Not even death can stop a VH1 production team from getting what it wants - as anybody who watched The Two of Us will tell you. So the small matter of Jim Morrison's demise in 1971 proved to be no obstacle to assembling the surviving
members of the Doors and a gaggle of guest vocalists for a little necro-karaoke, Storytellers style.
In Hollywood, on Tuesday, September 26, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, guitarist Robby Krieger, and drummer John Densmore were joined by singers such as Creed's Scott Stapp, Stone Temple Pilots' Scott Weiland, the Cult's Ian Astbury, Days of the New's Travis Meeks, Train's Pat Monahan, and Perry Farrell for a set of Doors hits and memories.
For those of you keeping score, Stapp raised the ghost of Jim - and, unintentionally, Eddie Vedder - on "Riders on the Storm," "Light My Fire," and "Roadhouse Blues." Scott Weiland slithered around "Break On Through" and "Five to One." That left Ian Astbury to mop up with "Back Door Man," "Alabama Song," and "Wild Child."
Monahan opened the show by performing "Love Me Two Times." Perry Farrell reveled in the Dionysian wibble of "L.A. Woman," while Meeks performed a "The End" whose explicit Oedipal scenario will probably be cleaned up for the eventual broadcast.
The band's collective memory wasn't as tight as its playing. Manzarek remembered that the lyrics to "Wild Child" reflected "the wildness in each and every one of us," until Krieger challenged his gloss, saying he believed Morrison had written it about his wife, Pamela.
Manzarek also took the opportunity to remember that one member couldn't be with them that evening, as he's permanently detained in Paris' Pere Lachaise cemetery. The keyboardist said Morrison's grave is the citys No. 4 tourist attraction.
"It would be nice for him to be here," Manzarek said, "but that's a perfect place for him, the American in Paris."
While the French are weary of seeing their ancestors' graves desecrated with graffiti reading, "This way to Jim," Manzarek said that he did not think Morrison would be thrown out of the cemetery when his lease expires on July 6, 2001. He believes that the "French government is probably going to supersede that."
It was the first time the Doors had performed together since being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993. However, they have been known to get together to toast Morrison every now and then - attending screenings of unreleased Jim footage, giving readings from their memoirs, and releasing tribute albums like this autumn's Stoned Immaculate.
The episode will air in late November. The Doors, in the meantime, will play venues throughout Europe and the U.S. next year, according to manager Danny Sugarman. Sounds like a good excuse for Chris Cornell to clear his calendar.
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