The Doors
Other Voices

I was a teenager in the early '70s, a lover of good music, and, like others, I suffered from teenage acne. One fine day, a peer of mine (also a music enthusiast with pimples) explained to me that it was good and right to listen to and love the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, but there was also another band to listen to called the Doors. He lent me their first self-titled album ("The Doors" which was released in 1967) and, needless to say, I was mesmerized. Over time, I also cultivated a love for this rock band (along with many others, as well as various musical styles), and on the occasion of my first trip to Paris in the spring of 1988, I personally visited the Pere Lachaise cemetery to see firsthand the extent of that secular rite that venerated the deceased back in 1971 and where Jim Morrison was buried as the true Dionysus of rock. From that visit, I came to believe that Jim was synonymous with the musical quartet called the Doors and it never would have crossed my mind to check what, musically speaking, a trio bearing the same name was after Morrison's tragic death in July 1971. Moreover, the professional critique regarding the Doors' discography after that date was not really encouraging.

Years and decades passed, and I would have continued like this for centuries to come if, a week ago, a friend of mine, also an omnivorous vinyl collector, hadn't suggested that I try listening to "Other Voices" by the Doors with the rationale that "perhaps the work isn't really bad". Trusting his good taste, I accepted the suggestion. Nothing binding, and in the best case, I might reconsider. Beyond all those not-so-positive reviews previously written about "Other Voices", I had to form my own opinion. So I approached listening to the album with the utmost attention and reverence, almost as if I had to cross the threshold of a sacred place, with limited and contingent access.

I still had to consider some fundamental premises. Firstly, the remaining 3 Doors were obviously grieving the recent death of Jim. But, like any other living being, they had to cope with economic necessities tied to contractual obligations with their record label. Furthermore, they didn't feel like changing the name, nor did they intend to introduce a new lead voice into the group (and with whom, moreover? It wouldn't have worked anyway).

And so, even to commemorate their deceased friend, Ray Manzarek, Robbie Krieger, and John Densmore, with the help of a few session musicians, entered the recording studio and released "Other Voices" in the autumn of 1971. The title is already indicative: the other voices are primarily those of Ray and Robbie. And with this, one is put on alert: if Jim Morrison's vocal timbre was deep, threatening, and unmistakable, the same could not be said for the other two. You can't have everything, and even the lyrics of the songs aren't as noteworthy as they were in Jim's time. However, the technical mastery of the 3 remaining Doors, great instrumentalists, remains intact. John Densmore's percussive style is always inspired by the lesson of a jazz man like Elvin Jones, while a keyboardist like Ray Manzarek always demonstrates solid classical training, tinged with jazz aromas. Not to forget a guitarist like Robbie Krieger who echoes Latin and Spanish trends.

Therefore, the album unfolds with definitely well-executed tracks, in which the dense stylistic trail of long instrumental intervals might recall the Doors of better days, although without matching the heights of compositions like "Light My Fire" or "Riders on the Storm". This is the impression one gets listening to tracks like "Ship w/Sails", "In the Eye of the Sun", "Hang onto Your Life", "Variety is the Spice of Life": as if the Doors hesitated to take the leap of the good old times.

If anything, those compositions in which the reference to Morrison's person is explicit, such as "Wandering Musician" and "Tightrope Ride", where it alludes to the loneliness of someone on the tightrope, "like a rolling stone and like Brian Jones running on a tightrope", are more successful. Also notable is the track "I'm Horny, I'm Stoned" (translated as "I want sex, I'm under the influence of drugs"), whose lyrics are a sincere anthem to the hippie way of life, based on joints and free sex (those were times of sexual promiscuity pre-AIDS...).

After such an attentive listening of the album, a Doors fan like myself experiences conflicting feelings. There's nothing to fault about the skill of Ray, Robbie, and John, but I feel the pang that, on an impeccable sonic tapestry of rock blues blend with jazz aromas, the unforgettable voice of Jim Morrison, who was much more than just a singer within the group, doesn't make an appearance. In short, "Other Voices", while good, is not a perfect score LP, but it plays a crucial role in the evolution of a band that, due to force majeure, transitioned from a quartet (and what a quartet...) to a trio of survivors. Certainly, I feel like recommending it to all those young people approaching the discovery and listening of this band, going from a rock milestone like "The Doors" released in 1967 to "Other Voices", a sound trace of an inevitable turning point in the musical odyssey of such a great group, not to be consigned to oblivion.