NEW HAVEN REGISTER  -  show preview

April 28, 2003

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Life/Styles
 
Strange days, indeed
Three decades later, a reincarnation of The Doors
 
Fran Fried, Register Entertainment Editor April 28, 2003
AP/Vern Williams/Register
Ray Manzarek (left), Ian Astbury and Robby Krieger, who play at Oakdale in Wallingford tonight, will always be shadowed by the presence of Jim Morrison, rear.

The big question isn’t why Ray Manzarek and Robby Krieger have revived The Doors without the band’s focal point. After all, they recorded two albums and carried on for 16 months after the death of singer Jim Morrison in July 1971.

As what’s being billed as The Doors 21st Century pulls into Wallingford’s Oakdale Theatre for a show tonight, the big question is: Why now?

There have been other times when it would have made more sense — say, the late ’70s, when Doorsmania inexplicably erupted (hallmarked by the Rolling Stone Morrison cover: "He’s Hot. He’s Sexy. He’s Dead."); or perhaps in 1991, when Oliver Stone’s film "The Doors" came out, starring Val Kilmer as Morrison.

"Why now? Because it’s the 21st century," said Manzarek, the band’s keyboardist, from his Los Angeles home two weeks ago. "The Doors were not going to get together in the 20th century. But there’s wars going on and the economy is going down the drain and the environment is being threatened … it’s like the ’60s all over again."

Besides, he added, "In ’91, it would have been clever to capitalize on the movie. But who would we have gotten to sing?" You could hear the sneer.

"Valllll Kilmer?"

The singer this time is Ian Astbury, longtime leader of English band The Cult. He hooked up with Manzarek and guitarist Krieger at a "VH1 Storytellers" session last year, at which they also played with Scott Stapp of Creed and Scott Weiland of Stone Temple Pilots. The TV show was, in fact, the reason Manzarek and Krieger’s fire was lit to reunite.

"Ian just did a bangup job," Manzarek said.

Shortly after, Harley-Davidson called Krieger, asking them to play the company’s 100th-anniversary concerts. "We said, ‘Let’s get Ian,’" said Manzarek. "The Cult was breaking up, the timing was right — BOOM! That was it."

Astbury has dark, brooding features like Morrison did, but his voice is different — a top-of-the-lungs delivery compared to Morrison’s raw yell from the middle of his gut. Well, don’t expect another Morrison, Manzarek said; they weren’t trying to mimic him.

"He’s got that touch of the shaman to him," said Manzarek. "He’s not Jim Morrison, but some people say he’s channeling him. He’s into the same things Jim was into: American Indians, spirituality, that sorta black Celtic thing Morrison had going. (But) it’s not Jim Morrison. It’s Ian singing. It’s his interpretation of Doors songs."

As it turned out, getting the drummer turned out to be the tricky part.

Manzarek and Krieger currently have not one, but two lawsuits to eventually contend with. Original drummer John Densmore sued the band for copyright infringement and breach of contract. Then, former Police drummer Stewart Copeland, who played a few shows with them last year, sued for $1 million because he said the band broke an oral contract with him when they decided to continue without him. Meanwhile, this version of The Doors carries on with drummer Ty Dennis and bassist Angelo Barbera. (The bassist is a new twist; in the "classic" days, Manzarek played the bass parts on the keyboard.)

"That’s nuisance lawsuits," said Manzarek. "That’s a couple of drummers having a hissy fit. Stewart is having a hissy fit; John is having a hissy fit. We don’t take it real seriously.

"It’s drummers having semi-hysterical reactions. Stewart we decided against because he didn’t have the mystery. John, there was talk of a pre-existing medical condition I don’t want to talk about. (He did mention tinnitus to Dave Ferman of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.) Besides, I don’t think he could play two hours of solid rock ‘n’ roll. And John’s always been at sixes-and-nines with us, always being contrary."

But to The Doors’ credit, this isn’t going to be just a jukebox show of everything you’ve heard ad nauseum on "rock" radio the past 35 years.

Of course, you’ll hear "Light My Fire" (which was written by Krieger), "Roadhouse Blues," "Break on Through," etc. There will also be an unexpected rarity, such as "Maggie M’Gill." But the group will also play some new material as well.

Manzarek and Krieger are writing the music for an album to be released later this year; the lyrics are being written by an array of people, including poets Jim Carroll and Michael McClure, and singers Henry Rollins and John Doe (whose 1979 debut album with the band X, "Los Angeles," was produced by Manzarek and included a version of The Doors’ "Soul Kitchen").

But there will always be the piercing eyes of the young, adventurous, self-destructive Morrison lurking in the background.

"It’s a dionysian resurrection," said Manzarek, 64, referring to Dionysus, the dying-and-resurrecting god of ancient Greece. "Dionysus resurrects himself every spring. Morrison was Dionysus, man, in an American guise."

 

Fran Fried can be reached at (203) 789-5678 or ffried@nhregister.com.

©New Haven Register 2003

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