Within the canon of American countercultural rock bands of the 1960s, there is hardly one that stands out more than The Doors - not merely because of their musical output but due to the controversy the trailblazing riddle hidden an enigma that was their frontman Jim Morrison embodied with his beautifully erratic and mythological persona. Formed in 1965, the core catalogue of The Doors is comprised of six flawless albums before Jim Morrison joined the 27 Club.
Having co-written most of their hits and having infused the songs with his idiosyncratic fingerstyle approach to guitar playing along with expanding the band’s horizon via his broad musical tastes, Robby Krieger is well positioned to shed light on the inner life of The Doors.
Claiming that the way Krieger reminisces about his trials and tribulations in the sixties is not exactly academic would be an understatement par excellence – au contraire, instead the book is comprised of fragmented snapshots, which carry enough ammunition to appease the dedicated The Doors fan with details about debauchery, rebellion, vandalism and drugs galore.
Following an unflinchingly honest stream-of-consciousness approach, mythmaking rock’n roll moments and humorous anecdotes are embedded in Krieger’s life story, detailing the most vital days of an infamous band.
Needless to say, the insights Krieger shares are highly interesting , especially when he debunks, corrects and relativizes what Oliver Stone portrayed as historical artifacts in his sensationalised Doors flic.
With its conversational style, Krieger not only delivers a nostalgic memoir of his time with The Doors but also sets the record straight, which is bound to delight hardcore fans as Krieger has not exactly proved to be the most outspoken constituent of the group over the years.
An insightful glimpse into 1960s counterculture and an account of a life lived less ordinarily.
