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Post by TheWallsScreamedPoetry on Mar 25, 2011 18:56:44 GMT
 
Ballads Before The Rain: 2008
Track Listing
1 Gnossienne No. 1
2 B.E. In Memorium
3 El Amor Brujo
4 Remembering You
5 Crystal Ship
6 Love Is A Dangerous Place
7 Ruby Red Nails
8 Riders On The Storm
9 American Pastoral    |
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Post by TheWallsScreamedPoetry on Mar 25, 2011 19:00:13 GMT
Transcendental Blues and the Girl with a Shoe: An Evening with Roy Rogers & Ray Manzarek.
As I shifted in my chair at the Curtis Park 24th Street Theatre, I thought about when I was 13, back in New York. I’d just put my first order in with Columbia House Records: The Doors, Roadhouse Blues. Now, some 30 years later, I was waiting for the last few stragglers to be seated for an evening performance with slide virtuoso Roy Rogers and Ray Manzarek, known most widely for co-founding and being the keyboardist/bassist for the Doors.
I was curious beyond words to hear what Doors stories Manzarek has. After so many books, movies and years have passed, I couldn’t imagine what there was left to tell. Even more so, I was excited to finally hear the new material he and Rogers are now producing for their upcoming album, Translucent Blues, to be released in the earlier part of next year.
Opening the show was Electropoetic Coffee, the duo of award-winning guitarist Ross Hammond and poet Lawrence Dinkins, Jr., a.k.a. NSAA (pronounced En-Sah-Ah).
The pair of young men covered topics from national disasters to politics and the economy with a theatrically polished Sydney Poitier style. The delivery of their material was exacting, gritty and intense. With their free-form metaphoric approach and Hammond’s ethereal loops and echos, Electropoetic Coffee should get out of the Java Houses and over to Off-Broadway where they ultimately belong.
It had started raining by the time the house lights went down again, which only added to the intimacy of the room’s ambiance. So, on the evening of a full moon, one of the creators of my favorite Doors song, “Riders On The Storm,” would be taking the stage to the sound of rain.
After brief greetings to the audience, Rogers picked up his guitar and Manzarek took a seat behind his keyboard. There was no hesitation about getting straight to it, and they launched the perfect song to kick things off, “Presidential Boogie.”
Manzarek then conjured up an impromptu “Sacramento Blues,” singing lyrics he most likely made up as he went. It made for a great ice-breaker with the audience as he took a poke at Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and sang about budget woes.
While Rogers changed guitars, opting for his double-necked monster, Manzarek continued with a beautifully light, jazzy piece he dedicated to Gil Evans, who worked closely with Miles Davis at one time.
The mood was light, and the music was crisp and full of purpose. Even though I’ve seen him a few times, Rogers’ speed and style left my mouth hanging open. He worked one end of the guitar while notes he’d just played sustained themselves forever. He successfully filled pockets between notes, creating floating transitions where, only seconds earlier, there was nothing but piano. It was almost as if there were three or four musicians instead of two.
The room maintained a hypnotic silence until Manzarek snapped everybody out of it by suddenly injecting a riff from “Light My Fire.”
“Well, I know you must have some questions,” he said. “I think I see a microphone over there so, let’s go.”
Many of the questions were about typical things such as how he started The Doors and what his favorite moments were. Then, the mood took a slight turn when a woman stood up from her seat in the middle of the front section and shouted “More music, less verbage!” to which everyone immediately started murmuring…“Bourbon? Bourbon?”
It then turned into a joke the two men made on stage about them playing music for bourbon. While the audience told the woman to sit down and shut up, a young girl approached the microphone and nervously said hello to Manzarek.
“You don’t know how incredible it is for me to be standing here talking to you,” she said. “Your music…you changed my whole life.”
Manzarek thanked her and waved for the next question, but the girl had something in her hands.
“I didn’t have anything to bring, so I brought my shoe…” Her voice cracked and she started to cry a little. “I know I’ll never have a chance to tell you how much this night means to me and how meeting you is something I know… is just a once-in-a-lifetime…so I have my shoe. It’s a Chuck Converse Doors edition shoe. I wondered if you’d sign it for me?” She shook, struggling to speak through the tears and her nerves, and courageously held up the shoe.
At this point, half the audience is trying to inconspicuously wipe their teary eyes.
Manzarek quickly smiled, waving his hand. “No, but thank you, I really…I really can’t.” Then he paused, “Do you even have a pen?”
“Please…please, no...I don’t have a pen…” She looked at him, and then she turned to the audience.
It was now or never. I reached down into my camera bag where I always have an extra Sharpie. Grabbing the pen, I ran across the front of house and handed it to her.
Turning to Manzarek, I said, quite loudly, “Sign the shoe!” And, as echoes of “Sign it, Sign it… began to stir the room, one of the most uber-legendary Rock-N-Roll artists in the country bent down at the edge of the stage, reached out to young Kayla Platsis and signed her shoe. The crowd roared to its feet. Manzarek took a bow.
The next question was about the accuracy of the Oliver Stone movie, The Doors. (I had read that Stone and Manzarek clashed during the making of this film, so I was glad someone had brought it up. I wanted to hear his side of the story.)
Manzarek immediately preempted his answer with a disclaimer, stating that he and Stone do not get along to this day, and wanted to make it clear that the movie is not an accurate reflection of The Doors or of Jim Morrison. He talked about how Stone, fueled by cocaine and tequila binges, ultimately created a movie more about how, quite possibly, Stone might like to imagine himself running around day after day in leather pants, rather than tell a factual story about The Doors.
Manzarek took a minute to explain how, in the early days, they couldn’t even get a paid gig. That life, early on, was slow and quiet. He and Morrison would walk along Venice Beach discussing philosophy, wondering, “Why we were here to begin with. What did it all mean?”
Manzarek continued, “Jim had a very serious, sober, side. The shaman, the poet, the philosophic man he was, was nowhere to be found in that movie.”
Instead, he said, there was a lot of money spent by Stone to create “a cool story that people could relate to” with an actor who looked as close to Morrison as possible. That there was more drive to create a drug-filled fantasy film about things that didn’t ever happen and to portray other things as he saw fit, as long as it made money.
Manzarek recommended that those interested in accuracy should consider looking at Tom DiCillo’s When You Are Strange. Narrated by Johnny Depp, for whom Manzarek had nothing but compliments, the film includes commentary from Morrison’s sister and father.
Manzarek closed the Q-and-A session with his rendition of “Crystal Ship.”
It was an eerie feeling to hear the piece, and Rogers added to the goosebump effect by leaving the stage during the song. As Manzarek sat playing under the blue stage lights, I almost expected Morrison’s voice to come floating out of the air to accompany his friend.
With Rogers returning to the stage, it was time for some grit and gravy – time to get to the business of serious, down-home blues. The pair ripped into some Hookeresque material, and then some more traditional blues that showcased Rogers’ phenomenal handwork as he danced across the guitar, making it scream and wail.
Rogers changed guitars a third time to a mini electric Les Paul for this part of the set. There is a reason why Roy Rogers is on the short list of true slide guitar maestros. He is among the elite in his craft, and it’s a privilege to see him perform.
The tempo eventually started to come to a slower pace, and the twangin’ grew to a soft murmur as Manzarek took on an almost classical approach to a new version of “Riders on the Storm.”
Rogers, back on the double neck, added feedback sounds and his own touch to the version. Again, I had to keep reminding myself that there were only the two of them up there.
Roy and Ray were fantastic hosts to an adoring crowd that stomped the floor for an encore and was rewarded with one more, a healthy serving of the title cut of their musical journey together, “Transcendental Blues.”
Oct 27, 2010 | Sacramento Press
Mary Franklin
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Post by TheWallsScreamedPoetry on Mar 26, 2011 9:50:49 GMT
a young girl approached the microphone and nervously said hello to Manzarek.
“You don’t know how incredible it is for me to be standing here talking to you,” she said. “Your music…you changed my whole life.”
Manzarek thanked her and waved for the next question, but the girl had something in her hands.
“I didn’t have anything to bring, so I brought my shoe…” Her voice cracked and she started to cry a little. “I know I’ll never have a chance to tell you how much this night means to me and how meeting you is something I know… is just a once-in-a-lifetime…so I have my shoe. It’s a Chuck Converse Doors edition shoe. I wondered if you’d sign it for me?” She shook, struggling to speak through the tears and her nerves, and courageously held up the shoe.
At this point, half the audience is trying to inconspicuously wipe their teary eyes.
Manzarek quickly smiled, waving his hand. “No, but thank you, I really…I really can’t.” Then he paused, “Do you even have a pen?”
what Ray meant was do you have a pen and ten bucks 
Ray has now become Ray the Evangelist. Sharing the teachings of Jim Morrison.
It's like the Monty Python film Life Of Brian 'follow the gourd' .....'no follow the shoe'.
The Holy Shoe a crap sneaker with Jim Morrisons mug.
Quite astoundingly sad really. Ray Manzarek, as well as many Doors fans, has certainly, to quote Matt Johnson, forgotten the message and worships the creed.
As far as the album is concerned I listened to the samples on the website and it sounds quite good. Very bluesy and Ray's vocals sound good as well.
I have Ballad's Before The Rain and it's pretty decent and I will likely get hold of this one too.
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Post by darkstar3 on Apr 3, 2011 20:07:42 GMT
Austin Daily Herald
Austin, Minnesota
Rock ‘n’roll Icon Playing Paramount
Published 5:00pm Saturday, April 2, 2011
Austin will soon have a chance to rub elbows with a rock ‘n’ roll icon.
Doors keyboardist Ray Manzarek and renowned slide-guitarist Roy Rogers will perform at the Paramount Theatre at 7:30 p.m. on April 23. Along with a performance, the audience will have a chance to ask Manzarek and Rogers questions about their experiences in rock ‘n’ roll.
“We’ll be playing the blues and some Doors songs,” Manzarek said in a phone interview.
The discussion can touch on a wide range of topics from The Doors and Jim Morrison to discussion about life’s meaning and what happens in your mind when you take LSD.
“They’ll be up close and personal with Ray Manzarek and Roy Rogers,” Manzarek said. “We’ll talk about rock ‘n’ roll and Jim Morrison, and there will also be some discussion on why we’re on planet earth.”
Manzarek said the partnership with Rogers lent itself to being more interactive.
“The partnership with Roy is unique,” Manzarek said. “You will be seeing a unique performance right there in Minnesota that you’ve probably never seen anything quite like it before, I might say. This will be a unique experience for (the audience).”
The concert won’t be just be about the past. Mazarek and Rogers are touring to promote their new album “Translucent Blues,” which is set to be released May 24.
Though the two have been playing together for more than five years, Rogers and Manzarek’s partnership started as a fluke when the two were paired in a performance by a mutual booking agent.
“Things kind of clicked,” Rogers said. “From that point on, we just started performing together.”
Rogers said his own slide guitar blended seamlessly with Manzarek’s distinctive keyboard style. Manzarek agreed there was something in the air when the two performed.
“There’s an atmosphere in the air that’s created by people working together, and that atmosphere was passionate and harmonic,” Manzarek said. “We said, ‘Let’s do some more of this.’”
Rogers and Manzarek took the partnership into the studio and recorded “Ballads Before the Rain” as a duet. The duo recently enlisted the help of a backing band and well-known poets to make “Translucent Blues,” which is set to be released May 24.
“It’s a rock and blues thing, but it’s got a very … distinct character to it,” Rogers said of the album.
While Rogers said “Ballads Before the Rain” was more eclectic, he noted “Translucent Blues” is more accessible.
“We’re very, very excited about this recording,” Rogers said.
Along with help from the late Warren Zevon, writer Jim Carroll and poet Michael McClure contributed lyrics for the album. Manzarek said it was important for them to have good words for the album.
“Poets have a way of working with words,” he said. “They have a lot to say.”
Though the pair is performing some shows backed by a band, Austin’s performance will be strictly a duet. That style lends itself to a more intimate setting that encourages interaction with the audience.
“It’s a great way for the audience to interact with the performers and we delight in that,” Rogers said. “That’s what that duet is about.”
“People love up close and personal and intimate,” Manzarek agreed.
Rogers said Manzarek is open about his time with The Doors and is very accessible to the audience.
“He manages to discuss it in terms that bring it all the way forward,” Rogers said. “That’s a good thing. This is not a nostalgic thing at all.”
Scott Anderson, Paramount general manager, said he hopes the draws a large crowd because Manzarek is a household name in rock.
“If you’re someone who’s my age and you’re into music, you’re going to know that name,” he said. “Everyone knows The Doors.”
Tickets are on sale at the Paramount for $24.
“We are looking forward to coming out to the Midwest,” Rogers said.
www.austindailyherald.com/2011/04/02/rock-nroll-icon-playing-paramount/
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Post by TheWallsScreamedPoetry on Apr 3, 2011 20:54:33 GMT
I can understand why people would enjoy Ray and Roy playing music as it's good music but....... “They’ll be up close and personal with Ray Manzarek and Roy Rogers,” Manzarek said. “We’ll talk about rock ‘n’ roll and Jim Morrison, and there will also be some discussion on why we’re on planet earth.”......who the hell would want to discuss the meaning of life with a arrogant twat like Manzarek. He portrays Morrison as some kind of God figure with one hand and slags him off as a drunk with the other. The guy is one of the biggest knobs in rock music. The new album sounds decent from the samples but the rest is opportunistic bullshit from a liar and hypocrite. I never thought Ray could top the vomit inducing cover band but this beats even that garbage. |
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Post by jym on May 4, 2011 22:20:57 GMT
Thanks Alex!
Jim
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Post by TheWallsScreamedPoetry on May 27, 2011 10:17:19 GMT
My thoughts from 2011's Scorpywag fanzine on this damn good bluesy album.    Translucent Blues 2011 Hurricane 4:28
River Of Madness 7:09
Game Of Skill 4:01
Fives And Ones 4:03
Kick 4:49
Tension 6:18
Blues In My Shoes 4:51
New Dodge City Blues 4:45
Greenhouse Blues 4:56
Those Hits Just Keep On Comin' 3:32
As You Leave 4:24
An Organ, A Guitar And A Chicken Wing 5:42 One thing this album does confirm is how strong Ray Manzarek is as a vocalist in both lead and support roles.
Written by the late great Warren Zevon a perfect example of this is 'River Of Madness', which is sung by Roy but held together by an excellent Ray backing vocal.
It's pointless mentioning how good the musicianship is as Ray Manzarek is one of my fave keyboard players and a rock legend and Roy Rogers, although I am not that familiar with him as I am with Ray, is a supreme example of the art of guitar playing.
It's funny but several tracks on this album hark back to Ray's superb 1970's efforts and could quite easily have appeared on the 'Golden Scarab' such as Jim Carroll's 'Hurricane' and 'The Whole Thing Started' could have easily contained 'Game Of Skill'.
The tracks which feature Ray on vocals work better as Screamin' Ray is such an accomplished blues vocalist. For me Roy is weak as a blues singer.
Decent enough but overall weak.
'Fives and Ones' illustrates this point well enough as the track is held back by Roy’s vocal skills but rescued by his guitar prowess and solid support from Ray’s piano and a good solid rhythm section in Steve Evans on bass and Kevin Hayes on drums.
'Kick' is another good number with Ray’s superb sleazy vocals and piano with George Brooks adding a buttress of very nice saxophone.
'Kick' and the following track 'Tension' more examples of how Ray in 2011 is linked to his 1974 and 1975 solo albums. Both could easily be more out takes from those albums.
'Tension' again with Ray on lead vocal another example of the two vocal styles as Roy comes in half way through and interrupts the flow until Ray restores balance with his Chicago blues musings once again.
It really is one of the failings of the album and shows that the unusually reticent Ray Manzarek should have taken control from the start and sung all the songs allowing Roy simply a support vocal role.
The man is without doubt an excellent musician but a poor blues singer.
'Blues In My Shoes' led by Roy was crying out for Screamin' Ray Daniels and as a result is one of the albums few poor moments saved only by the musicianship and in particular Ray’s Honky-Tonk piano and a nice bit of slide playing and some infectious handclapping. Ray is back with 'New Dodge City Blues' which puts the album back on track and as we haven’t mentioned The Doors once yet would have been a nice B Side for the band as it is perfect for John Densmore and Robby Krieger to add their magic to.
Not that the guys who are there are in any way poor substitutes as they are more than fine on this track.
The rhythm section gives excellent support to Ray and Roy and once again Ray’s piano and organ skills shine.
'Greenhouse Blues' another lovely bluesy number this time with Roy providing his best effort but still sadly lacking and once again this great little song was crying out for Ray Manzarek.
It’s one of the many musical highlights of the album with Brooks coming in with some mellow sax magic juxtaposed with Ray’s tinkling piano and Roy’s cleverly subdued guitar notes.
Would have been THE highlight if Ray had sang it.'Those Hits Just Keep On Comin' once again dampened by another Roy vocal but strong musically as we get to 'As You Leave' an instrumental track that would sound great in a laid back smoky blues club cellar on a damp Friday night.
Heavily atmospheric with an underscore of Ray's haunting piano and Brook’s ethereal sax playing.
For me one of the highlights of the whole thing and not a vocal in sight from anyone.
We end in instrumental territory with everyone having fun jamming on a 6 minute ‘An Organ, A Guitar And A Chicken Wing'.
Swirling sax, funky keyboards and guitar held together with a cool rythm section make a fitting finale to a damn good blues album.
As I said it flags a bit when Roy is on vocal duties but Ray keeps it on track with his superb Screamin' Ray attributes and overall it works very well.
Five good musicians a handfull of decent songs contributed by Carroll, Zevon and the Michaels, McClure and Ford and you get simply Translucent Blues, eloquent and expressive.
Alex Patton 27th May 2011
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Post by TheWallsScreamedPoetry on Jun 2, 2011 9:32:12 GMT
SKIP: This Week's New Music
Posted: 05/25/11 01:27 PM ET
SKIP: Ray Manzarek and Roy Rogers, Translucent Blues
Ray Manzarek continues to remind us why most '60s rockers need to lie low once and for all -- especially when a band's frontman has left the building. After milking the Doors gravy train for all he could (including an embarrassing "Doors of the 21st Century" project that was shut down, thanks to a lawsuit by Doors drummer John Densmore), Manzarek is left to impersonating a bar band with Northern California slide guitarist Roy Rogers. It's actually a pretty good impersonation. Grab some darts, a pitcher of beer, and pull your ponytail back. If you're lucky, ol' Ray might even play you "Love Me Two Times." Remember to tip your waitresses.
Shawn Amos PopNews Wire
I do think this a bit unfair on Ray and it seems to have been the dominant opinion since 1971's Other Voices effort.
Let's be clear, I don't like Ray at all as a human being.
But I do have a deep affection for most of his musical output since The Doors demise in 1973.
Golden Scarab for me is one of the great pomp rock albums of the 70s. Bombastic and Grandiloquent as hell but excellent music and a great theme. Yes it was insane but it was fun as well.
His interpretation, with Phil Glass, of Carmina Burana is absolutely excellent.
Nite City were a better AOR band than many who made the breakthrough. His work with poets throws up some utter gems.
His vocal work has always been good right from his Doors days.
Of course he was not Jim Morrison but he does not pretend to be.
Yes he did indeed embarrass himself with the ridiculous tribute "Doors of the 21st Century" project but throughout the last 40 years he has made an effort to bring out diverse and distinct musical projects. Not all of them work but it is unfair to say 60s rockers have nothing to contribute in the 21st century.
I bet that guy would not dare say that to Jimmy Page.
People may say it is hypocritical of me to defend Ray the musician when I say so much about Ray the man.
But I have always been able to differentiate between the two and the actions of one does not reflect completely on the other.
Yes as a human being I would not trust Ray with the contents of my rubbish bin.
The man is a greedy liar.
But the musician is always worth listening to when he tries to separate himself from his constant milking of Jim Morrison and puts out an album like this.
I will always defend the musician even though I have no liking for the individual behind the music. 
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Post by TheWallsScreamedPoetry on Jun 8, 2011 9:58:38 GMT
It's funny but several tracks on this album hark back to Ray's superb 1970's efforts and could quite easily have appeared on the 'Golden Scarab' such as Jim Carroll's 'Hurricane' and 'The Whole Thing Started' could have easily contained 'Game Of Skill'. Silly me! Game Of Skill is indeed a track that first appeared on the debut Nite City album. Which was excellent by the way. Nite City 1st LP!
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Post by TheWallsScreamedPoetry on Oct 11, 2022 11:18:18 GMT
This 2013 effort isn't as good as 2011's Translucent Blues but still is worthy of attention.   Twisted Tales 2013
Just Like Sherlock Holmes
Eagle In A Whirlpool
Cops Talk
Street Of Crocodiles
American Woman
Shoulder Ghosts
The Will To Survive
Black Wine / Spank Me With A Rose
State Of The World
Numbers
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Post by TheWallsScreamedPoetry on Nov 7, 2023 10:27:56 GMT
New CD from Ray Manzarek and Roy Rogers to be released in May!
Blind Pig Records has announced an agreement to release a new album from Ray
Manzarek, co-founder and keyboardist of The Doors, and member of the Rock
and Roll Hall of Fame and Roy Rogers, world renowned slide guitar master and
Grammy winning producer. The CD, entitled Translucent Blues, will be released
on May 24.
The release is a hard driving blues/rock project with influences from blues, rock
and jazz and lyrics that include tinges of poetry and literature. A contemporary
recording with soul, intensity and creative energy, the album features songs with
multi-layered arrangements, solid driving grooves and stylistic depth. They are
energetic and strong - with music and lyric collaborations from Manzarek and
Rogers, and lyric contributions from the likes of Warren Zevon, Jim Carroll and
poet Michael McClure.
Ray Manzarek said of the album, "This is a head-first dive into American
contemporary Blues. Roy and I take the unique art form of the Blues and add a
21st century twist to the genre. We are working with a group of great American
poets: Michael McClure, famed beat and close friend of Jack Kerouac and
Alan Ginsburg; Jim Carroll of 'The Basketball Diaries' fame; Warren Zevon - the
'Werewolf of London' himself; Michael C. Ford, noted L.A. jazz poet and good
friend of Jim Morrison's; and Scott Richardson, blues rocker of Michigan's 'The
Scott Richardson Case' and now a California seeker of ultimate mystical
experiences. Their lyrics are superb, succinct, now, and salient. What Roy and I
have weaved around their words are songs that are not standard 12 bar, but do, in
fact, live and breathe in the dark, underground world... of the Blues! 'Translucent
Blues'"
Roy Rogers added, "This collaboration with Ray was a joy from start to finish.
We found inspiration not only from the music and lyrics, but most of all from
each other--to create a great sound. To me, the blues is as complex a music
as it gets--either you feel it or you don't. But when you add the spice of some
of these lyrics, it definitely takes you on a different route. Take a ride with us."
Mar 21, 2011 | New Pork Times  Paradise CA February 17th 2012.
#The same Paradise that was destroyed by a wildfire in 2018 and the President when he visited what was left forgot its name# 
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