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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Jul 3, 2023 12:01:15 GMT
What a strange sentence to appear in a major mainstream newspaper obituary: "He catapaulted to stardom from the same cauldron that cooked Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin." Written by this guy:
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Post by lonelysummer on Jul 5, 2023 3:41:20 GMT
The Doors in May 1967 recording Strange Days at Sunset Sound with producer Paul Rothchild and engineer Bruce Botnick:
What I want to know is, who is the blonde?
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Post by Kapitan on Jul 11, 2023 17:46:29 GMT
A long-booted batch of live Doors material will see official release this fall: Live at the Matrix 1967 will be a 3-CD or 5-LP package culled from five shows from March 1967, which is two months safter their debut album was released, but six weeks before the single "Light My Fire." The music is sourced from the original club owner's recordings and was remastered by Bruce Botnik. More info and track listings are here. |
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Jul 12, 2023 10:24:11 GMT
A long-booted batch of live Doors material will see official release this fall: Live at the Matrix 1967 will be a 3-CD or 5-LP package culled from five shows from March 1967, which is two months safter their debut album was released, but six weeks before the single "Light My Fire." The music is sourced from the original club owner's recordings and was remastered by Bruce Botnik. More info and track listings are here. I'm very much looking forward to this release. I have/have heard various versions and configurations of The Matrix recordings, but it'll be nice to have all of it packaged together - and sourced from the original recordings!
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Post by Kapitan on Aug 30, 2023 12:42:23 GMT
Our thoughts are with you today, Sheriff John Stone: it was 50 years ago today that the Doors broke up. The linked article notes that this was, of course, a few years and a pair of albums after the death of singer, frontman, lyricist, and obvious centerpiece Jim Morrison. And interestingly--not to mention news to me--those two post-Morrison albums both had some degree of success! Other Voices (1971) reached #31, and Full Circle (1972) peaked at #68. A far cry from their Morrison-led run of studio albums, all six of which reached the Top 10(!!!), but still not bad. Regardless, the remaining trio couldn't hold together, and so the Doors were through on this day in 1973. |
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Aug 30, 2023 18:21:07 GMT
Thanks for the link, Kapitan. That's the first time I ever saw an official "breakup date" for The Doors. And, the article is correct. The breakup announcement fell under the radar to say the least. I remember the company line being that Ray Manzarek's wife, Dorothy, was pregnant with their first child (Pablo) and Ray wanted to be home with her and the baby. But, what about...after that...Ray? 
As it turned out, it was indeed Ray who initiated the breakup. Apparently he was frustrated and unhappy with the way things were going personally and professionally with the group. There were some disputes about the direction of the music, and Ray also felt that the "magic" was gone. Friction among the guys ensued, Ray impulsively split, and in effect closed The Doors. I remember reading about it in one of my sister's magazines. I was devastated. The Doors were, at that time, my first favorite group, actually the only group I was really into at that time. I was only 13-14 years old. Obviously I didn't have a job or any money, so I literally nickle-and-dimed the purchase of Other Voices, the first Doors' album I ever purchased. The other post-Morrison album, Full Circle, was a Christmas present. Those two albums were very important to me. I had just become a Doors' fan, was still pissed off that Jim Morrison died, and wanted to keep the flame alive. I knew Other Voices and Full Circle were a step down from the Morrison-led Doors' albums, but I loved them anyway and played the hell out of them. Musically, they still had the magic, the songwriting was good but spotty, and the vocals were...tolerated. If you picked the best tracks from both albums and combined them on a comp, you'd have a damn good album. I'm a little surprised that hasn't been done. I've done it several times. 
I always thought The Doors would reunite on a more permanent basis. As the article stated, there were various one-offs. Then all hell broke loose with John Densmore boycotting projects and eventually suing Ray, Robby, and Pamela Courson's estate. I can understand why Ray, and all of them actually, would want to go solo and get some things, musical things, off their chest. How many great bands have done that? But, I always thought they would get the solo excursions out of their systems and get back together. I hoped they would tour and record new albums every couple of years. I also thought The Doors were a little short-sighted when they broke up. I'm not sure they realized just how great they still were - musically - as a group, and how important The Doors' music was, and would become even moreso through the years. The Doors, or at least their music, would reach legendary status. Ray, Robby, and John - under any name(s) - could've headlined smaller venues or opened for more popular groups in larger venues. The audiences would've eaten that music up. It was that good and the three of them, with auxiliary musicians, would've put on a great show. Same with new albums. Ray, Robby, and John as solo artists failed commercially, but some of that material was quality music. Oh, well, we'll never know, and I'm happy for what they did give us!
One of my favorite songs from Other Voices, "Tightrope Ride":
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Post by Kapitan on Sept 4, 2023 16:39:41 GMT
It's commonly understood that while the Doors had no official bass player (Ray Manzarek's keyboards often filling the role to some extent), they did regularly employ bassists to fill out the sound on recordings. Here is a new video that runs through all those bassists (as well as some other contributors).
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Sept 4, 2023 18:13:17 GMT
It's commonly understood that while the Doors had no official bass player (Ray Manzarek's keyboards often filling the role to some extent), they did regularly employ bassists to fill out the sound on recordings. Here is a new video that runs through all those bassists (as well as some other contributors). Great video. Essential actually. Thank you for posting it.
In a bit of Doors' trivia, Patty Sullivan (who married and went by Patricia Hansen), the female bassist who played on the 1965 demos, basically disappeared and hasn't been heard from in over fifty-five years.
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Nov 10, 2023 2:07:28 GMT
Robby Krieger is releasing a new album with his new band, The Soul Savages:
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Dec 8, 2023 12:21:26 GMT
Remembering Jim Morrison who was born on December 8, 1943. Pictured below are some photos of a spoken word/poetry session from December 8, 1970 (Jim's last birthday) which were used for the 1978 An American Prayer album.
...and at a restaurant after the session (below):
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Post by jk on Dec 8, 2023 12:53:06 GMT
"The End" was my introduction to the music of Jim Morrison and The Doors. Browsing through new LPs at a local record shop in early-ish '67, I noticed one by an unknown group on Electra, the label that had released the first two albums by the West Coast band Love, which I'd bought at the same shop. So after choosing the longest track on the album (maybe on any pop album up to then) my brother and I settled down in a booth and were both blown away!
Jim would have turned 80 today...
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Mar 4, 2024 12:48:19 GMT
A new, short interview with Robby Krieger and a...strange video:
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Jul 3, 2024 11:21:12 GMT
53 years ago...Jim Morrison 12/8/43 - 7/3/71
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Jul 20, 2024 12:19:24 GMT
John Densmore - What's In My Bag?
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Post by kds on Oct 8, 2024 17:18:10 GMT
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