THE DOORS

THE DOORS RELEASE RARE LIVE CD FROM A 1970 PHILADELPHIA CONCERT 

By Rob Nagy 
The 1960’s were a time of tremendous social and political change in America and throughout the world. The arrival of the British Invasion on U.S. soil opened the door for a new identity for America’s youth resulting in our own rock-n-roll revolution. The Doors certainly opitimized the times quickly becoming a major force to be reckoned with. Based out of L.A., The Doors were lead by the now legendary front man Jim Morrison, who created a unique style that competed with the best of them. There was nobody as hot as the Doors when they made a huge splash into the public eye in 1967. Morrison became an unintentional spokesman for the burgeoning drug culture that was, by now, growing at a staggering rate. There were few bands that could capture the attention live on stage that the “Doors” did. The unpredictable Morrison was just that, which the mass media latched onto and never let go almost destroying the band and eventually seeing Morrison come to a sad and untimely death at age 27. In March of 1969 things came to a head when Morrison was arrested for indecent, lewd and drunken behavior during a “Doors” concert in Miami, Florida, a headline that followed both Morrison and the Doors to the end. In the spring of 1970 the “Doors”, in support of their now classic “Morrison Hotel” album, arrived in Philadelphia to play the Philadelphia Spectrum, this would turn out to be their last Philadelphia concert as Morrison would die from a drug overdose in Paris, France a year later. With bookings difficult to secure, following the Miami incident, the “Doors” were out to prove that they were still a very viable band. “We went through many months of no one having any interest in booking the ‘Doors’”, recalls Densmore. “While others in the band weren’t so pleased I was happy to have some time off from all the chaos. It was a chance to catch my breath and get some rest.” The Philadelphia show started off with complications when the emcee was unable to get the raucous crowd under control and back in their seats to the satisfaction of the local fire marshal. After going back and forth with the crowd, things eventually calmed and the “Doors” hit the stage, following their infamous introduction of “Ladies and gentlemen, from Los Angeles, California, ‘The Doors’”.  Morrison was in great form and the rest of the band was as steady as ever. “Jim was in good sprits that night”, recalls Doors drummer John Densmore. By that I mean he was in that delicate balance where he had a buzz, which took the edge off his nerves, but wasn’t too intoxicated. It was a great show, that is why we put it out.” “The Doors  Live In Philadelphia ‘70” captures the Doors at their best as they plow through a high energy show which features “Break on Through(To The Otherside)”, “Light My Fire”, “Back Door Man”, “When The Music’s Over”, Howlin’ Wolf’s “Back Door Man” and Elvis Presley’s “Mystery Train” among others. Morrison closes out the show by acknowledging the historical significance of Philadelphia in the evolution of popular music by paying homage to the city of brotherly love, “The rock-n-roll capitol of the world…, Philadelphia”.  “The Doors Live In Philadelphia ’70 is available through Rhino Records by going to www.rhinohandmade.com  specializing in out of print or previously unreleased material. The cd retails for $29.98 at is also available at select retail outlets. 

At present, members of “The Doors” continue to perform in their own right. Keyboard player Ray Manzerek and guitarist Robby Krieger have been performing sporaedic live shows under the name “D21C”, short for “The Doors of the 21st Century”. Fronting the band, in place of the late Jim Morrison is Ian Westbury from “The Cult” and Stewart Copeland on drums formerly of “The Police”. Densmore was originally supposed to play drums but had to back out due to health reasons. Manzarek and Kriger moved forward resulting in a lawsuit filed by Densmore in Los Angeles Superior Court seeking unspecified damages. Densmore maintains that “The Doors have a written and oral agreement that the Name ‘The Doors’ and logo can only be used by original members.”  In 2005 the judge hearing the case ruled in favor of Densmore’s claim. An appeal by Manzarek and Krieger is not likely. In a formal statement following the ruling Densmore was quoted as saying “I’m just so happy that the legacy of the true Doors, and Jim Morrison in particular, has been preserved by this decision. I never intended for Ray and Robby to stop playing. They are great musicians. I hope Doors fans keep going to see them. It’s just the name is owned by me and them and the estate of Jim Morrison, and they kinda ran off with stolen property.” While Manzarek and Krieger, will, continue to perform together, Densmore is working on getting a novel he has written made into a film. He is also working with his own jazz group called “Tribal Jazz” and has done some recording with and Iranian musician named “Reza”. For further info on the happenings of John Densmore go to www.johndensmore.com. Doors info can be found at www.thedoors.com