Home » VT News » RIP Ray Manzarek

RIP Ray Manzarek

By Chuckmonster on Monday, 20th May 2013 3:31pm
  » filed under Las Vegas  comments: 3

   

Ray Manzarek, keyboardist and primary sculptor of the creepy sonic soundscapes that made the

The Doors one of the greatest rock bands ever, has died.

I was barely a two years old when Jim Morrison crawled into the big whisky bottle in the sky, but was about 9 when The Doors Greatest Hits changed my life forever. Morrison's lyrics and slithering performances have always gotten top billing in the rock pantheon, but it was the band that rocked my socks off.

Ray Manzarek's complex tapestries of neo-Baroque, avant garde psychedelia laid the foundation for ensemble counterpoint featuring Robbie Krieger's pan-cultural jazzy experiments darting in an out of John Densmore's loose, swinging post-bop drumming. Manzarek was a crazy riff writer, performing steady bass line ostinatos with his left hand on Fender Rhodes Piano Bass, while his right hand ran contrapuntal circles around it on a Vox Continental electric piano.

There was no sound like it, then or since.

From whisper quiet odes of supreme delicacy to roaring elephant stampedes at the turn of a hat, The Doors truly did unlock doors of perception and in turn invited a universe of humans into an entirely new way of experiencing their lives.

I've listened to this song a thousand times and it has never lost its magic.

Thank you Ray, for providing the soundtrack to so much of my life.



Tagged: music   





Advertisement:





Comments & Discussion:

 stevie posted on Monday, 20th May 2013 - 5:30 pm

Truly another rock icon gone. My local classic rock station played a one hour, commercial-free Doors block as a tribute to Ray. I actually stopped what I was doing and went to the "big" stereo in the basement and put on the Bose headphones. Wow. Ray, RIP and thanks for blowing my mind with your talent and imagination, especially in the pre-piss test days when music and a little weed could be the answer to the world's problems...

 ihatesnow posted on Monday, 20th May 2013 - 8:31 pm

My heart sank reading this news today. It was actually Ray and Robby's sounds that first got me into The Doors, not Morrison. RIP Screamin' Ray Daniels.

 slade posted on Tuesday, 21st May 2013 - 10:21 am

Was fortunate to see The Doors at Winterland in SF..one of their last concerts and, typical for those SF concerts, a fire started under the stage; The Doors (and Ray) played on. Truly one of the great bands to ever take the stage.



Comments Are Closed







Subscribe via RSS







Recent Comments:

michigan2010 posted: "MGM equals cookie cutter casino. No to reason to step foot in Bellagio again. Just hope they don't screw up..."
» Sayonara Bellagio Table Game Canopies...
saharalv posted: "I wish the editors were the entire electoral college in 2016...."
» Introducing the Trippies Class of...
fatbastard posted: "So many people letting a billionaire live rent free in their heads. Funny. Too bad it also detracts from the..."
» Introducing the Trippies Class of...
wpsteel66 posted: "Total bummer…talk about taking the class and uniqueness away from the Bellagio…another smart move on CEO Jim and making all..."
» Sayonara Bellagio Table Game Canopies...
damania posted: "Is there a podcast?..."
» Introducing the Trippies Class of...

» More Comments