Ray Manzarek: Favorite The Doors keyboard moment

Have always rated Ray Manzarek as among the alltime great rock keyboardists. The organ work in When the Music's Over, electric piano of Riders of the Storm, even the boogie-woogie piano of Roadhouse Blues and the harpsichord-sounding work in Love Her Madly come to mind. Much more versatile than he's given credit for, IMO.

yeah, Light my Fire solo work and loads of great stuff

It might be Rider on the storm....but not that sure

With a group like the Doors, who exemplified the phenomenon of 'the whole being greater than the sum of its parts' there's a danger in drawing spurious conclusions about the constituent elements maybe not standing up to closer scrutiny.
Manzarek was clearly no technical virtuoso (interestingly, Krieger was on classical guitar) but such would have been inappropriate for the band's music. So for me Ray was a brilliant 'feel' player who unerringly conjured up the appropriate mood and textures to best display Morrison's vocals. He was also clearly an accomplished blues, boogie and stride player as evidenced by his piano on People Are Strange, Roadhouse Blues and Alabama Song (the list goes on)

Take Densmore, Kreiger, Morrison or Manzarek out of the volatile equation and the Doors would just sound like a thousand other mediocre Acid Rock bands from the west coast.

Ray is definetly in my top 5! Light My Fire, The End, The Crystal Ship, The Soft Parade, L.A Woman, Tell All The People, When The Music's Over, Riders On The Storm, The W.A.S.P (Texas Radio and The Big Beat), Roadhouse Blues, Spanish Caravan, the list goes on....

Edited by Fox On The Rocks - October 14 2011 at 15:58

Hi,

Imho, the two fast organ solos in Take It As It Comes are pretty hard to beat 

Ronnie Pilgrim wrote: Manzarek's style did define The Doors, once they were established. And I didn't jump on this thread to bash him, either. But if "Light My Fire" didn't open the door for The Doors  that might have become a moot point. Therefore saying Krieger could have easily been replaced is rather questionable.

Ronnie Pilgrim wrote: Blacksword wrote: I thought Manzarek was the most important member of the Doors, in terms of the sound and atmosphere the band produced. Jon Densmore and the guitarist (name escapes me) could have been replaced by virtually anyone at the time. Morrison had a unique voice and approach to writing lyrics, I guess.   The man whose name escapes you is Robby Krieger and he wrote their biggest hits, such as "Light My Fire" and "Love Her Madly." I think he was the best member of the band, a textbook case of an overnight sensation. And it was "Light My Fire" that made them one. Personally, I think Manzarek is overrated and don't care for his keyboard work.