Ticket 2 Ride

Singer Jim Morrison’s death ended the Doors, right? Not exactly. The Lizard King might have become part of the Earth, but the Doors weren’t finished.

Here’s why.

First, the Doors’ catalogue would never go out of print. Future generations would discover the haunting and poetic musings as Jim Morrison’s untimely death would enshrine him in the club of actors and musical artists who tragically died too young. Morrison was hip, challenged social and legal conventions, bigger than life, and bigger in death. Tragedy only enhanced his legacy. Oliver Stone even made a film loosely based on the band, The Doors (1991). The 1979 film Apocalypse Now, used the song, “The End” as the film’s opening sequence to set the mood.

According to Spotify stats, each day, Doors songs are streamed 1.8m times. The top song is “Riders on the Storm.” For 2022, the Doors were streamed on Spotify 424m times.

Second, the catalogue would be repackaged and enhanced with demos and scraps from the vault. Remastering has made these recordings even better sonically. I cannot count the number of complications of Doors music that has been released.

Third, unreleased,live performances would find there way into the marketplace. Absolutely Live! had been released in 1970, it was followed by Alive, She Cried (1983) and Live at the Hollywood Bowl (1987). I could 21 other live performance CDs from various concerts, of varying quality, have reached the market. A new, three-CD compilation of live material is scheduled for release.

Fourth, the remaining band members took Morrison poetry and set it music, American Prayer (1978) was the result. It’s not a proper Doors album, but it has moments. Morrison recorded the spoken-word poetry before leaving to live in Paris, where he died in 1971. It is written that his original intent was for orchestral music to be written for the poetry.

The three Doors members did the unthinkable, attending to carry on without Morrison with albums of original songs.

Other Voices (1971)

The story goes that many of these songs were written around the time of LA Woman, and intended as songs for Morrison before he died. The other three would use these as the basis for Other Voices. Doors engineer/producer Bruce Botnick produced with the Doors.

One thing is obvious, these guys lack lyrical impact, and the lead vocals of Manzarek and Krieger are average at best. That’s not to say these guys lack writing skills, they wrote the music, and many of the lyrics for the Doors hits.

This is not a hard rock album, these three had musical chops. Most of the album is written by Krieger, but it’s not really a guitar album. Listening to this album I heard a variety of styles, particularly an undercurrent of jazz. I also heard a distinct San Francisco vibe: Jefferson Airplane, Grateful Dead and Quicksilver Messenger Service, also a touch of Delaney and Bonnie. The Doors trio was onto something, and it was evident with their next release.

“In the Eye of the Sun” was written for Morrison to sing, it leads off the album and is a very Doors-like song with a pounding groove. “Ship /w Sails” is a long, mostly jam song, very much in the Doors wheelhouse. It’s a jazzy, Santana-feeling song. “Tightrope Ride” is a rollicking, uptempo rocker, one of the stronger songs on the album. “Hang Onto Your Life” is a jazzy, Latin-flavored song, co-written by Manzarek and Krieger, which closes the album.

Other Voices is a competent recording, but there’s no way for the three of them to live up to the expectations. Ironically titled, the most disappointing aspect of the record are the voices.

Full Circle (1972)

Henry Lewy (Joni Mitchell), rather than longtime engineer Botnick, engineered and helped produce with Doors.

On this album I heard the influence of Santana and bands like Weather Report. The jazz elements were more of a jazz-fusion. All songs were written from scratch, again with Manzarek and Krieger sharing lead vocals.

“The Mosquito” has a Mexican-flavored intro, then shifts into a jazz-rock instrumental. The later part is exquisite. “The Piano Bird” is a jazz-rock song with great flute and Latin percussion. “It Slipped My Mind” and “The Peking King and the New York Queen” are the most Doors sounding songs on the album.

I can’t say that I like this album better than the previous one, they are not too different. Unfortunately, in the absence of a strong producer, the album meanders and needed a musical editor. It was also evident that while the Doors are extremely talented musicians, they are not the best lyricists or arrangers.

Other projects and reunions

The three surviving Doors would partner-up occasionally, despite tensions that would flare up and derail their efforts.

Krieger and Densmore formed a group in the early 1970s and even recorded a couple of albums as the Butts Band.

Krieger and Manzarek would tour together, first using the name The Doors of the 21st Century, until Densmore and later, the Morrison estate sued. Krieger and Manzarek continued touring, using an acceptable name, until Manzarek’s death in 2013.

There were various reunions of the three along the way for a few Doors projects and occasions like the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction.

While Densmore moved into jazz, dance and film pursuits, Krieger and Manzarek each recorded solo albums, ranging from rock to blues to jazz. Densmore, Manzarek and Krieger each wrote their own book about the Doors. Krieger’s Set the Night on Fire (2022) is one of the finest musical memoirs I’ve ever read. An intelligent and thoughtful book.