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THE DOORS: Jim Morrison (from left), Ray Manzarek, Robby Krieger and John Densmore lit your fire. (Photo: FILE)

Doors still riding the '60s storm
 
By Bernard Perusse
CanWest News Service

The Doors might be celebrating their 40th anniversary this year, but in truth, they were finished when their magnetic front man, Jim Morrison, died in 1971.

The Doors - at least the version that mattered - lasted four years, not four decades. But the group has never disappeared from pop culture, as demonstrated by the recent announcement that the group will receive a lifetime achievement Grammy next February, the release of Perception, a box set of remastered and expanded versions of their six studio albums and the arrival of an authorized self-titled biography. That's probably why the group's guitarist and one of its chief songwriters, Robby Krieger, seems so comfortable with the four-decade milestone.

Longevity not a given

That kind of long-term recognition wasn't foreseeable when the Doors' first, self-titled album was released in 1967. At that time, longevity in rock 'n' roll wasn't a given by any means. In fact, the idea that it could have a shelf life was only beginning to emerge.

"Rock was considered a flash-in-the-pan kind of thing," Krieger said in a telephone interview. "By the mid-'60s, it started getting taken seriously - after the Beatles did Sgt. Pepper and things like that."

With that debut album, however, the Doors raised the musical ante by throwing Eastern-sounding guitar scales, blues, German cabaret music, extended improvisation and beat poetry into the mix. The long-player also featured the group's first big hit, a song as evocative of its time as any: Light My Fire, written almost entirely by Krieger. Morrison contributed the lyrics to the second verse and keyboard player Ray Manzarek the distinctive organ intro. The composing credit, however, went to the group - a policy that was enforced on all but two Doors albums.

"Jim wanted it to be mysterious as to who wrote the songs," Krieger explained. "But then, of course, everybody just figured that Jim wrote everything. Later on, it kind of bugged me a bit, but if you dig into the Doors at all, you're going to find out who wrote which song."

The soft-spoken guitarist, however, was quick to emphasize the collaborative nature of the final product. "Even though Jim or I might have written the words to this particular song or that one, we all worked very hard on putting the songs together," he said. "Had one member been different, the songs would have turned out totally different. The group arranged the songs - and that, in a way, is almost as important as the writing."

Skills evolved

The group's studio skills also evolved with their second album, Strange Days, and the big production of The Soft Parade, their fourth. By the time they released what turned out to be their sixth and final LP, L.A. Woman, in 1971, their sound had become unmistakable - and the future looked bright. Three months after the album was released, however, the hard-living Morrison was found dead in his bathtub.

"I always remember (producer) Paul Rothchild telling the three of us - (drummer) John (Densmore), Ray and me - 'Hey, guys, Jim Morrison may not be around for too much longer, so let's record as much as we can.' And that was the truth," Krieger said. "We hated to admit it. And, actually, what else could we do? We couldn't go out on mammoth tours like some groups, because Jim was too nuts. (The studio) kept him out of trouble."

Krieger admitted that it was hard to know the doomed singer, but said they had a close relationship - at least initially.

"I was kind of like his baby brother because I was the youngest in the group," said Krieger, now 60. "He stayed at my house for a couple of months, but as he got more into the liquor and the craziness, I just couldn't take that anymore and I had to distance myself from him."

After Morrison's death, the three surviving members cut two albums together, Other Voices (1971) and Full Circle (1972). A third was never started. "After the second one, we just didn't get along anymore," Krieger said. "Without Jim, the balance was gone. The three of us were just peeling off in different directions.

"I know the fans want to see the three of us play together. That's the important thing. We owe the fans."

January 7, 2007

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