Post by tzinana on Jul 22, 2005 3:48:10 GMT
"WHO WERE THE DOORS ANYWAY? MOVIE RESURRECTS
JIM MORRISON AND CLASSIC '60S ROCK"
By BRIAN G. BOURKE
The Post-Standard (Syracuse, NY)
February 28, 1991
This year could be the best ever for the Doors. Even
bigger than 1980, the group's biggest year in terms of
music and merchandise sales.
That's pretty remarkable when you consider that the
Doors broke up in 1971 after the death of vocalist Jim
Morrison.
The resurgence in the Doors' popularity in 1980
accompanied the release of Francis Ford Coppola's
"Apocalypse Now," which featured the group's music,
and the publication of Morrison's biography, "No One
Here Gets Out Alive" by Jerry Hopkins and Daniel
Sugerman.
Now there's Oliver Stone's film "The Doors," which
opens Friday. Elektra Records expect sales of the
Doors' catalog to be better than ever.
Even without blockbuster films, the Doors' music would
have stood the test of time. It mixed jazz, rock,
folk, blues and poetry into a musical package that
seemed just right in 1967. And it's sounded just that
way to millions of ears ever since.
Much has been made of the larger-than-life legacy of
the Doors' leader Morrison, but the group was really a
mixture of four unique talents. Guitarist Robby
Krieger brought jazz touches to the band and wrote two
of its biggest hits, "Light My Fire" and "Love Me Two
Times." Organist Ray Manzarek contributed a knowledge
of the classics and a love of boogie-woogie. And
drummer John Densmore could do it all.
The band's name came from Morrison, based on a quote
from poet William Blake -- "There are things that are
known and things that are unknown; in between are the
doors" -- and the title of Aldous Huxley's book "The
Doors of Perception." The band's purpose was stated in
its very first single, "Break on Through."
That single went nowhere, but the next release, "Light
My Fire," helped turn the Doors' first album into a
gold, then platinum, seller. It also included the
Oedipal "The End," considered one of the band's best
pieces of work.
The band was soon among the country's biggest and
Morrison among its most charismatic, controversial
figures. Depending on who you talked to, the singer
who didn't live to see his 28th birthday was either a
rock-god, sex symbol or a worthless drunk.
Morrison's desire to "Break on through to the other
side" often involved substance abuse. His first drugs
of choice were psychedelics, such as LSD and
mescaline. He soon added alcohol to the mix.
Whether the drug-alcohol combination led to Morrison's
death is a matter of speculation. His is a death
shrouded in mystery. The singer had put the band on
hold and retreated to Paris with girlfriend Pamela
Courson. He reportedly died in the bathtub of heart
failure, although there was no autopsy and only
Courson saw the body. Some say Morrison faked his
death to escape it all.
If Jim Morrison did finally break on through, he
neglected to take us with him. But thanks to the man
and his band, there's some great music left behind.
THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE DOORS
To get a good handle on the Doors, start where the
band did with the 1967 album "The Doors." The album
opens with "Break On Through," and breaking down
musical barriers is what the album is all about.
There's some Chicago blues here, plus a musical
theater piece from Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill and
the hit that established the Doors, "Light My Fire."
If you're going to add only one Doors album to your
collection, this should be it.
The follow-up album, "Strange Days," was not nearly as
revolutionary as the debut, but it continued the
Doors' ascension and it certainly has some very
powerful moments. The best here are the title cut,
Krieger's "Love Me Two Times," Morrison's
slice-of-life observations in "People Are Strange" and
the anthemic "When the Music's Over."
After a slight slump, the band came roaring back in
1970 with "Morrison Hotel/Hard Rock Cafe." The 11
songs here are both autobiographical sketches and
vignettes of America as a whole. This ranks with "The
Doors" as the band's best.
"L.A. Woman" was the last album before Morrison's
death in 1971 and it features some of the band's
bluesiet, hardest rocking material to date.
"An American Prayer," released in 1978, combines
Morrison's poetry with a live "Roadhouse Blues" and
music composed by the three surviving Doors.
A "Greatest Hits" package was released in the early
'80s, but there's more to this band than the hits. Not
recommended.
JIM MORRISON AND CLASSIC '60S ROCK"
By BRIAN G. BOURKE
The Post-Standard (Syracuse, NY)
February 28, 1991
This year could be the best ever for the Doors. Even
bigger than 1980, the group's biggest year in terms of
music and merchandise sales.
That's pretty remarkable when you consider that the
Doors broke up in 1971 after the death of vocalist Jim
Morrison.
The resurgence in the Doors' popularity in 1980
accompanied the release of Francis Ford Coppola's
"Apocalypse Now," which featured the group's music,
and the publication of Morrison's biography, "No One
Here Gets Out Alive" by Jerry Hopkins and Daniel
Sugerman.
Now there's Oliver Stone's film "The Doors," which
opens Friday. Elektra Records expect sales of the
Doors' catalog to be better than ever.
Even without blockbuster films, the Doors' music would
have stood the test of time. It mixed jazz, rock,
folk, blues and poetry into a musical package that
seemed just right in 1967. And it's sounded just that
way to millions of ears ever since.
Much has been made of the larger-than-life legacy of
the Doors' leader Morrison, but the group was really a
mixture of four unique talents. Guitarist Robby
Krieger brought jazz touches to the band and wrote two
of its biggest hits, "Light My Fire" and "Love Me Two
Times." Organist Ray Manzarek contributed a knowledge
of the classics and a love of boogie-woogie. And
drummer John Densmore could do it all.
The band's name came from Morrison, based on a quote
from poet William Blake -- "There are things that are
known and things that are unknown; in between are the
doors" -- and the title of Aldous Huxley's book "The
Doors of Perception." The band's purpose was stated in
its very first single, "Break on Through."
That single went nowhere, but the next release, "Light
My Fire," helped turn the Doors' first album into a
gold, then platinum, seller. It also included the
Oedipal "The End," considered one of the band's best
pieces of work.
The band was soon among the country's biggest and
Morrison among its most charismatic, controversial
figures. Depending on who you talked to, the singer
who didn't live to see his 28th birthday was either a
rock-god, sex symbol or a worthless drunk.
Morrison's desire to "Break on through to the other
side" often involved substance abuse. His first drugs
of choice were psychedelics, such as LSD and
mescaline. He soon added alcohol to the mix.
Whether the drug-alcohol combination led to Morrison's
death is a matter of speculation. His is a death
shrouded in mystery. The singer had put the band on
hold and retreated to Paris with girlfriend Pamela
Courson. He reportedly died in the bathtub of heart
failure, although there was no autopsy and only
Courson saw the body. Some say Morrison faked his
death to escape it all.
If Jim Morrison did finally break on through, he
neglected to take us with him. But thanks to the man
and his band, there's some great music left behind.
THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE DOORS
To get a good handle on the Doors, start where the
band did with the 1967 album "The Doors." The album
opens with "Break On Through," and breaking down
musical barriers is what the album is all about.
There's some Chicago blues here, plus a musical
theater piece from Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill and
the hit that established the Doors, "Light My Fire."
If you're going to add only one Doors album to your
collection, this should be it.
The follow-up album, "Strange Days," was not nearly as
revolutionary as the debut, but it continued the
Doors' ascension and it certainly has some very
powerful moments. The best here are the title cut,
Krieger's "Love Me Two Times," Morrison's
slice-of-life observations in "People Are Strange" and
the anthemic "When the Music's Over."
After a slight slump, the band came roaring back in
1970 with "Morrison Hotel/Hard Rock Cafe." The 11
songs here are both autobiographical sketches and
vignettes of America as a whole. This ranks with "The
Doors" as the band's best.
"L.A. Woman" was the last album before Morrison's
death in 1971 and it features some of the band's
bluesiet, hardest rocking material to date.
"An American Prayer," released in 1978, combines
Morrison's poetry with a live "Roadhouse Blues" and
music composed by the three surviving Doors.
A "Greatest Hits" package was released in the early
'80s, but there's more to this band than the hits. Not
recommended.