ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON DEC. 15, 2005
By Steve Newton
When keyboardist Ray Manzarek and guitarist Robbie Krieger decided they wanted to tour and re-create the music of their old band, the Doors, they had to find a frontman who could take the place of Jim Morrison, both vocally and visually.
Since the guy from the Tea Party wasn’t available, they hooked up with former Cult member Ian Astbury, who had sung with them-and the third surviving Door, drummer John Densmore-on the 2000 CD, Stoned Immaculate: The Music of the Doors.
In that disc’s liner notes, Astbury was all a-twitter about working with the remnants of the legendary quartet.
“The Doors,” he raved, “more than any other group, had the unique chemistry of blues, jazz, classical, and pop fed through the mojo filter to create the high-minded, anarchic, angel-headed rock to which all in their wake aspired.”
Apparently impressed by Astbury’s performance-not to mention his liner-note-writing abilities-Manzarek and Krieger enlisted him in Riders on the Storm, which plays the Commodore on Monday (December 19). As the keyboardist explains on the phone from his home in Napa, California, Astbury is a worthy recruit to fill the Lizard King’s boots.
“Without being an imitation,” says Manzarek, “he’s that same personality, same archetype as Jim Morrison. He’s cut from the same cloth.”
The last time they played Vancouver, at the Pacific Coliseum five months back, Manzarek, Krieger, and Astbury were billed as the Doors of the 21st Century but had to change the moniker for legal reasons.
“John Densmore sued us for using the name the Doors in any way, shape, or form,” relates Manzarek. “He can’t play, but he didn’t want us to play either.”
Densmore currently suffers from tinnitus, the same inner-ear woe afflicting the Who’s Pete Townshend, so the ROTS drum seat is now occupied by L.A. session ace Ty Dennis. Rounding out the lineup is bass veteran Phil Chenn, noted for his ’70s work with Rod Stewart and for his contribution to Jeff Beck’s landmark jazz-rock album of ’75, Blow by Blow.
Manzarek claims that all the old Doors tunes are going over famously with Astbury at the fore, but when I ask him about the inclusion of my two personal faves, he only meets me halfway. The quintet closes the first part of its set with “L.A. Woman”, but don’t hold your breath for “Love Her Madly”.
“I don’t feel comfortable playing that one,” he points out. “I’ve got too many switches to do from a harpsichord sound to the organ sound, so that one is a little difficult to get my fingers around.”
Even without “Love Her Madly” in the set, the nostalgic ’60s-counter-culture buzz promised by a Riders on the Storm gig is sizable. Some rock fans aren’t so thrilled by the prospect of the ex-Doors carrying on 34 years after the death, at age 27, of their charismatic singer-poet, but Manzarek denies that he and Krieger’s main goal is to profit from Morrison’s legacy.
“Yeah, they’re right,” he shoots back at detractors, “we shouldn’t play. It would be better if we didn’t play, don’t you think? I hate to tell those people, but Jim Morrison is dead. What, do they think we’re doin’ it for the money? We’re doin’ it for the love of the music, the great fun of playing Doors songs. I mean, we’re playing ‘Light My Fire’, ‘Break On Through’, ‘Love Me Two Times’. I haven’t played those songs live in, like, 20 years, now I’m playing them again with Robbie Kreiger. We are having a ball, and that’s why we’re doing it.
“And guess what? We get paid for it.”