Myth and Reality

[TheWallsScreamedPoetry]

If you have not heard this superb oral history of The Doors from the viewpoint of Ray you need to pencil it in for early 2005. Without doubt the best of its genre by a mile......Ray does what Ray does best and is witty and urbane as he recounts the good and the bad times of his time as a Door. Essential for all Doors fans....I got a copy when it first came out in 1996 and it was recently re-released at the same time as The Golden Scarab appeared......go get it!


This must be from the 00s as it advertises Ray's illegal tribute shows.

I've scanned my copy along with the accompanying booklet at the end of the thread





Ray Manzarek The Doors: Myth and Reality
The Spoken Word History
Catalogue Number MSE1018

"He refers to a place called the magic circle. For the Doors, it was a state of mind, a fraternity, a brotherhood. It was a place where Ray Manzarek and the Doors made music...made history...and yes, made magic.
This is your invitation into the magic circle. Come join rock hall famer Ray Manzarek on a two hour plus audio journey into rock history. Articulate, witty and honest, the legendary keyboardist of the Doors traces his roots and the roots of one of the most famous rock bands ever.
Manzarek begins by immediately captivating the listener with a detailed recounting of the story, and his reaction to the death of Doors lead singer and rock icon, Jim Morrison in Paris. In a poignant, yet darkly humorous manner, Manzareks' retelling of his tragedy captures the essence of a common theme running through the entire narrative; his deep friendship with Morrison and how this friendship created some of the most memorable rock music ever recorded.

Morrison's Doors exploits were the stuff of which myth and legend were made, and Manzarek recalls, with humour and affection, numerous stories involving his band mates including their first fateful meeting that led to the formation of the Doors.
Manzarek also tells of their initial attempts to secure a record deal, how they developed their distinctive Doors sound and image, some of their unforgettable tours and commentary on many of their history making albums and songs.
Equally fascinating is Manzarek's own life before, during and after the Doors...beginning with his early years in his native Chicago on through the impact his timeless music has had on generations of his music fans worldwide.
Ray Manzarek's 'The Doors, Myth & Reality' is an unforgettable, one of a kind journey, courtesy of one of rock's respected personalities. Welcome to the magic circle."
Mudslide Entertainment

[TheWallsScreamedPoetry]

Myth & Reality internet chat on October 10, 1996, via The Official Doors Page
The guests are Ray Manzarek and Harvey Kubernik

Todd: This is a moderated chat -- all questions and postings go straight to the moderator and do not appear on screen. Your questions are selected by the moderator then posted to the chat site. Only questions to Ray and Harvey will be considered for posting.

Todd: Welcome to the "Doors: Myth and Reality Recording" live chat with Ray Manzarek and the producer of this project, Harvey Kubernik. Harvey is a poet/spoken word recording veteran who has worked with Henry Rollins, Jello Biafra, Jefferson Airplanes' Paul Ka
Todd: Paul Kantner and Exene Cervenka of X as well as jazz artists Buddy Collette and Gerald Wilson on spoken word recordings.
Todd: We will give away 5 CD's to individuals who ask the most intelligent questions. The very best question will receive a signed CD from Ray.

joe : hi all!

Todd: WE'RE READY TO START

joe : ::peaking out at crowd::::

RAY: HELLO Everybody!

RAY: Hi, I have a new cd out on Monster Sounds Records
RAY: It is called Ray Manzarek The Doors Myth and Reality
RAY: We will give away 5 CD's to individuals who ask the most intelligent questions. The very best question will receive a signed CD from me.

RAY: ...

Gemini says to RAY : Yes, Ray were you the Bearded Blues Shouter???
RAY: Yes, gemini I was. Good And Clever question!

Ray is the man says to RAY: Hello sir. What is your position on jim's death. Don't you believe that Jim faked his death?
RAY: I wasn't there but I tell the storyabout jim's death on my new cd

RAY: Well, folks we're having tech difficulty
RAY: However I'll tell you some future Door's plans while we wait.
RAY: In mid to late oct. we will have the Doors Greatest Hits on
RAY: In the Spring of 97 we will release the BEST of-
RAY: The Doors VIDEO on MCA home video. It has some great new stuff that no one has ever seen before
RAY: and it has some of the great Doors Classic videos. I really like it!

RAY: ...

RAY: joe, are ready yet?

??: Missing data probably because of technical difficulties.
RAY: Yes I read poetry with Michael McClure. He is a Beatnick.

??: Missing data
RAY: Other Voices will come out in the 21st Century!

??: Missing data
RAY: The show in Amsterdam was incredible! Jim as you know passed out and was carried off. Robby john and I had to do two sets! What a Night!

RAY: ...

joe: long questions are being clipped so post short questions...sorry

??: Missing data
RAY: Well, Was I scared? Naaa! What's to be scared of.?
RAY: The only thing we really should be afraid of is MADNESS! And that lurks in each and every one of us. Don't you agree?

RAY: ...

ben : when is the box set comming out?
RAY: Box Set. Next year at this very time. It is coming in oct or nov of 97! It will have rarities and unreleased out takes.

Peace Frog : Ray: what is your favorite Doors song?
RAY: Today my fav is EASY RIDE!
RAY: NEXT

Mojo : Ray, have u gone 2 see Jim's cemetery lately
RAY Yes I have seen Jim's grave. Have you seen Jim's grave?

Wild1 says to RAY: Is it true Paul Rothchild is dead? when and how did he? That guy was cool.
RAY: Yes he's dead. Lung cancer. 59 years of age . dead last year. He fought like a warrior!

Snake says to RAY: Ray, what was your first impression on Jim Morrison?
RAY: Yes i liked Jim. He was a poet and an artist.

RAY: ...

Woman of Light : Mr. Manzarek, what was the most significant effect that the Doors had on your life?
RAY: It was a meeting of souls and minds
RAY: It was a spiritual merging of four men into a single entity of power! This is a good question.

RAY: ...

Paul : How do you see Jim looking back on it all? Do you see him the way many of us do? As a genius.
RAY: Oh yes he was a genius and a poet and an artist and my best friend!

RAY: ...

Ray is the man says to RAY: Hello sir. What is your position on jim's death. Don't you believe that Jim faked his death?
RAY: I believe for every drop of rain that falls a flower grows. I believe Jim is dead but alive always in the energy

Molly says to RAY: Who are some of your favorite authors?
RAY: Jack Kerouac. DH Lawrence. Goerthe. Steinbeck, John. Ernest Hemingway. Nietzsche. Sigmund Freud. Jung and the Neo Platonists

RAY: ...

Ray is the man says to RAY: Is there ever going to be a doorsfest? Good opportunity to sell your book.
RAY: Good question on the authors. that's three. Doors fest would be great. Why don't you do it!

RAY: ...

Love Child says to RAY: What is your opinion on god and the after world?
RAY: Great question. We are all God and the afterworld is THIS world and all worlds at one and the same time. We are infinity!

RAY: ...

Texas Lizard says to RAY: As Doors fans, how can we better promote and represent the spirit of the Doors?
RAY: Dont lie to your lovers. Don't give in to the seductive evil powers that come with money and white powder drugs. Dont do Meth , Crack, Heroin PCP and that kind of crap. Stay 100%n pschyedelic!

Molly : Isn't the lease on Jim's grave going to be up soon? Where will they move him?
RAY: I dont know what is going to happen but I think it is ghoulish and a crime to move him.
RAY: from his beloved city of Paris! Next!

RAY: ...

Space Scout: Do you feel as though you accomplised what you set out to do in the beggining? What was your main goal in the beggining? Did it change at all during the course of events?
RAY: We succeeded in what we attempted. Good music, Good sex, Good friends, Good times! next

Ben The Golden Scarab : what are some of your future plans?
RAY: Ben you get a cd just for that name!
RAY: future plans for me are always open and pending. I just completed a hour long video with McClure It's called The Third Mind! next!

??: missing data
RAY: Its myth and hype and bull dropp[ings! next

RAY: ...

lizard king and queen says to RAY: what were your first impressions of Jim?
RAY: He was handsome, cool and debonaire, A gentleman and a scholar.
RAY: a raconteur and a reprobate. An athelete and a poet a flim maker and a gourmand. What a guy! next

Peace Frog : Ray: Who are you gonna vote for Clinton or Dole?
RAY: I'm voting for Clinton, the chubby man instead of Dole the dead man. next!

RAY: ...

Roger from Brazil : When are you coming to Brazil?
RAY: I love the samba and Brazil! You are the most passionate people in all the world
RAY: I love the fans we have gathered on this thin raft. We have all constructed pyramids in honor of our freedom! next

RAY: ...

Love Child (wordful fury) says to RAY: Then you do believe that the soul is the connection to the gods?
RAY: As is the flesh and the energy and the light and the mind and the Ka and the BA as the Egyptians say. We
RAY: WE are all gods and everything and the creators! next

FRED! says to RAY: Did Nietzsche (metaphorically) kill Jim?
RAY: You must read Nietzsche and not believe the false stories about his philosophy
RAY: Nietzsche was in love with the light and truth and the great POWER of MAN to be an overlord . This did not kill JIm . Booze did!
RAY: next!

Snake : What does "Let's reinvent the gods, all the myths of the ages" mean?
RAY: It means to interpret all myths in your (our) own time. Fi
RAY: Figure it out for yourselves. Do not take the word of high religious muck muckys. Find your own truth ! next

RAY: ...

horsey : Do you ever get together with Robbie and John to write?
RAY: John ray and Robby will be working on the Box Set for the next 6 months with Bruce B
RAY: Will we play together? Who knows? next

The Spy : Did you ever think about reviving your film career after the Doors broke up?
RAY: We is not done...yet. next

Ignatz : from Buenos Aires:what's the meaning of 5 to 1
RAY: Iggy, I dont know! Do you? No can figure it out! That Jim ...what a genius! next

-M4Rz- shouts to ALL: Can't you come visit Sweden someday? You can stay under my bed.
RAY: Yah, sure...Wee cannn vaist Sveden for sure by golly! I love Sweden . What Beer and Great sandwiches

RAY: ...

Love Lion : What do you think about Patty K, and her theory that Pam killed Jim, and her website?
RAY: Dont believe it. next

Love Child says to RAY: tell us more of your new cd!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
RAY: I tell about Jim and the Doors and a lot of stories you have never heard! I think you will enjoy it. I had a great time making it. I tell
RAY: the story about Jims first leather pants. Have you heard it and about jims death. Also getting thrown out of record companies trying to sell the doors demo and our time together at UCLA, next

RAY: ...

Ubermensh : Where is Zarathurstra?
RAY: Z is on the mountain! next!

Hendrix says to RAY: did u ever meet hendrix?
RAY: Jimi where the hell are you? Are you with Morrison? next
RAY: Robby met Jimi Hendrix on an airplane. He said "I'm Robby Krieger of the Doors"
RAY: Jimi said..."Huh?" next

Enterprise : Do you keep in touch with Robby and John?
RAY: I'm always in touch with john and robby. They are my soul brothers next

RAY: ...

Diogo says to RAY: How was to play with Eddie Vedder ?? Are you liked ??
RAY: Eddie was great. Something like Jim but NOT jim you know? I am liked by you, and you are liked by me next

Albion : What do you think Morrison would think of the manner in which we are communicating?
RAY: Jim would love it!!! It's chaos and anarchy! next

[TheWallsScreamedPoetry]

Roger gently hugs ALL: When are you releasing a new movie about Doors?
RAY: In the spring of 1997,,, The Best of The Doors VIDEO next

barnyard Hocks a loogey at RAY: Quit doing that "..." thing!!!
RAY: ..
RAY: Putz!
RAY: ..

Jeff : At the start of the live roadhouse blues, what is the crowd chanting?
RAY: JIM JIM JIM JIM MORTRISON WE WANT THE DOOES DOORS

Billy Dear Lord RAY: please answer me this!!! What do you think was your worst mistake while being a door?
RAY: NOT KEEPING JIM Alive but I dont really think I could have stopped him.
RAY: he seemed to be born to live his life in t he extreme and give all his art and genius to us who stay here and love him next

Jeff : Ray, quick question, are you typing yourself?
RAY: I type me do it no Todd or Joe fella! next

RAY: ..

Billy : Will "Other Voices" and "Full Circle" be in the box set?
RAY: Why yes I have thanks for asking next

Love Child.: Who is your favorite Blues Artist and why?
RAY: Muddy Waters because he IS the hootchie kootchie MAN! next

Vev-Vee : What, besides The Doors, is your favorite band?
RAY: Them, Miles Davis, Yardbirds, Stones Beatles, Coltrane quartet, Charles Mingus, Bill Evans trio

RAY: next

Joel of SOOP and Jupes Dear Lord RAY: Did you put any backwards messages in any of your songs?
RAY: no, next

-M4Rz- shouts to ALL: Did you watch the Beverly Hills 90210 Program where they spoke about the doors?
RAY: no I really dont watch that show or any sit coms or sit dramas next

Billy Dear Lord RAY: what do you consider as the most difficult keyboard piece you wrote?
RAY: Yes ...the piano part on Yes the River Knows is most difficult and if I do say so myself...most brilliant next

RAY ..

The Spy says to RAY: Do you, Robby, and John have much input on The Doors page?
RAY: Sure... it's ours ! We are in charge WE control WE rule WE run it and todd and joe do too! next

LizardKing : Who was your favorite Jim ,Robby , or John
RAY: Dorothy! next

ben : is it true that jim was thinking about going solo before he died
RAY: NO! why would he go solo? What could he do without the Doors What kind of music could other people make with Jim?

lizard king and queen says to RAY: on the Doors in Concert, what is asked when Jim says "You only get that treat on full moons"?
RAY: That treat is the IVORY SHAFT! next

RAY: ...

Ben The Golden Scarab says to RAY: What the hell is happening in An American Prayer AFTER Roadhouse Blues?
RAY: Chaos, maddness, the world gone mad! next

FRED! : r u interested in celtic music?
RAY: I am a Celtic, myself. Tes I love the music and more the religion. Next

Space Scout: How did Jim feel about his overwhelming popularity?What was the preface for the miami incedent? did he do it?
RAY: liked his popularity. He didn't do it in miami it was a mass hallucination. A vision of the Virgin on a tortilla . But instead they say snakes. Its on the CD. GET it! next

RAY shouts to ALL "The Doors: Myth and Reality" just click on the CD Cover on the main screen of our web site. You can order the CD or Cassette over the web now!

Bob : What kind of thing made Jim laugh?
RAY: This would make him laugh and a good toke of some fine hemp! Oh my, Yes we did get HIGH! next

Billy Dear Lord RAY: what do you consider as the most difficult keyboard piece you wrote?
RAY: The purpose of existence on the Golden Scarab. next

Love Child. says to RAY: What do you think of ORGANIZED RELIGION?
RAY Dear Lord ALL</i>: It's a lot like organized crime, ain't it? next

Joel of SOOP and Jupes Dear Lord RAY: Did you put any backwards messages in any of your songs?
RAY: Has anyone ever really put a backwards message in a song? next

RAY: i'm leaving now, but harvey kubernik who produced the new spoken word ray manzarek/doors double cd/cassette 2 1/2 hour oral recording will ansewer questions. he knows a lot about the doors, saw us play live.
RAY: if you want to order the cd/cassette double set just press the button below...
joe : ORDER CD HERE!
RAY: Thanks a lot all for logging on. See you next time. Take care of yourselves...HEEEEEEErrrrrsss Harvey

(23:58:20) RAY : Harvey is a poet/spoken word recording veteran who has
worked on other projects with Henry Rollins, Jello Biafra, Jefferson
Airplanes' Paul Kantner and Exene Cervenka of X as well as jazz artists Buddy
Collette and Gerald Wilson on spoken word recordings.

(23:59:35) HARVEY : hello. I'm here to talk about the doors and especially
the new recording i produced

(23:59:06) GroovyB says to HARVEY: What was it like working with Paul Kanter?

(00:01:19) HARVEY : the new recording i produced on ray manzarek for
monstersounds entertainment. i'm into typing in smallletters

(00:01:58) HARVEY : thanks for asking the question. i had a blast producing
paul's new double cd also available on monstersounds label

(23:59:13) FRED! says to HARVEY: where did you see The Doors play? Were u a
huge fan then?

(00:02:49) HARVEY : he smokes more cigarettes than ray manzarek in a session
and likes to drink stoli.

(00:03:35) HARVEY : i'm glad you asked the question fred. in high school in
l.a., fairfax in 1968

(00:04:11) HARVEY : a friend of mine, matt franklin in biology class got
tickets to see the doors at the l.a. forumjets

(00:04:51) HARVEY : we could not get dates for the evening, so i went with a
bunch of guys to see the doors just when soft parade was released.

(00:05:54) HARVEY : i am still recovering from the doors playing celebration
of the lizard and i think it was the best song of the night. it rained
afterwards and we were not kids anymore

(00:00:24) Love Child. : Hey Harvey!! What is the best advice you can
give poets like myself who want to break in to the recording
industry?

(00:07:39) HARVEY : keep writing as much as possible, and also take breaks
from the machine. try to hook up with supportive people and try to work
together in collaboration. also call for rates and studios who are receptive
to audio poetry

(00:01:06) Bob : I'm aware of your other project with Paul Kantner, How did
you like doing this recording with Ray?

(00:09:10) HARVEY : i have known ray manzarek for over 20 years and i have
had a previous working relationship with him

(00:10:08) HARVEY : i really want to stress that ray has a flawless memory
when it comes to the doors and we both tried to give some new and unique
insights into the doors. i had a great time. thanks

(00:00:27) Molly says to HARVEY: Which Doors concerts did you see?

(00:11:50) HARVEY : i saw the doors in person only once in 1968 at the l.a.
forum.

(00:13:00) HARVEY : molly are you irish? anyway, i live in l.a. and the doors
music was so popular you didn't have to see them live . also, i was underage
and could not go to clubs to see them. thanks.

(00:03:05) The Spy says to HARVEY: How come Ray's album wasn't recorded on
Electra records?

(00:13:55) HARVEY : good question. first of all, ray manzarek is a free
agent,

(00:14:54) HARVEY : the a&r man at monstersounds saw the doors and is/was a
big fan, and elektra records never returned my call to even suggest the
possibility.

(00:15:38) HARVEY : it has ended up released on the label it's supposed to be
on. monstersounds calls back.

(00:03:12) Ben The Golden Scarab says to HARVEY: Do you have a hero?

(00:16:38) HARVEY : besides my father, buddy collette and john wooden are
very important to me

(00:04:32) Texas Lizard says to HARVEY: When did you first start in the music
business and how has it changed since then (good or bad)?

(00:17:41) HARVEY : i still feel i haven't really started in the music
business in some ways. around 20 years ago i began as a journalist and hoped
to produce records

(00:18:30) HARVEY : it has gotten pretty awful to tell you the truth. very
few real to reel things seem to get out, but i am optimistic with internet and
alternative scenes that things can improve.

(23:59:29) lizard king and queen : what were the doors like to an outsider

(00:19:55) HARVEY : i still feel that the doors were/are los angeles. i am a
native angeleno and the songs really spoke to me. they represent the truth
about l.a. that often is hidden and neglected by the media. we are all in the
golden and magic circle together

(00:06:41) Bob says to HARVEY: How did this CD come about? Something you've
had in mind before?


(00:21:29) HARVEY : i've been developing this cd concept with ray for years
and after meeting with some labels and people in 1996, the climate got more
receptive, due to books on tape and i think ray really wanted to tell the real
story that needed to be told. and i needed t

(00:09:21) Gemini : I enjoyed the 2 CDs. Excellent booklet too. How long did
it take to record Myth and Reality? Will there be Part 2?


(00:23:17) HARVEY : thanks for asking the question. i'm pisces. the actual
recording took three months and i with ray did a few months of editing. i hope
there will be a part two. we got a lot of great stuff. i did close to 18 hours
of raw interviews and i know and feel a pa

(00:11:27) Demure Tornado says to HARVEY: i am a poet/writer by trade but just
got fired from my day job as an editor of a trade tech publication. How do I
get a tape to you and/or submissi(00:11:27) Demure Tornado says to HA(24
messages queued


(00:24:59) HARVEY : at the moment, i'm in a hectic scene but it will clear up
in 1997

(00:25:44) HARVEY : because i have to promote this cd as best as possible and
have sort of taken a break from even reading submissions.

(00:27:12) HARVEY : i plan on looking at mail in early 97 and for doors fans
and those who like the new cd and do audio, the p.o. box 4965, panorama city,
ca. 91412. attn; DAVID.

(00:11:43) FRED! says to HARVEY: did you ever get to know paul rothchild?

(00:28:31) HARVEY : I am really glad you asked the question. i met paul one
time around 1983 at a tom petty/del shannon show in reseda. he was very
supportive when i told him i produced spoken word records

[TheWallsScreamedPoetry]

(00:13:59) Ben The Golden Scarab(CD) says to HARVEY: Does this CD have music
in the background or actual audio excerpts from Jim?

(00:29:02) HARVEY : he told me when he started spoken word were real records.

(00:12:36) Ben The Golden Scarab(CD) says to HARVEY: Do you spend a lot of
time on the Internet?

(00:29:29) HARVEY : there are segments of ray playing piano and organ

(00:29:53) HARVEY : all through the recordings. and some sound effects. no
jim, but he was there in spirit.

(00:30:03) HARVEY : no.

(00:14:35) Molly says to HARVEY: Yes, I'm Scottish and Irish

(00:12:31) TuCaTuCa says to HARVEY: Did you met Jim?

(00:31:18) HARVEY : i had a feeling you were mixed blood and dig the doors./

(00:14:37) Love Child. : What can we look to understand after hearing
this wonderful new CD?

(00:32:19) HARVEY : tutu i never met jim

(00:32:51) HARVEY : i think we have to find someof the answers in ourselves
but the doors are wonderful guides

(00:15:22) resident mockery says to HARVEY: Will Ray's spoken word CD be
available at music stores?

(00:33:52) HARVEY : yes. you can buy it on the site and ms distributors in
chicago handle the distribution. try tower records, especially.

(00:35:06) joe : here

(00:35:14) HARVEY : "The Doors: Myth and Reality" just click on the CD Cover
on the main screen of our web site. You can order the CD or Cassette over the
web now!

(00:15:08) Ben The Golden Scarab(CD) says to HARVEY: Do you listen to today's
bands?

(00:36:28) HARVEY : all the time. rodney bingenheimer of kroq fm in l.a.
radio dj isa friend of mine and i hear demos and all the new u.k. anmd u.s.

(00:37:20) HARVEY : bands. i did republica, ash, cardigans, julie ritter who
was in mary's danish, and dramarama.

(00:17:38) Ben The Golden Scarab(CD) says to HARVEY: Are you into psychadelia?

(00:38:25) HARVEY : i listen to quicksilver on reissue. and a friend of mine,
chris darrow was in the l.a band the kaleidoscope who were folked out
psychedelia.

(00:16:52) Love Child. says to HARVEY: What do you think spoken word
has to offer that other mediums cant?

(00:39:30) HARVEY : you can actually hear the person's breathing and more
illustrative than printed text. reality.

(00:40:52) HARVEY : i have to split 'cause we have to leave the web site. for
people in l.a., ray manzarek will be at borders books october 24th at 7;30
p.m. 330 s. la cienega blvd.


(00:33:19) Ben The Golden Scarab(CD) says to HARVEY: Were John or robby
consulted in the prodiction of the CD?

(00:42:19) HARVEY : no. i know them, just saw robby at a book fair, and last
year i produced aa word series at the met theatre in hollywood that john
densmore read and performed at.

(00:33:22) Bob says to HARVEY: Have you seen Ray with Michael McClure?

(00:43:39) HARVEY : cool question. yes. many times. we have done some shows
together and i like michael. his words and voice, and ray's piano work is true
collaboration. has heather called?

(00:33:37) Love Child. says to HARVEY: i think that spoken word and
poetry are the linings of the soul - any insight as to why the
donot get their(00:33:37) Love Child.

(00:36:43) Wild1 says to HARVEY: Are there any places on the
internet promoting the cd.. perhaps a latest realaudio snippet...

(00:47:04) HARVEY : glad you asked, right here, at www.thedoors.com are
samples of the project (audio samples will be up and running by Monday
10/14/96.

(00:47:30) joe : ORDER CD HERE DAG NABBIT!

(00:47:34) HARVEY : you can order it over the net right now

(00:48:03) HARVEY : good night all, its been fun.

(00:48:07) joe : thank-you gents!

[jym]

Notice, when anybody asked R$ay what JIm was like his stock response was almost always he was a poet and a gentleman.

I'll edit this one too. I really liked the CD which I mostly bought because Alex recommended it, but R$ay does tell the stories remarkably well, & the background material about him & his father & early playing in L.A. is very cool.

[moses]

We can all agree Manczarek is a great story teller. Maybe too good of a story teller. And the title: Myth & Reality leaves it open for you the listiener to decide what's myth and what's reality.

I bought this before I realized what a money grubbing whore he is. Yet I do enjoy his voice on here. He has a talent for assuming different voices, makes you wonder which one he used on Jim to suggest a haircut?

[ensenada]

wouldnt mind getting my hands on it. this interests me:

ben : is it true that jim was thinking about going solo before he died
RAY: NO! why would he go solo? What could he do without the Doors What kind of music could other people make with Jim?

Why does he so vehemently believe jim wouldnt have gone solo? does Ray know for sure what jim was planning? I know the doors were all for one and one for all etc but jim may well have figured out that he wanted to do a few more albums and go off and do poetry or something. its like Jim was his and know one else could make music with him. i dont know..........

[peter]

have the album like the album fuck the money
i even like the funny picture in the booklet whit wife and son

[TheWallsScreamedPoetry]

MONSTERSOUNDS ENTERTAINMENT
proudly presents
DOORS LEGEND
RAY MANZAREK.

HE HASN'T TALKED
MUCH ABOUT HIS PAST.
UNTIL NOW.


RAY MANZAREK'S
"The DOORS, Myth & Reality: THE SPOKEN WORD HISTORY"

Featuring Unreleased Music, Never Before Published Photos, Detailed Liner Notes and Over Two Hours of Spoken Rock History.
"The DOORS are these experiences. All of these things that happened to me, certainly happened to Jim. Jim was into the same sort of things more or less...He went to the film school at UCLA because he had seen the same films I had...Because the whole point of making film is that it combined all the arts: combined theater, combined photography, for me it combined music...and acting and design...All the arts combine into cinema. So that's the thing that put me into the cinema department at UCLA, it was the same thing that put Morrison into the cinema department. Then, all of our artistic background is thrown into the DOORS...How do we bring the drama, how do we bring the melody, how do we bring the joy, the pathos, the sorrow, the terror? How do we bring the terror into rock 'n' roll music? That's what the DOORS were all about."

--Ray Manzarek

[othercircles]

RAY: Other Voices will come out in the 21st Century!


Interesting. :-)



We are all God and the afterworld is THIS world and all worlds at one and the same time. We are infinity!


Damn Ray is cool. Right on man.

[othercircles]

And Ensenada. I think when someone said "going solo" what immediately comes to mind to Ray (to me at least) is the idea of doing MUSIC without the doors. And I don't see that as having been very likely.

Poetry and stuff.. yea.. he could never GO solo though cause he always did that by himself.

[ptlwp]

Ray is the Man!! The MERCHANT OF VENICE....and Im not talking about spaghetti!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[ptlwp]

Ray is feverently hoping that John Densmore will let bygones be bygones by 2007 and that he will play with the band again.

I say, there is a snowballs chance in hell.

Keep dreaming, Ray.

[jym]

I had Ray's myth CD & he is pretty good at describing how the songs were worked out. I was surprised he kept me interested in that portion.

[TheWallsScreamedPoetry]

Yeah Myth & Reality was really good....Ray is best when he is doing this kinda thing......I remember a radio show he did with your Teri Gross where he sketched out stuff on a piano........pity that Ray no longer exists.

[TheWallsScreamedPoetry]

Rolling Stone Review
November 14 1996
RS 747 By Matt Damsker

Ray Manzarek
The Doors: Myth And Reality RS: 4 of 5 Stars


What did you do in the psychedelic wars, daddy? ask these two grizzled '60s veterans – Jefferson Airplane singer and guitarist Paul Kantner and Ray Manzarek, the keyboard player for the Doors – and be prepared to, in the words of "Roadhouse Blues," "Let it roll/All night long." Producer Harvey Kubernik – who specializes in spoken-word recordings – has done just that, jogging hours of memoryspeak out of Kantner and Manzarek, and, in the process, adding some worthy, agreeably rambling discourse to the West Coast rock archives. There aren't many mind-blowing revelations on these two-CD sets, but hearing everything from the horse's mouth is peculiarly charming and fascinating.

Kantner, a San Francisco native, has a lot to say on the genesis of the hippie Zeitgeist in the Bay Area. "Drugs were not a huge part of what was going on," he notes at one point. "Drugs were just like dessert at a good meal." Kantner also has the wisdom not to take himself too seriously. With candor, he deflates the apocalyptic rhetoric of the Airplane's agitprop period ("I had ... only hippie optimism and a sweetly naive idealism") and praises the gentle genius of Jerry Garcia, who shepherded the Airplane's landmark Surrealistic Pillow album to completion in spite of the band's lack of studio discipline. Kantner also offers good-humored anecdotes about Woodstock, Altamont and Paul McCartney's visit with the Airplane in San Francisco during April 1967.

Manzarek plays more to the microphone. In a booming baritone, he adds his own theatrical relish to the Jim Morrison mythology when he notes that Morrison's funeral was a closed-coffin affair ("Jim Morrison was never seen dead"). Manzarek conjures quite vivid images of Morrison, beginning with their friendship as UCLA film students. And when Manzarek describes his fateful sighting of Morrison on a Southern California beach – a meeting that led to the forming of the Doors – he romanticizes almost shamelessly:

"The sun is setting into the Pacific Ocean.... The water is glistening, and I see this figure walking along in the shallows.... As he's kicking up the water, he's making diamonds because of the way the light is hitting the water from behind, the sun coming in low and hard, and these diamonds are coming out of his feet...."

The real pearls on Myth and Reality relate more to Manzarek's memories of his hip childhood on Chicago's South Side, where he got an early introduction to the blues and learned the boogie-woogie piano style that was part of the Doors' eclectic bedrock. He even claims that as a young man, he co-authored a blues tune, "Now Look What You've Done," which wound up being recorded by and attributed to Muddy Waters. Now there's a contentious notion: a black man stealing a white guy's music.

Manzarek's own lifts from blues and jazz were applied to a shamanistic style of rock & roll that made him more money than Waters ever saw. And if Manzarek is something of a gee-whiz oral historian, rhapsodizing about his first glimpse of Elvis Presley as if it were a thunderbolt unique to Manzarek's sensibility, he is also a survivor whose passion for the past is utterly infectious.

[TheWallsScreamedPoetry]

Ray is an 'active artist with an honest memory'.
LMMFAO.

It's a shame though that the other two never did a similar exercise as it would have been interesting.
Now Densmore has become Ringo Starr (peace and love) and Krieger's brain is fried and he is reduced to making bullshit up about Morrison hitting him to sell his useless book for next year.

We will never see an honest account of The Doors as too many people have too many agenda's mostly revolving about making money. Crazy Morrison will always be the tool for generating cash.
makes you wonder how they ever made an actual LPs.

[TheWallsScreamedPoetry]

Another old fanzine review from around 2000/2001

Ray Manzarek– The Doors Myth & Reality

This guy may be as mad as a hatter but when it comes to articulating the story of the world’s greatest group no one
else comes close. He is a natural born storyteller and his
easy going style and the true passion he feels for his subject transform what could have been two hours of dull rockumentary waffle into an incredible journey to the end of the night and beyond. The Doors story was never dull and has been told well many times but never as completely and as interestingly as Ray tells it in this rare two disc set.
Beginning with Jim’s final trip to Paris Ray Manzarek’s rich velvety voice takes the listener back in time through the chaos and madness that became the myth and legend of The Doors.
From his early life in Chicago, his flirtation with the army, UCLA and his meeting with Jim and the genesis of the group he sets the scene on the first disc for the tightrope ride that made up the five years of insanity which was The Doors.
Disc two tells the story of the early ‘Rick & the Ravens’ days and the introduction to the band of John and Robbie, which completed the band line up, courtesy of the Maherishi.
Once again Ray drifts off on his usual mystical tangents but the added dimension of his voice makes sure it’s never dull. He even ensures wife Dorothy gets due credit for her part in the Doors fable.
Along the way he gets in a few subtle digs at the movie but he makes such good points he is forgiven instantly.
He fills the narrative with such a lot of humorous anecdotes a couple of the funniest being the tale of Jim’s leather pants and the LA chief of police in the studio during the ‘Morrison Hotel’ session.
We get a feel for the first time of the real people who made up this group told from the perspective of a friend and band-mate.
From the craziness of The Doors on tour to the crafting of the music in the studio with Paul Rothchild and Bruce Botnick the story moves through the success and the sadness that place The Doors firmly in the first rank of the history of rock music.

Told with an intensity that leaves you spellbound and wishing it was four hours not two Ray Manzarek proves once again that he is beyond compare when it comes to telling the story of the world greatest band.

AP
Scorpywag rating— 10 absolutely sublime!

[TheWallsScreamedPoetry]

Ray w/ Keith Moon


Ray with another Keith, this time Emerson


Ray signing with Mercury 1974

[TheWallsScreamedPoetry]

My own double CD from 1996 that I got the week of its release.
Many folks like myself do not like Ray Manzarek and in the last 20 years the sound of his voice is like having my teeth brushed with a Brillo pad.
But MOST of Ray's output since 1974 has been damn good with some of it excellent.

I happen to like this quite a bit. It's Ray doing what he did best ....talking about himself and The Doors.
I would argue with anyone that the band would not have existed without Ray.
I don't believe he was The Doors anymore than I believe Jim was.
But in those formative days Ray was crucial as he had knowledge of studios, making records and playing live that the rest did not have.




This is 2 hours of the bloke talking about things from his days in Chicago and his days win LA.
Yes some of it is Trumpian Bullshit but he had a way of telling his tale that made you forgive the odd lie or embellishment.
I would not do it now but back then I was OK with it.
Bit hypocritical perhaps but being a Doors fan is never straightforward.

THE BOOKLET
This is well worth a read as it gives an fascinating insight into Ray and the band.