The Doors
Full Circle

Following the release of “Other Voices”, the band embarked on the Midwest & Northeast tour 1971, bringing on stage rhythm guitarist Bobby Ray and Jack Conrad, already present on the latest studio work, on bass. The audience wholeheartedly welcomed the new band, which, in addition to presenting new material, never failed to include the repertoire of classics that, over time, has come to engage multiple generations. Manzarek was hesitantly assuming the role of new leader, just as fans were extending a satisfactory new welcome, aptly summarized in the title that the February 1972 issue of New Musical Express bestowed upon the Californian group: “People Must Realize It: Jim Is Dead”.

The time came to release the compilation “Weird Scenes Inside The Goldmine” (which includes two notable b-sides such as “Who Scared You” and “Don’t Go No Further”) as the group once again gathered the energy to record a new album. The recordings took place between the East Coast Tour 1972 and the planned mini-tour in the old continent, performing at various venues in Copenhagen, Munich, the United Kingdom, Germany, and the inevitable Montreux Jazz Festival.

“Full Circle” opens with the party rhythm of “Get Up And Dance” - also chosen as the first single - in which Manzarek encourages the dances in a mix of rock & soul completed by the exuberant participation of Clyde King, Venetta Fields, and Melissa MacKay in the chorus. “4 Billion Souls”, notable for a familiar chord progression played on the Hammond, opens the door to “Verdilac”, where the musicianship shines through in a reinterpreted collage among psychedelia, rock, and even jazz where the Californian band had taken its first steps. The honky tonk of “Hardwood Floor” also moves in the spirit of lightness, while in “Good Rockin” (a cover rendition of the 1947 radio hit “Good Rockin’ Tonight” by Roy Brown) the restless piano blends with an impeccable guitar solo in which Krieger pays homage to the master Chuck Berry. The unusual introduction for “The Mosquito”, released as the second single in August 1972, mingles Latin sounds with a danceable Mexican atmosphere, culminating in a psychedelic jam featuring all the instruments. From a musical idea by the rhythmic duo of Conrad/Densmore emerges a respectful yet not easy attempt to penetrate a compositional context that was shaping the defining features of contemporary English progressive rock. Although “It Slipped My Mind” winks at “Love Me Two Times”, it does its utmost to please the listener, who may be more gratified in catching the tribute to Clapton at the end. The frugal rock/boogie of “The Peking King And The New York Queen” brings us to the end of the album and is an opportunity to musically narrate with a humorous tone a tale featuring the Sun and the Moon, who are deprived of meeting in the sky, as a Chinese King and a New York girl descending to earth. A delightful narrative showcasing the contrast between two different cultures, Western and Eastern, which Manzarek skillfully embellishes, undoubtedly inspired by his romantic relationship with wife Dorothy Fujikawa.

A glance at the back cover is enough to realize that we are dealing with a team of seasoned musicians interested in spreading the word of good music but in a more personal way, smoothly overlooking the poetic aspect which had defined the sound of a band that managed to be unique as long as Jim Morrison embodied the role of sole declaimer. With the definitive dissolution of that spiritual essence, one of the four sides that had made the musical geometry of a band perfect, germinated from the unspoiled beaches of Venice Beach, was missing. After the natural attempt to continue with other voices, it would be the awareness of Manzarek, Krieger, and Densmore to bring a definitive closure of the circle (and why not, the foundation for a new beginning?), as encapsulated in the straightforwardness of the title of their honest but somewhat misfit final album under the name The Doors.