Wow! I just read that The Doors are going to reform for a tour in 2003! In addition, they are going to release a new album in 2003! Ian Astbury from The Cult fame will be the lead singer. This is going to be so cool. I've been a huge Doors fan for years and long have wondered what a Doors concert would be like. A Doors concert in 2003 probably won't be like a Doors concert in 1968, but it should be a great experience nonetheless. Hopefully the group won't go for a modern sound. I want that crude Krieger guitar and that '60s-sounding Manzarek keyboard. As Flounder said in Animal House, this is going to be great! Here is a link: http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/ent...00/2095182.stm This link mentions that John Densmore might not be able to tour due an illness. Does anyone know what ails him?
By the way, in looking at the picture of Astbury on the BBC News link above, I think he looks a bit like Jim Morrison. Either that or Bill Campbell on ESPN's Baseball Tonight.
Here's a link to a recent essay from John Densmore about how the Doors have refused all offers for commercials ... so far ... http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i...c=1&s=densmore There's also some other Doors related info in there too.
Christ, The Doors touring without Morrison and Densmore wouldn't really be The Doors, would it? Why are all of these classic rockers so shamelessly whoring themselves out now?
I'm not the biggest Doors fan in the world (got burned out more than enough on them from all the people playing their albums in college--and this was the 90s!), but this strikes me as a singularly terrible idea. For all intents and purposes, this might as well be that Doors tribute band.
Didn't the surviving members of the band write all the music?? I know Morrison was the front man and all but The Doors' sound I think was created by Robby, John and Ray. They were the heart of the band. I'd see them in a heartbeat!
Calling them whores is a bit silly IMO. It's not like these guys have been doing this stuff for years. In fact, these guys seem like the least "whore like" band of that generation. Maybe they would just like to go out there and tour one more time? Maybe they have a right to call themselves The Doors, because they are in fact, The Doors? I for one, think it's not such a horrible thing. And yes, I do understand what Morrison meant to The Doors. But he's been dead for a very long time now. Let the guys go out there and enjoy themselves. It's not like they chose JaRule as their frontman!
If you have people that were in the Doors playing music by the Doors, it ain't a big deal. When bands tour without original drummers or keyboard players, people make a big stink. But when it's a singer... watch out, it's prostitution. Yes, Morrison meant a lot. But I think it's up to the band to decide what they want to do about it.
I'm surprised there isn't more enthusiasm for this tour. Many of us never had the opportunity to see The Doors in concert. I was one-year-old when Jim Morrison "died", so all I have is the recorded music and the movie to give me an idea of what a Doors concert was like. As I said, I'm sure a Doors concert in 2003 won't be like one in 1968, but it still should be a great experience. Astbury is more than capable as a lead singer. I do hope that Densmore will be able to tour, however. I am still very excited by this news. One thing I would like to see is a tour and new album bring The Doors back to the forefront of our consciousness like what happened when the movie was released in '91. If that happens, perhaps Warner will release more Doors albums on DVD-Audio.
If there weren't any of the original members in the group anymore I would agree with the bashing, but I don't really think anyone is expecting Morrison to jump out of his grave (or out of hiding) for this concert. We all know that it'll be Kreiger and Manzerkick playing the old Doors tunes with two extra musicians. Both Robby and Ray are great musicians, I've seen them both perform solo shows and wouldn't downplay their involvement in the Doors. Hell, Robby wrote most of the bands hits, not Jim. They are professional musicians that had tremendous success with their early work, they should not be made to pretend that they had no part in it just because a guy they use to work with died. It doesn't work that way in any other profession, I don't know why everyone expects musicians to sit in a time capsule and never come out just because they were successful. I don't see how this can, in any way, be called "three old guys padding their wallets" unless they charge $300 a ticket (Ala Eagles).
The Doors continued aa a working band for 4 years after Morrison died, releasing 2 albums (Other Voices and Full Circle), and did major tours behind both albums. Both of these albums never appeared on CD in the U.S. I am continuously surprised at how many people aren't aware of this, as if it is some forgotten piece of musicsal history. There was no outcry back in '72, there shouldn't be one now. If you need to - you can claim that this is a reunion of THAT band. To accuse them of selling out or cashing in isn't fair; not when The Who broke up and retired in '82 only to tour 5 more times), or when Zeppelin songs sell Cadillacs. It seems to me The Doors have been more conservative in "cashing in" than most of their contemporaies. Sure - they padded their catalog with reissues and box sets (as have all the others) and released several home video's (as have all the others), but I never really felt that they were milking the cash cow. I never felt about them the way I feel when I hear Daltry pounding out "Bargain" to sell me an auto....
I wouldn't mind it so much if they released a new album and toured under a different name just as Robert Plant and Jimmy Page did a few years ago. When John Bonham died the remaining members decided that Led Zeppelin would be no more and they've stuck by that. But to go on tour and call yourself The Doors without Jim Morrison is just about the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard.
