Opening the Doors of Perception :: Music Musical Band Musicians Papers

Opening the Doors of Perception In August of 1965, Jim Morrison met his friend Ray on the beach in Los Angeles and sang him a few lines of a song he had just written. Ray played keyboard for a band at the time and had known Jim since they both went to UCLA, but he didnt know that Jim could write songs or sing. In a few weeks, Jim had taken the lead vocal position in Ray's band, Rick and the Ravens, and the group had produced a demo recording with Aura Records. In the next sixteen months, Jim, Ray, John Densmore (a drummer), and Robby Krieger (a guitarist) formed The Doors and by 1971, The Doors had written, produced, and released some of the most popular, memorable, rebellious and intelligent music of their time. When Jim began writing his own music, he never had written a song and he had never been a singer either. Jim was living on the rooftop of a building near Venice Beach and he wrote much of his material about the people, places and things he saw in L.A. One of his earliest songs, Soul Kitchen, was written about a small deli in Los Angeles; this song eventually became a popular concert piece and was recorded in a couple versions ranging from three-and-a-half to over seven minutes long. Soul Kitchen was released on The Doors first album (The Doors) in the beginning of 1967 and captured much of the darkness and mystery that the group soon became known for. In one passage, Morrison sings "Speaking secret alphabets; I light another cigarette; learn to forget; learn to forget" and also references the late night scene in Los Angeles he was so wrapped up in, "Stumblin in the neon groves". Personally, I like Soul Kitchen not only because of the lyrics and reference to an actual place, but also because of the rhythm. Ray Manzarek was and still is an excellent keyboardist. Soul Kitchen opens with a mesmerizing keyboard solo and Ray's ivory tones remain present throughout the entire song. Another of The Doors many songs that features the keyboard is When The Musics Over. This song was one of my favorites when I bought my first Doors cd (Strange Days) and I still like it quite a bit. When The Musics Over is a very complicated song to understand and I still dont think I understand it after hearing it countless times.