When one thinks of the 1960s era, the mind often drifts back to the old idea of “sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll.” No one epitomized this lifestyle more than that of Jim Morrison of the Doors, one of the most enigmatic and imaginative musical groups of all time.
Having recently acquired a box set of all six studio albums of the Doors, I have spent that last week drowning in Robbie Kreiger’s well-crafted and stylized guitar, John Densmore’s confident drumming, Ray Manzarek’s driving, mulit-layered Hammond organ, and, of course, the all-too-often-intoxicated baritone of Jim Morrison.
This quartet of musicians has never ceased to amaze me with their remarkably cryptic, yet well-crafted poetry written mainly by Morrison, but much from Manzarek, coupled with their apparent dedication to musical craft and composition. This respect for their art of music-making stems from the band’s stone-set belief that each of the four Doors were equally important, and that the band would not survive should one member leave, or in Morrison’s case, mysteriously die.
No other song in their repertoire shows this co-dependency more than the iconic “Light My Fire,” written by Krieger, from their 1967 self-titled album. The song opens with the distinctive Hammond organ riff (a precursor to modern synthesizers), quickly leading to Morrison’s vocals. Halfway into the song, we meet Manzarek’s musical prowess in an organ solo, underscored by Krieger and Densmore. Influenced by his experience in flamenco music, Krieger lets loose a beautifully vivid guitar solo, making him, to me at least, one of the more underrated guitarists in rock history.
Without ever losing a beat, Densmore kept the Doors in perfect time on stage, although Morrison frequently had problems making the curtain call. Morrison’s best friend since UCLA film school, Ray Manzarek was one of the few that could put the outrageous, flamboyant singer in check. We see Manzarek’s apparent genius consistently through the Doors’ discography, playing both the organ and bass parts for the band.
If one of his parts wasn’t complicated enough, playing with one hand while articulating an entirely different musical line with another shows some real right-brain activity…or whichever hemisphere LSD activates. Against the best intentions of all four of the Doors, Jim Morrison’s antics on and off stage made him the true center of attention and “band leader.” Without delving in to the psychology of Morrison, a scary thought, he grew up in a typical naval household, in which the family never lived in the same place for very long.
His biography “No One Here Gets Out Alive” describes this as leaving him with a feeling of “disconnectedness” that gave rise to his future as the drunken, tripping, and depraved symbol that fans fed off of in the 1960s. Not only did the Doors live the “sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll” lifestyle through the hedonistic Morrison, but also through their music, packed with all the sex and drugs of a typical night on Fox.
