| 23rd December 2006 05:45 PM |
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| Ten Thousand Motels |
40 years after breaking through the fire still burns for The Doors
Thursday, December 21, 2006
By CHRIS WELCH
Huntville Times
Since Jim Morrison's death 35 years ago, The Doors have continued to be heard on the radio, but the three remaining members have for the most part remained in the shadow of "The Lizard King."
Now, 40 years after the band was discovered at Los Angeles' Whisky a Go Go, The Doors are having a revival and the "other three guys in the band" - Robby Krieger, Ray Manzarek and John Densmore - are getting their due.
The 40th anniversary celebration recently kicked off at the Whisky and will include the band getting a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, a traveling Doors exhibit, a main exhibit in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, a Las Vegas show, a multinight TV special ("Six Nights, Six Years, Six Records"), a new Doors documentary, a pair of coffee-table books ("The Doors by the Doors With Ben Fong-Torres" and "Jim Morrison: Treasures" by rock hall curator Jim Henke) and a 12-disc box set called "Perception."
Krieger and Manzarek are also doing shows with a group called Riders of the Storm featuring lead singer Ian Astbury of The Cult.
"There is an awful lot of interest in The Doors," Krieger said during a phone interview with The Times from Los Angeles. "That comes partly from the book and the movie.
"Back in the 1970s, Danny Sugerman, The Doors' manager, wrote a book and it became almost a bible for young people. In those days, and even today, they identify with it for some reason, and after that Oliver Stone made a movie about The Doors. Those combinations made kids identify with The Doors, especially the young people of every young generation."
Krieger has one big regret.
"I just wish Jim was here to see it," Krieger said. "He really wanted to be big like The Beatles. Back then, The Doors were more of an underground group, not that big. We were on a small record company, not one like Capitol that could shoot out zillions of albums."
Would The Doors still be rockin' arenas today if Morrison were alive?
"I bet they would," Krieger said. "What else would we be doing? One possibility is films. Ray and Jim went to the UCLA film school and I bet we'd be doing a lot of videos."
Krieger said he and Manzarek are enjoying playing The Doors music live with Riders on the Storm. So how do they compare to the original Doors?
"In a way, it's very similar," Krieger said. "Ian is not Jim, but he's great in his own regard. He's very influenced by Jim, a but not like a Jim clone. He brings his own thing to it."
And how should music historians view The Doors?
"That's tough to say, if you ask me 50 years from now I might know better," Krieger said. "But I think we've influenced a lot of people and groups, just as much as Elvis and The Beatles. To me, that's the mark of how successful a group is."
[Edited by Ten Thousand Motels] |
| 23rd December 2006 05:48 PM |
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| pdog |
jim did in 3 years what it took Elvis 25 to do, get fat and die! |
| 23rd December 2006 07:16 PM |
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| guitarman53 |
John Densmore was the only member who went against a reunion, he must have made peace with the other two, but it's great their back in action, I was only interested in the music anyway, after Morrison died the other 3 made a few albums, that went nowhere, he (Morrison) was the real spirit in the Doors, they want someone on stage who can rattle up the people, nobody did that like Jim Morrison. |
| 23rd December 2006 08:34 PM |
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| keefjunkie |
They made two albums without Jim.
And those albums are very good. |
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