(Ray Manzarek's) Nite City "Nite City" 1977***

Of all the great groups of the 60's the one that later had the most disappointing development were the Doors. I know what you'll say "well, there was that minor incident of the lead singer dying". Well yes, there was that. I can't deny it was a biggie. They tried to go on without him, making two underwhelming albums (reviewed here and here) before they went their separate ways. After all, who would like to listen to the Jimi Hendrix Experience without Jimi Hendrix? Or Big Brother and The Holding Company without Janis Joplin? Actually I did see Big Bro with an ersatz Joplin and they weren't half bad - for a bar band, that is. But I expected more from the former Doors. After all, Krieger did write the music to "Light My Fire" and Manzarek's organ was integral to the sound of The Doors. Which is why I kept collecting their post-Doors outings, hoping to catch a spark of the old flame. But they never seemed to be able to get the right collaborators. Krieger struck gold once -by getting Jess Roden to sing on the first Butts Band album. Manzarek sang lead himself in his solo albums. I'd like to say his voice is an acquired taste, but it's more like an unacquirable taste. He must have also seemed out of place in 70's L.A. where the dominant sound was the laid-back country rock of The Eagles and Jackson Brown. Slowly, though, the music had began to change. The punk flame brewing in the New York underground scene was transmitted to England and from there it started shaking the foundations of the music industry. Manzarek was hip to the change, don't forget he discovered and produced L.A.'s first punk rockers, X. So he had the idea to form a group which, he claimed, would explore the city's dark side. This was to be called Nite City and, initially, feature Iggy Pop on vocals. But Iggy followed his pal David Bowie to Berlin - nowhere better to explore the dark side than with Soviet soldiers watching you from their gun towers above the wall. So, instead of Iggy what do we get? Noah James. This being Hollywood, he's a kind of model/singer. At some point it seems that regular people in that city disappeared to be replaced by model/actresses, model/waitresses, model/plumbers, model/pornstars, model/lifeguards etc. So what if the singer (the one with the fur coat, on the right of the album cover) looks like Zoolander impersonating Jim Morrison? Can he sing? Well, the best I can say is that he's less annoying than Manzarek. The other members were accomplished musicians: guitarist Paul Warren had played with white soul band Rare Earth and bassist Nigel Harrison was soon to join Blondie. Apart from Manzarek's distinctive organ sound, there's little here that reminds of the Doors. It's more of a combination of AOR and New Wave akin to, say, Sniffin' The Tears or Foreigner. Any "darkness" is limited to the pretensious pseudo-poetic lyrics, another poor Morrison imitation. "Summer Eyes" starts off quite promising with an organ riff straight out of The Doors' cookbook but continues with a chorus reminiscent of Jefferson Starship. Not bad, but nothing special either. "Nite City" has a Supertramp-like piano and a Morrison-esque poetry reading at the middle. Noah's singing on this song is terrible. I can easily imagine Iggy nailing it. "Love Will Make You Mellow" sports a hard rock guitar riff and groovy keyboard. A nice rocker that should appeal to fans of Journey etc. "Angel W/ No Freedom" is a jazzy ballad a la "Riders On The Storm". It got a lot of attention for the line "heroin killed my best friend" which people took to mean Jim Morrison. Remember that, up to then, Manzarek and Danny Sugerman (writer of Morrison bio "No one here gets out alive" and co-writer of this song) were the ones circulating the rumor of Morrison disappearing rather than dying. For once, Noah's vocals live up to expectations. "Midnight Queen" is forgettable AOR and "Bitter Sky Blue" is a bluesy ballad with piano reminiscent of The Doors' "Love Street". "Caught in a Panic" is a Foreigner-like hard rocker and "In the Pyramid" an ill-judged funk instrumental. Every time I hear it I get a mental image of Disco Stu from the Simpsons. The album closes with Roadhouse Blues-like boogie "Game of Skill". It's not bad, but what do you get if you take "Roadhouse Blues" and subtract Morrison's lyrics and singing? A bar band. It's true, there are some decent songs and good musicianship here, but I'd file it under "Another Missed Opportunity". The ex-Doors story has a lot of them. I think the last one was the Doors Of The 21st Century tour. Many thought it was sacrilege but I've been to one of their concerts and enjoyed it immensly. It was the first time since 1970 that Manzarek and Krieger were playing together, in a band with a decent singer (Ian Astbury). I wish they had entered a recording studio to cut a record with that band, but it seems they were too apprehensive of the inevitable comparisons. Manzarek's recent passing has closed this chapter forever and albums like "Nite City" only hint at what he could have accomplished if he had the right company...

**** for Summer Eyes

*** for Nite City, Love Will Make You Mellow, Angel W/ No Freedom, Bitter Sky Blue, Caught in a Panic, Game of Skill

** for Midnight Queen, In the Pyramid

The Doors "Other Voices" 1971***

In March 1971, Jim Morrison met with his bandmates Ray, Robbie and John for the last time. He gave them each a book of his poems and told them he was moving to Paris, France. Although the future of the group was not discussed, it was understood that the album they had just finished recording would probably be their last. The rest of the band weren't too happy about it. Financial reasons aside, the bad was obviously still on top form: the songwriting in "L.A. Woman" is inspired, the singing  is passionate and the musicianship superb. By all accounts the sessions for the album were very productive and the usually difficult Morrison was at his best behavior. I suspect it happened exactly because he knew it'd be the band's last, but you can't blame the other guys for wanting more. So after Jim left, they stayed in the studio preparing more songs, thinking ahead and hoping he'd get bored with Paris and return to the California sunshine and his rock group. As we all know, Morrison's French adventure lasted only a few months. In July 3 of the same year, he was (supposedly) found dead in his bathtub, from a heart attack. Some say drugs and more still believe he just faked his own death and performed the ultimate escape. Such a prank would have suited his character, though I daresay he would have surely returned to gloat afterwards. But for the sake of the believers, let's call it a mystery and leave it at that. The news of his death found the rest of the band with a lot of material in their hands. They quickly decided that, despite what everybody thought, they were still The Doors - with or without Morrison. They finished the album and by October it was out on the stores. It had a simple cover with a photo of the trio and I'll be damned if it didn't look like the "L.A. Woman" cover, with Morrison cut out of the picture.

Other Voices, my vinyl cover

L.A.Woman cover, minus Jim 

Maybe they were signifying that nothing has changed, other than the singer. Musically they do stay close to the previous album's earthy blues rock. I remember that my thought on first listen (a worn-out 2nd hand vinyl copy, bought 25 years ago) was "These songs would be great if Jim was singing them". And, true enough, these songs are vintage Doors, so one can easily picture how they'd have sounded with Jim - unlike with their next album, the jazzier "Full Circle". Opener "In The Eye Of The Sun" would be a perfect vehicle for Morrison, it's a strong blues-rocker with funky bass, neat slide guitar and Manzarek's trademark electric piano. Kinda like "The Changeling" meets "L.A.Woman" at Morrison Hotel. Ray's pedestrian blues delivery fails to lift the song from the ground, but even so it's quite good. Robbie takes over for "Variety is the Spice of Life" and "I'm Horny, I'm Stoned", two upbeat humorous blues/country numbers. His voice is OK for this lighter stuff. Personally I like it better than Manzarek's, which is sometimes annoying but a better match to Morrison's. They say that, when Jim was too drunk to sing, Ray would sometimes take over the vocals - one can see why. Ray and John Densmore share vocal duties on "Ships w/ Sails", a long, atmospheric song with a light jazzy feel and beautiful understated piano and guitar - quite similar to last album's "Riders On The Storm". Not only the highlight of the album, but one of the best songs The Doors ever recorded. "Tightrope Ride" is an upbeat rocker that reminds me of "Touch Me". Unfortunately instead of Jim's lion's growl we get Ray's frog's croak, but it's nevertheless still good rock'n'roll with a nice solo by Robbie. "Down On The Farm" combines two styles: half gentle psychedelic ballad and half twangy country complete with mouth organ. Ray and Robbie take turns on the vocals. Both this song and the following "Wandering Musician" reminded me of the Grateful Dead, except that the latter is slower and much more piano-based. "Hang on to Your Life" starts nicely with jazzy guitars and latin percussion Santana-style, then continues with a harmony vocal a la CSN&Y, and keeps changing style until it becomes a complete mess. Oh well, sometimes they were that way, even in the old days ("Soft Parade" anyone?). Had Jim survived and returned to sing these songs, this'd be a slightly less-than-average Doors album. As it stands now, it's an average-to-good blues/rock album with great musicianship and mediocre singing. When I had my record player around, I'd give the old vinyl a spin now and then. I suspect the same will happen with the CD reissue.

**** for In The Eye Of The Sun, Ships W/ Sails, Tightrope Ride

*** for Variety Is The Spice Of Life, Down On The Farm, I'm Horny I'm Stoned

** for Wandering Musician , Hang On To Your Life

The Doors "Full Circle" 1972***

I must be the only person who, when faced with this reissue on the record shop, cried out "At long last, they've finally released them!" I'm talking of course of the last two studio albums by The Doors - or, to be more accurate, the last studio albums bearing the Doors' name (but, for some reason, not the familiar logo). Long unavailable and never properly released on CD, these albums don't have the best reputation: They've been vilified and accused of exploiting and disgracing the band's legacy. At their time they didn't do too bad commercially: "Other Voices" reached No.31 and "Full Circle" went to No.68. Of course they were both recorded and released within 1 year of Morrison's death, which means the public eye was on them more than any time since the infamous Miami incident. But soon they disappeared under the outrage for the sacrilege of attempting to go on without their leader. To be fair, Doors members haven't defended their work too vigorously, either. I've acquired the "Other Voices" album on second hand vinyl around 25 years ago and was pretty familiar with its content, so I went straight for "Full Circle". I've downloaded it on MP3, but never quite delved into it since I'm not a big fan of MP3s: Music is not meant to be played on the laptop or mobile, people, snap out of it! Anyway, "Full Circle" is looser and jazzier from its predecessor which seems to have been written with Morrison in mind. The CD opens with “Get Up And Dance”, a funky number with handclaps and female backing vocals. Now, given the right material, Ray Manzarek can be a passable singer but not here. Worse crimes have been committed by white guys trying to sound funky, but only by a narrow margin. Robbie Krieger's "4 Billion Souls" is a jaunty honky-tonk song about ecological destruction, and sounds a bit like the Doors circa Soft Parade, what with the guitar/organ interplay. Jim would have nailed it but, as it becomes painfully clear, neither Ray nor Robbie are singers. "Verdillac" is funky, playful and imaginative jazz-rock and sounds pretty much like Frank Zappa - vocals and nonsensical lyrics included. Other new elements include a great saxophone solo and Latin percussion."Hardwood Floor" is a pretty standard blues/country ditty, with neat harmonica and female backing vocals. Likewise “Good Rockin'” is a pretty standard Rock'n'roll/R&B number, albeit executed with panache and perfect for Ray's voice who's rather good at simple bluesy stuff. “Mosquito” is the weirdest cut on the record: It starts off as a parody of Mexican music with Robbie singing stupid lyrics like "No me moleste mosquito/just let me eat my burrito" in his Speedy Gonzalez voice. Then suddenly he abandons the Latin shtick and delivers his best guitar solo ever while the band falls into a nice jazz-rock groove. I don't know what to make of it, but many people consider it the highpoint of the album and certainly Krieger's (and Densmore's) playing here is phenomenal. "The Piano Bird" is another standout, a gentle song with airy flute. Ray's singing is non-intrusive - which, for him, is as good as it gets. It's about a pianist and a bird playing melodies to each other. Disney stuff - can you imagine Jim Morrison singing something like that? "It Slipped my Mind" reminds me of all the bluesy songs on "Morrison Hotel". Robbie plays some good guitar and his singing isn't embarrassing, so all's good. Ray's "The Peking King And The New York Queen" sounds like a preview from his "Golden Scarab" album. Unfortunately the pretentious lyrics suck, singing's below par and female backing vocals are ill-judged. The reissue appends a rare B-side called "Treetrunk", a sympathetic piano boogie. The remaining Doors eventually toured with this material and gained some good reviews. In the past their concerts were hit or miss depending on Morrison's state. Without him, their onstage chemistry and almost telepathic communication took over. Unfortunately, when it comes to the records, the lack of inspiration is evident: The music is too indulgent, lyrics verge between the uninterested and plain bad, and singing lacks passion and conviction. They must have known that, but they enjoyed playing with each other too much to stop. Spurned by the good reaction to their concerts, they decamped to England and started jamming with various singers, trying to find a solution to their problem. They considered Kevin Coyne and The Audience's Howard Werth, God knows why. I mean they're very intellectual but also very British, and their voices are hardly suitable for The Doors' repertory... Iggy Pop was also proposed, one of a few singers that could match Morrison's explosiveness onstage. Iggy was a big Doors fan but I doubt they'd ever want to mess with him: he was even more uncontrollable than Morrison and with none his poetic streak. They tried to send word out to Paul Rodgers -now that would have been interesting- but couldn't get in contact with him (no mobiles back then). He probably would have said no anyway, like he did with Blackmore's proposal to join Deep Purple around the same time. It would have been an interesting union for sure, after all Rodgers' a world class vocalist, but it still wouldn't be The Doors just like Queen with Paul Rodgers weren't really Queen (still, if he could do a passable job replacing the irreplaceable Freddie Mercury, imagine what he'd do with The Doors' bluesier catalogue). Anyway, Manzarek despaired and went back to the U.S. to be near his pregnant wife. Krieger and Densmore teamed up with Jess Roden, whose voice is quite similar to Rodgers', and made a very good album with him as The Butts Band (Is it too much to ask for a proper CD reissue? Please?). Years later they toured under the name Doors of the 21st Century with The Cult's Ian Astbury as singer. Many snubbed them of course, but it's their loss: In addition to being the natural curators of the Doors legacy, Robbie and Ray are two great musicians with intuitive communication and this album is another testament to that. It's true that they never achieved greatness without Morrison, but it's my belief (though we'll never know for sure) that he would also never reach the same heights if it wasn't for them.

**** for Verdilac, the Piano Bird

*** for Get Up And Dance, Hardwood Floor, Good Rockin', The Mosquito, It Slipped My Mind

** for 4 Billion Souls, The Peking King And The New York Queen, Treetrunk