The Doors: Happy to check in at Morrison Hotel fifty years later
The Doors have just re-released Morrison Hotel: Ray Manzarek, John Densmore, Robby Krieger, and John Densmore
When The Doors performed 'Baby, Please Don’t Go at the London Fog nightclub on Sunset Strip in California in the spring of 1966, they had drawn significant inspiration from an Irish source. It was the band Them, fronted by a young Van Morrison, that had caught the American group's attention with their feral blast of the blues standard.
The Doors were further enthused when offered a two-week residency supporting the band at the famous Whiskey a Go Go venue in June of that year. On the last night of the run both bands would get up on stage for a final encore of 'Gloria'. While only a few photos exist of the two Morrisons, Van and Jim, it proved to be a high-voltage event with reports of Van Morrison getting “violent with the mike stand”.
Down the line from California, Doors' guitarist Robby Krieger reflects on the memorable episode. “It was pretty amazing to get to play with Them at the Whiskey because they were one of our favourite bands, we also did a cover of 'Mystic Eyes', as well as putting our own spin on 'Gloria'. When we got up on the last night and did 'Gloria', the two Morrisons were up front. Jim really liked him [Van] and they hung out quite a bit.
“Van was really shy at that point, you could hardly get a word out of him. We were at a party after the show when he pulled out a guitar and started doing a bunch of new songs which later became some of his greatest hits. We were mesmerised - it was amazing. 'Brown Eyed Girl' was one of them - we’d never heard it before and all of sudden he just came out with it.”
Jim Morrison, inspired by Van’s unpredictable performances, would create his own sense of theatre on stage. The curly haired, clean shaven imp in leather trousers would soon be traded for a more solemn figure when The Doors appeared at the Isle of Wight Festival in August 1970 to promote their fifth album Morrison Hotel.
Morrison, now heavily bearded, heavier set and sullen, remained rooted to the spot for the 2am performance in front of 600,000 festival goers with a much-contested obscenity trial hanging over his head. Widely known as the 'Miami incident', it was alleged Morrison unzipped his trousers onstage and exposed himself to the audience.
Despite those troubles, The Doors delivered a potent musical performance, with their poet vocalist shifting easily from crooner to his raw and bluesy best. Robby Krieger indicates the band went into the live show with little time to prepare.
“I flew over with Jimi Hendrix the night before. We were sitting next to each other, Jimi was a little out of it and sleeping most of the time. He said: 'If you score [drugs] first call me and if I score first I’ll call you’.” Krieger was in no mood for substances. “I remember arriving and hearing about thousands of kids who had tore down the fencing and stormed the festival. Some got hurt and Joni Mitchell was crying hoping it wouldn't be another Altamont.”
The band squared up to their slot wondering if a potential three-year jail sentence for Morrison would permanently derail The Doors. “I think he was obviously in a bad frame of mind with the whole trial thing going on but it was a chance for Jim to have some relief, play some music and forget about all that. We hadn’t played very much before that show with the Miami situation so we just went on and did what was more comfortable, although Morrison Hotel had just come out we did the older stuff.”
The 1970 album celebrates its 50th anniversary with the release of a deluxe edition this month. Unlike their previous record, The Soft Parade, Morrison Hotel had no big hit single but it was a more complete offering that included jukebox favourite 'Roadhouse Blues'.
'Peace Frog' and 'Ship Of Fools' were among the highlights, with shared songwriting credits between Krieger and Morrison. “I came up with the riff on 'Ship Of Fools' but I don’t know where I got that thing from. I tuned the guitar down to D, the low string and started on this riff while Jim looked through his poetry book and found these lyrics about the sea and the ship’s captain; I think he was talking about his grandfather.”
Also released in September of this year was a stripped down version of The Soft Parade on vinyl. The original sugary string and brass orchestrations coupled with an appeal to the pop charts on 'Touch Me' had got a mixed response from the band's core audience.
With Morrison trying to quit the band a number of times after Miami, Krieger took on a more notable role, composing three of the album’s singles. “There are no sleepers among The Doors records,” he says in defence of The Soft Parade.
“I think the fact we used orchestration rubbed a lot of people up the wrong way at the time because they figured The Doors were four musicians and it should always be that way. Both the Beatles and the Stones had used orchestration, to my mind I don’t think we should have done it, it was the producer's [Paul A. Rothchild] call, but looking back it works on a lot of that stuff like 'Touch Me'. Maybe it doesn't sound as much like The Doors as some of the other records.”
Jim Morrison would be dead within months of the release of their final album, L.A Woman, in 1971. He had moved to Paris with girlfriend Pamela Courson in March of that year.
“It was kind of weird because we were over here and he was in Paris,” recalls Krieger. “It all happened so fast because Pam got his death certificate done really quick and I think there was some heroin involved. When you mix that with alcohol it’s not a good thing. I’m sure she didn’t want that to come out but we don’t know and no one really knows except for Pam and she’s dead too.”
Perhaps the time is right for Krieger to tell his version of events?
“The books by Ray [Manzarek, the band's keyboardist who died in 2013] and John [Densmore] both kind of put each other down which was stupid and caused a lot of problems. I have been writing my book which is about half-way done. I’m thinking of doing another movie that is more based around the early stuff and the friendships. To me Jim was like an older brother and we hung out quite a bit, especially in the early days doing all the stuff you do when you’re in a rock band. When he started drinking too much that put the kybosh on it. I just couldn’t hang with him after that. I wish he had never started that drinking or he would’ve been here today. The Doors were four guys who were perfectly synchronised to make music and the songs are what will last.”
The Doors Morrison Hotel 50th anniversary edition has been released as a super deluxe1LP/2CD edition. The Soft Parade/Stripped is also out now.
