BLUES N'AT

     Recently Mrs. Black-N-Gold caught a concert of the Doors from the Hollywood Bowl on VH1 Classic. The group was a product of the Sunset Strip scene in Los Angeles. Singer Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, guitarist Robby Krieger and drummer John Densmore first hooked up back in 1965. While many of their contemporaries were turning on, tuning in and dropping out, the Doors were not part of the hippie phase of the '60s. They didn't perform at Woodstock or even at Monterey. They had many hits to their name including "Light My Fire", "Love Me Two Times" and "LA Woman". But the Doors also carried a blues vibe.

     The Doors have been described as psychedelic rock, acid rock and hard rock but from their 1st album they also opened the doors to the blues. Their self-titled debut album featured the Willie Dixon hit "Back Door Man". The Doors also took a poem from Bertolt Brecht from 1927 and turned it into their own brand of boozy blues, "Alabama Song (Whisky Bar). These songs helped introduce the masses to The Doors and their love of the blues.

     The Doors also brought the blues to their 4th album, "Soft Parade" with "Shaman's Blues" and album #5 "Morrison Hotel" with "Roadhouse Blues" and "Talking Blues", respectively. However, mostly, up to this point, The Doors bag of tricks were typically about soft parades and peace frogs.

     It was on their 6th album that they really brought the blues to LA. "LA Woman" saw Jim Morrison go from "The Lizard King" to "The Crawling Kingsnake". Mrs. Black-N-Gold considers "The Changeling", "Been Down So Long" and "Riders On The Storm" to be about as bluesy as it gets with Manzarek's organ replicating a blues harp without missing a beat. Mr. Mojo Risin's low-down vocals help lift the songs into the far reaches of the blues. Robby Krieger and John Densmore were always underated in Mrs. Black-N-Gold's eyes.

     The Doors were great musicians who could jam in any genre and were led by one of the most enigmatic front men in history. They even performed with the great Albert King, proving they could hang with the best of them. The fact that they brought the Sunset Strip-blues to the masses just makes them that much cooler. Until next time, boys and girls. Keep It Bluesy!