Ray Manzarek, a keyboardist and songwriter of repute, died yesterday at the age of 74. The story has been covered widely in the media but it is perhaps still worth writing a few words about the unique sound he achieved, and his impact on the Doors, one of the defining bands of the 1960’s.

Manzarek, along with charismatic vocalist/lyricist Jim Morrison, founded the Doors after a chance meeting in 1965, both having studied film at UCLA. Manzarek was in a band called Rick and the Ravens with his two brothers, and almost as if by fate, he reputedly met his other two long-term band mates, John Densmore (drums) and Robby Krieger (guitar), at a transcendental meditation class, appropriately enough. The band evolved into the Doors, and soon began the era of their classic line-up when Kreiger joined in late 1965.

Ray and Jim

Arguably Manzarek’s contribution seemed to define the particular sound of the Doors even more so than Robbie Krieger’s admirably minimalistic and often impressive guitar work. One early example is Manzarek’s strong contribution to The Crystal Ship, a short song from their self-titled debut LP, recorded in the latter half of 1966. Manzarek was key in pushing the sound of the Doors into what at the time was largely uncharted waters, complimentary to Morrison’s otherworldly vocals and lyrical themes but at the same time presenting as more than just a musical platform for them.

 

Manzarek used electronic organs for the most part. He relied on what was then a new generation of relatively modest semi-portable electronic organs that featured transistor circuits and divide down sound generation, a technology also used for some later synthesisers, such as the Polymoog. These instruments could not provide the deep rich sound of the heavy Hammond electo-magnetic organs that some of the well-financed musicians of the time used, e.g. Jon Lord of Deep Purple. However, their thinner sonic character seemed to suit the Doors, and in the days before the synthesiser became a commonplace instrument, a certain number of keyboard players like Manzarek pushed what was possible within the limitations of the technology of the era, an example being the varied sound textures on Waiting For The Sun.

Similarly, Manzarek displayed an impressively energetic style when he used the piano, borrowing liberally from a large variety of styles, as exemplified on tracks like L.A. Woman. Notable also was a lightness of touch as featured on songs like Riders On The Storm, where a Fender Rhodes electric piano is used. Interestingly, whilst playing organ during Doors performances, Manzarek simultaneously played bass on a Rhodes piano although its bass quality was deemed to be too ill defined for studio recording. A session musician by the name of Jerry Scheff typically featured on their studio recordings.

The Doors continued after Jim Morrison’s death, making two studio albums in the early 70’s. This was a surprising move since Morrison was so central to their identity. However, Other Voices, the first and best of the two post-Morrison albums, demonstrates clearly what the level of creativity the three had brought to the band. One highlight is Manzarek’s In the Eyes of the Sun.

Soon however, the trio began to disintegrate during the making of Full Circle, their follow-up album. Verdillac, a bizarre jazz fusion track largely driven by Manzarek, stands out on what is otherwise a relatively poor unfocused record. With hindsight, it is unfortunate that Manzarek, Krieger and Densmore didn’t adopt a new name to break from the past, and seek out a new vocalist (a la New Order), who  could have been a revitalising creative force for the band.

Manzarek embarked on a commercially unsuccessful solo career after the Doors split in 1973, where he released two albums in quick succession. Releases after that became sporadic. However, he remained musically active, and collaborated with quite a number of other musicians until his death. His last significant album release is a collaboration with Roy Rogers called Translucent Blues (2011).