We continue our look back at the music of 50 years ago…….
Earlier in the year The Doors released “LA Woman, a great album. Later in 1971 they released “Other Voices”, a not so great album. The difference, of course, is that Jim Morrison died in Paris between the two and the three remaining members had to sing as well as play.
By all accounts, Jim Morrison was a dick. He was a mean drunk and wasn’t very much fun to be around. What he was though, was an excellent singer-songwriter and the glue that held The Doors together.
The music on “Other Voices” is fine. Robby Krieger is an underated guitarist compared to his late-60’s-early 70’s peers, John Densmore is a mostly, tasty drummer. And Ray Manazarek’s keyboard work appeals to many. They just don’t sing well or possess a voice as deep and resonant as the Lizard King.
One thing that did come out of the two albums the band released after Morrison’s death is that each member got to spread out a bit and we heard some of their compositions that might have been ignored before.
Manzarek’s “In The Eye Of The Sun” kicks things off with an incessant little groove. Krieger gives us some comic relief with “Variety is The Spice Of Life” and the Krieger/Densmore song “Ship With Sails” has some really nice guitar work. The final song on Side one is a rocker called ‘Tightrope Ride’ with Krieger’s guitar, once again standing out.
Side two is more of the same including a Krieger song called “I’m Horny, I’m Stoned”…well it was the early 70’s.
The band augmented their sound with additional players including Jerry Scheff on bass. Scheff was a long-time LA session cat who played on hundreds of records, was a member of Elvis’s touring band and also played some on LA Woman earlier in the year.
The band would do one more LP in 1972 before bagging it…realizing that without Morrison, it would never be the same.
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