<Previous |
Next> |
Article 22
Rock On
The Doors of Perception
(Published
in Times of India
P oetry and Rock Music are strange bedfellows, or so I thought, till I discovered that one of my favorite Rock Bands was one of its leading exponents. As a kid I had none of those lofty ideals of high learning and the music of the Doors moved me purely because of the sheer energy of the music. The combination of the music instruments, the cheesy Vox organ of Ray Manzarek, the clean flamenco-tinged guitaring of Robbie Krieger, the unconventional drum breaks of John Densmore and of course the dynamic charismatic singing of the master himself, Jim Morrison drove me to an ecstasy that was strange to explain. There was an almost voodoo-like quality to the whole experience and its hypnotic effect still continues to weave its relentless spell on me.
It is said that the name `The Doors' was
Jim's idea and it was inspired by a quote from William Blake. "If the
doors of perception were cleansed, every thing would appear as it is,
infinite." Jim himself was fond of saying, "there are things known
and things unknown and in between are "The Doors". It was apparent
that intellectual curiosity was the starting point of the Doors philosophy. No
wonder Morrison always tested the limits of tolerance of the other band members
in an attempt to reach untouched terrains of creativity! In those days,
It was Jim Morrison and Ray Manzarek who
formed the band after they majored in Film from UCLA. Jim's writing had
impressed Ray who saw the possibilities of a Rock band that could make a
difference. For a while, Ray's brothers formed the other members of the band
but that did not seem to be heading anywhere. In those days, Maharishi Mahesh
Yogi was the hot craze among the youth and Ray's interest in
A string of fabulous albums followed the enormous success of the hit single "Light my fire" from the first album which also contained classics like "The End", "Break on through" etc. The Indian sitar-like tones of Krieger in "The End" were said to be the result of the teachings of Pandit Shamim Ahmed of the Ravi Shankar School and it was very interesting to hear the Panditji tell us about it later when I met him in the offices of a record company in Bombay. The albums to follow were equally stupendous! "Strange Days", "Waiting for the Sun", "Soft Parade", "Morrison Hotel", "LA Woman" were released in quick succession and each release of the Doors was awaited with bated breath by all of us. You could be sure that each album would feed us kids, music that would excite both musically and lyrically.
It was undoubtedly Morrison who was the
driving force behind both the critical and commercial success of the Doors.
Therefore it was no surprise that with his untimely death at the tender age of
27, the band would steadily loose its impact. Yet it was always Morrison who tested
the fragile nature of the band. The alcohol and other substance abuse along
with his legendary erratic behavior almost resulted in the Band's early demise
and Morrison was arrested at times for irrational and irreverent behavior. His
intense hatred for authority was to remain a constant battle throughout his
life. Therefore it is indeed surprising that he left behind such a huge body of
work. In the twenty-seven years of his life he recorded seven albums of songs,
toured and performed throughout the
"LA Woman", the Doors' last album
of freshly recorded tracks, is said to be their largest selling album and
Morrison was at the very peak of his creativity in this period. Sadly the world
could have no more. He was found dead in the bathtub on 3rd July 1971 in
Rock on!
Nandu Bhende
http://nandu_bhende.tripod.com
Home |
Profile |
Theatre |
Music |
Family |
Companies |
Pics |
Articles |
mp3s |
What's New |
Contact |