Just when most bands decide to call it quits after a member has
\ndied, the remaining members had to face that horrible question:
\n“Does the band go on, or die too?”<\/p>\n
When Doors singer Jim Morrison died in 1971, The Doors remained
\nas a trio for not one, but two albums.
\nFull Circle<\/i>, released in 1972, was the trio’s second release
\nwithout the famous lead singer.<\/p>\n
As expected, both albums,
\nOther Voices<\/i> and
\nFull Circle<\/i> are completely different in style than that with
\nMorrison. Of the two,
\nFull Circle<\/i> would have to be much different than the
\nother.<\/p>\n
“Get Up And Dance” starts out the album, and it’s a bouncy
\nnumber, likewise “4 Billion Souls”. It turns out that the Doors
\ntrio is concentrating on being a rock and roll boogie band, an
\nunlikely style when Jim Morrison was around.<\/p>\n
“Verdillac”, on the other hand, features great keyboards by Ray
\nManzarek, and it just might of passed as a song that Morrison could
\nof done, in the style of the
\nMorrison Hotel<\/i> and\/or
\nL.A. Woman<\/i> albums. It comparison, this song is somewhat
\nalmost like L.A. Woman’s “Texas Radio and the Big Beat”. Another
\nmusical instrument heard is this song is the saxophone. I don’t
\nthink this instrument was used when Morrison was around. Towards
\nthe ending of this song has spoken material, another feature Jim
\nMorrison used.<\/p>\n
Back to the boogie: “Hardwood Floor” and a remake of “Good
\nRockin’ Tonight” returns to the basic rock and roll boogie
\nstyle.<\/p>\n
Starting off the second side is “The Mosquito”, which I guess
\ncould pass as a novelty song (because of the way the vocals sound),
\nrather than an actual rock song. The vocals (which weren’t many)
\nand music are unique: the vocals are nasal somewhat, and the
\nremaining music breaks\/solos add different touches to the song.
\n(Some of these breaks and solos feature again, great keyboards by
\nRay Manzarek and guitar by Robbie Kreiger.) All in all, it’s
\nanother song unheard of in the original style of The Doors. “The
\nPiano Bird” is considered jazz than rock. It features horns, and
\nthe vocals are very laid back. The electronic keyboards are in the
\ntypical jazz style. Quite frankly, this song is quite
\ninteresting.<\/p>\n
“It Slipped My Mind” is another rock\/boogie number, and the
\nvocals here can easily slip past your mind and become forgetful as
\nthe title states. And lastly, another rock\/boogie song, “The Peking
\nKing and The New York Queen” is another song that can be easily
\nforgotten.<\/p>\n
This album is a different approach to when Jim Morrison was lead
\nvocalist. Even though the remaining Doors made their best efforts
\nafter Morrison’s death, it probably would of been best just to
\nclose the books on the Chapter of the future of The Doors. But
\ninstead, the trio focused on rock\/boogie compositions for what
\nwould be their last album with The Doors name.<\/p>\n
But still, it’s very interesting in hearing how a band records
\nwithout their dominating band member(s). After hearing this, I’m
\nkind of glad that bands like Led Zeppelin and The Grateful Dead
\ndecided to call it quits after John Bonham and Jerry Garcia passed
\naway. Sure, both these bands could have found replacements, but it
\njust wouldn’t be the same. But in The Doors case, instead of
\nfinding a new replacement singer (like Van Halen has done two times
\nnow), they went on without Morrison, and the results were, well,
\nnot as high as you would expect. If the remaining members of The
\nDoors really wanted to find a replacement singer, they probably
\nshould of considered Iggy Pop. He was influenced by The Doors, and
\nhis musical abilities are easily matched to Jim Morrison.<\/p>\n
But, Ray Manzarek, Robby Krieger and John Densmore had the idea
\nthat they could survive and record again as a band called The
\nDoors. And they probably knew well that it wouldn’t be the same,
\nbut there was only one way to find out: They recorded two albums on
\ntheir own with less-than-average reviews. (Hey, didn’t The Who did
\nsomething like this too? Recording two albums with a new drummer
\nand receiving not-so-great reviews?)<\/p>\n
Again, it was probably best for both The Doors and The Who to
\nquit after their loss, but the idea is always there: “What would
\nhappen if we continued on?” Well, the results are, quite frankly,
\nthat if a member does die, it’s best to have the rest of the band
\ndie too.<\/p>\n
But then there’s the case of The Rolling Stones and Van Halen:
\nIt was easier for The Rolling Stones to replace Brian Jones. Jones
\nmay not have been a huge influence as a Mick Jagger and\/or Keith
\nRichards, but still, their future albums after Jones’ death has
\nreceived both great and negative reviews.<\/p>\n
And Van Halen: Well, I’ve always liked the original lead singer
\nDavid Lee Roth, but when the group replaced Sammy Hagar with Gary
\nCherone, it seems that they still wanted a Sammy sound-alike. At
\nleast when Sammy first came into the picture, Van Halen changed
\ntheir style completely as they did with Roth. They should of done
\nthat with Cherone.<\/p>\n
As mentioned before, if you have doubts about continuing on
\nafter a member has died or quit, go with your true instincts. When
\nmy band broke up in 1986, it was because our drummer had quit to
\njoin another band. We were smart by ending our band completely.
\nSure, it would of been easy to get a new drummer, but like
\neverything else, it just wouldn’t be the same.<\/p>\n
I’d be very anxious if they were to re-issue both post-Morrison
\nalbums on CD. Some (if not, all) of the solo albums by Krieger and
\nManzarek have been re-issued on CD, and it would be a matter of
\ntime if The Doors’
\nOther Voices<\/i> and
\nFull Circle<\/i> ever make it to the CD laser beam.<\/p>\n