediate and infinite. Not being concerned with what's going to happen to you. We all have things we need to take care of, but living is for the moment. It's exactly the same thing that Morrison was talking about. This is like Doors' music; living for the moment and for the here and now. Just really living life to the fullest, enjoying it here and now.
MR&M: That's what it touched in you?
RM: Yeah. I've always wanted to do the piece. I've enjoyed it for a long time and I came to the conclusion that I would do it two or three years ago. I got the music and was sitting at the piano reading it and I thought, "Gee, this is perfect. This rocks out. This is classical music, but it rocks out. It can be done with drums, bass, electric guitar and synthesizers with an entire chorus on top of it." I did the entire symphonic part electronically, generated by synthesizers.
MR&M: Are listeners ready for this?
RM: They're ready for it. They are ready for it.
MR&M: But is radio programming ready for it?
RM: Radio programming is almost ready for it. The more adventuresome radio programmers - certainly KNEC [Los Angeles] and others like them - are ready for it. KMET [Los Angeles] and KLOS [Los Angeles] need it. They need to find a direction for a little bit more mature person who still enjoys listening to rock 'n' roll. If they turn their backs on this and say, "No, no, no. We can't play this," then they're turning their backs on their adulthood. But it's also music for kids, because the kids are going to get off on this. They're open to a lot of things. They know the apocalypse is coming. They know that the shit might hit the fan at any moment.
MR&M: You certainly seem to have a pessimistic look on life.
RM: No, no, no! Don't put me down as a pessimist - negative. I'm not a pessimist. Don't say that Ray has a pessimistic, gloomy outlook on life. I don't want to read that. No! It's coming, but it doesn't have to happen. But I'll tell you that the only way to stop it from coming is to dance madly, to dance wildly and to celebrate life, to go into drunken orgies of wild celebrations of life. And what could be more fun? What could be more fun than having a real orgiastic wild celebration. And not in a negative, sexual sense. "Oh, Manzarek wants orgies..." Well, yeah, Manzarek does want orgies. Exactly. Yeah, right. I want big, joyous, in-touch-with-the-earth orgiastic drinking and love-making. I think we could use a lot more of that, especially in America. If we could just get that kind of action going in America and Russia, I think everything would be just fine.
MR&M: The Doors' approach - as well as your own approach - to music is extremely intense and serious. Yet people are so caught up in the vicarious thrills of speculating on such matters as whether or not Jim Morrison is alive and well in Africa. Movies like the recently released Eddie and the Cruisers overly make reference to that legend. Does that superficially bother you when you're putting so much of your soul into the music?
RM: As Jim always said, "Just listen to my words. Just listen to my words." Naturally, people are going to be attracted to Morrison's persona. I can't fault them for that. What happened in Miami? Is he really dead? Did he disappear? Those are sensational aspects of the guy's life. It all happened and it's fine if you're intrigued with that. But you really aught to know what he was talking about, what the words are about. I can't fault people, but I wish they would get into the music and the words, so they could get into the reality of being alive, to being on this planet. I think it's a hell of a lot more important for them to get into realizing what the power is that makes a tree grow. They may say, "Who cares man? I don't care what makes trees grow." Well, you had better care about that, because that same power that makes a tree grow is the power that animates me and you. So, there's a lot more to life than Eddie and the Cruisers.
MR&M: I suppose that most people are just sad that he died so young and wish they could resurrect his creativeness through fantasy.
RM: He lived a very, very full life. It's the intensity with which you live your life that's important. People could live for 85 years and it's all mashed potatoes and marshmallows. Yuck. Who cares? You've got to grab life and live it; live it fully, madly, wildly and fall in love with it. I'm not promoting angel dust madness, that's just "kookooness." I'm talking about a heightened state of consciousness through intoxication and being madly in love with life. That's what it's about.
MR&M: Do you miss the craziness of your days with The Doors?
RM: No. I didn't particularly like the craziness while it was going on and I certainly don't miss it now. What I do miss is the intensity of performing with Jim Morrison, John Densmore and Robby Krieger. The kookooness was peripheral stuff that nobody really liked. It's part of the game, but it's certainly not what you play the game for. We played the game to be able to get on stage and play our music and to get into a recording studio and play our music and have people appreciate our music. It got to the point where people in the audience were having the same kind of emotional experience that we were having on stage. We had this real communion of soul and spirit that was locked into the music. That's the part that I miss.
MR&M: One of your other projects has been producing X. Why did you get involved with X? Is that same substance in their music?
RM: They believe in their music. They believe that what they say matters. They believe that it isn't just entertainment. It is entertaining, but it isn't just entertainment. What they are saying the way they're playing means something to them and they want it to mean something to the audience. They're talking about life. They're talking about feeling alive. They're talking about exactly the same thing that the monks were talking about, that Carmina Burana is talking about, and what Morrison was talking about. We're all talking about the same thing - about being alive.