Ray Manzarek still holds out hope that the three surviving members of the legendary 1960's band The Doors will one day play together again.

But for now, legal action by drummer John Densmore means keyboard player Manzarek and guitarist Robby Krieger can't even appear as The Doors and must play under the name Riders on the Storm, taken from their 1971 hit.

"I hope one day he (Densmore) will join us," Manzarek, now 68, told AAP.

"Lawsuits are never fun, but we are near completing the whole episode and hopefully things will be better in the future," he said in Sydney during a visit to promote The Very Best of The Doors 40th Anniversary album.

"As soon as the legalities are out of the way we hope he will join us again."

Manzarek says any reunion would aim to continue the legacy of original frontman Jim Morrison, who died of heart failure in Paris in 1971, aged just 27.

The remaining Doors released a number of post-Morrison albums soon after his death but tension between them escalated in 2002 when Manzarek and Krieger reunited and revived the band as The Doors of the 21st Century, without Densmore.

Densmore claimed he had never been invited to take part in the reunion and in February 2003 filed an injunction preventing his former bandmates using the name.

In July 2005, Densmore and the Morrison estate won a permanent injunction against the use of the Doors name.

Manzarek says plans are already underway for him and Krieger, playing as Riders on the Storm, to tour Australia towards the end of 2007.

"We go out, play Doors music and some original compositions ... we hope to be down in Australia before the year is up," he said.

"I play Light My Fire on stage live with the guy who composed it, Robby Krieger, the original writer. To play with Robby is absolutely stunning. We have such a good time playing the music and that's why we do it."

The pair are also writing new songs and Manzarek hinted at the influence of modern-day electronica and bands like The Chemical Brothers.

"My favourite kind of music is electronica," he said.

"I like The Chemical Brothers and Beck, certainly when he goes into the studio I love what he does. Most part (I listen to electronica) and hopefully there will be some more acid jazz going on.

"Anything is possible."

AAP