Britain Rocks on the Doors 'Keep

·A~rilll, · 1972 The Retriever Page 9 Britain rocks on British rock music is certainly not just -as surely as Roger McGuinn has Tchaikovs'ky's Nutcracker Suite, deaA· resurrected the Byrds. The new composed by L. A. 's R~sident A vast proliferation of new groups Crimson is jazzier, more exciting, and professional freak, Kim Fowley. with various degrees of talent has wittier than its predecessors, thanks to . Spooky Teeth - : sprung up over the past two years, and the addition of a reeds and flute player With the breakup of English heavy all of them seem to be reaching their and to Fripp's adding guitar to his group Spooky Tooth (' 'Tobacco popular peaks about now. There is an personal repertoire. Sinfield's lyrics Road," "I Am The Walrus"), three of awful lot of diversity in their styles; let are predictably erratic in quality, on its-very talented members have me cite a few of the more interesting· Islands, the new album, ranging from emerged as stars in their own right. artists as illustration. the artless male chauvinism of " Ladies Gary Wright, keyboardist, Mike Yes, indeed of the Road" to the niceness of the Harrison, vocalist, and Luther One of the best known bands is Yes, title cut. The instrumentals are even Grosvenor, guitarist and bassist, all that incredibly tight and skillful quintet better. A fine, innovative album. ' - have excellent solo albums. Wright's with the Crosby, Stills vocal section: Transmoogrifications Footprint shows him to be as fine a It took the group three albums to get Emerson, Lake, and Palmer's latest songwriter as he is a musician, and that way, and on their fourth album, album is an early recording of their even with such notables as Byrd Fragile, they've found room to ex reworking of a major semiclassical Clarence White, "George 0' Hara'~ periment. Each of the five mmbers composition--MOdest Moussgoursky's (George Harrison), and half of Leon has an individual composition done Pictures At An Exhibition. Being such, Russell's Shelter People, he is in either solo or accompanied, and they're it is naturally weak in some spots, but command. Grosvenor, a long-time all excellent. There are also four overall, it's a work of some con friend of Traffic's Jim Capaldi, is a straight songs, three of them eight siderable consequence. With his veritable one-man band who also minutes or more in length, all of them amazing synthesizer, Keith Emerson, matches his instrumental talents with arranged with symphonic brilliance. transmoogrifies the symphonic piece, his (and his wife's) writing ' ability. The music is generally up-tempo, which also features lyrics written and Harrison, with a strong rock band and makes for delightful listening. sung by Greg Lake, Lake's acoustic called Junkyard Angel, lets the band do guitar, and a live audience. Indeed, the much of the writing, which is also fine, Crimson Redux fact that this is a live album seems to and does well with a Grosvenor com Robert Fripp and Peter Sinfield have be the oly real weakness. It concludes, position and Cat Stevens' "Hard LUTHER GROSVENOR once again ressurrected. King Crimson, by the ' way, with a parody of Headed Woman" in ad,dition to the original material. Each of these three has a distinctive .individual style. Wright's is rock tinged with gospel, Grosvenor's r.uns fromairy Music to hard stuff, and Harrison's is much 'keep on' like the old Spooky Tooth sound. All of The Doors them deserve attention and purchase. --Barry Hoffman The Doors did two shows at Painter's too relaxed, though it was helped by the Mill recently, backed by Badfinger. I presence of a bassist and rhythm didn't catch either concert, and I've guitarist to liberate Manzarek, who heard the spectrum of opinions on both. formerly played a bass keyboard with Few of the people considered it his left hand, and Krieger. remarkable, however, that seven But what's wrong with a change of months after the untimely death of style? Morrison isn't Ray, Robbie, or J ames Douglas Morrison, the Doors John, though each contributed a "keep on keeping on." special part of the Doors' music. It It all now seems so unreal--the an should be noted that Krieger is the nouncement that he had been dead and author of "Light My Fire," "Love Me buried for several days while many of Two Times" "Touch Me" "Wishful · us saw a major Doors popularity Sinful " "R~nning Blue " ~nd "Tell All comeback in L. A. Woman. Yet few The People." It should' also be noted people know that the other three Doors, that on almost every Doors album, the organist Ray Manzarek,' guitarist authorshop of songs is credited to "The Robbie Krieger, and ' drummer John Doors" or "Morrison; Doors." Densmore, had already been Together, the four went through quite a rehearsing as a trio months before number of major changes without Morrison's death. L. A. Woman was no impairing the quality of their work. less than a major reconcilliation in one Of course, this latest change is far of the stormiest musical marriages in . more serious than any the Doors have rock history. For Morrison always ever gone through. With.out· the charted his own course, a course that brilliant,incisive poetry of Morrison, sometimes even made his good friends much of the depth has been removed, uneasy. These three were un and I think it- fortunate that the other consciously prepared for what finally three haven't tried to replace it. In happened. stead, they have opted for a far Ilghter, But it's one thing to consider a wittier style, on an appropriately titled possibility and another entirely to face new album, Other Voices. it. How well have the Doors fared To begin with, the Morrison Doors without Morrison? Using the acid tests always had a great sense of humor (We of concerts and recordings, I'll at least Could Be So Good Together, " render my judgement. "Hyacinth House," "Wintertime The overwhelming response to the Love" to name a few examples). Other concerts here seems to be that the Voices proves conclusively that Ray, Doors' power and vitality departed Robbie, and John each bear an equal them with Morrison. The group seemed responsibility with Jim for these lighter moments. The music shows. the usual Doors tightness with far less improvisation than usual, though that MIKE HARRISON might be expected in a period of As far as I'm concerned, there is life Latitudes," "Five To One," and "L. A. readjustment such as this album after death--at least in the case of the Woman" itself. The two-album set represents. Doors. passes over most of the hit singles, The songs are nice; cliches abound which were covered on 13, in favor of but are used well. References to death But if you miss the legendary red some of the best album cuts, and the are made in two songs, but only one of neck admiral's son turned L. A. choices are wisely made. them, "Hang On To Your Life," seems Renaissance Man, perhaps one of the For those of you too . young to to have anything to do with Morrison; last free men in America, Elek-tra has remember, Weird Scenes Inside The indeed, Ray told a friend of mine after provided for you as well in a Gold Mine and 13, the Doors' the concert that Jim's absence doesn't remarkable. anthology, Weird Scenes "greatest hits" album, should serve as even make a difference anymore. As Inside the Gold Mine . The material an introduction to the artistry of Jim for the Other Voices, they need work contained reaches from the first album Morrison. If you dig him, and I did and but will do. Ray and Robbie are those to the last one Morrison cut, L. A. still do, then my advice to you is to do voices, and the former's vocal style is Woman, and includes Doors classics as I did and buy everything by the strongly reminiscent of the departed "The End" "When The Music's Over" Doors. You can't really go wrong . shaman himself. "Riders 'On The Storm," "Hor~e --Barry Hoffman .

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