Have you heard ships w/sails? Ray goes xgames mode on that jawn lul. Seriously though, it’s beautiful what ray does on it especially the ending. And this working right after la woman so it’s the same feel if Jim were there to sing it. Man only if
I could not agree more. I grew up with the Doors, but the keyboard solo 50 years later sounds still as awesome as when I heard it for the first time. It was great hit in the Netherlands. Our music teacher in high school kept analysing it in our class. This song will be in my top 3 to take to a deserted island.
Actually the outro is better, ray started good on the bridge solo but then kept repeating the licks which kinda threw me off because he was a phenomenal player and he could've done something else.
The echo to his voice that you hear is actually the very last thing that Jim recorded. They recorded him whispering the lyrics to sit just under the main vocals giving that eerie echo sound.
I was just going to point out the same thing. It is so subtle but adds another layer of brooding menace, like the hitcher is leaning over in your backseat and whispering in your ear. I wonder if the whispering idea was lifted from The Moody Blues track 'Don't you feel small' which was released on their 'Question of balance' album on the 7th Aug 1970, and 'Riders on the storm' was recorded from December 1970 into January 1971. The Moodies album reached number 3 on the US Billboard chart and their music fitted in well with the L.A. hippie culture, The Doors and their producer were very likely aware of their music, although The Doors took this eerie production idea to a much darker side of the psyche.
Also, didn't they record the whole LA Woman album in someone's bathroom or something which gave it a strange sound (I could be mistaken and getting Morrison myth confused with reality, though).
Thanks for that 👍 I was unaware of the recording process for this song. Do you know if they used an echo plate during the recording as well? It sounds a bit like one.
The Doors' mega-smash "Light My Fire" needs a review, as do the jazzy "Break On Through (To The Other Side)" and the introspective "People Are Strange".
Thinking of all the people on here listening to this masterpiece for the first time. A very special combo of brilliant musicians with a singer who sounds like the voice of Apollo.
The Doors were truly a perfect band. Jim was the brooding poet/wild child, Ray was a genius on the keyboards, Robbie was a very nuanced player that knew exactly when to play and even more importantly when not to. John held them all together perfectly on the drums.
This song is from the L.A. Woman album. It's amazing. Not a bad or even mediocre song on it. Any song could have been chosen for radio air play. My favorite song on it is "Hyacinth House." When you run into Doors fans, it's those songs that didn't make it to radio that they love the most.
Morrison's voice rarely gets the credit it deserves. I'm glad to hear you enjoy it. Also, with regard to the title being the first line of the song, if you read Morrison's poetry books you'll notice he does this with his poems, too-i.e., the title of the poem is often the first line of the poem. This is not such an uncommon practice in poetry. If I'm not mistaken Dylan Thomas (who, I'm sure, was an influence on Morrison-and not just because of their shared drinking habits) almost exclusively used the first line as the title to his poems, followed by an ellipsis. Morrison was probably being quite retro at the time amidst all the neo-beat poets trying to subvert everything, like Ginsburg and even Bob Dylan giving their songs and poems strange and cryptic titles like "Howl" and "Rainy Day Women #12 & 35", respectively.
band & singer indeed misrepresented & not given proper due. it had a lot to do w/ morrison's in your face persona & the band's marketing of that pre his death & later w/ manzarek pumping that image also. it sold records, but hurt them as artist. but it doesnt take away from their talent & impact. it should be remembered they were performing their very powerful & visceral music of the first 2 albums by the summer of '66 live & had it perfected by august. the odine shows in nyc in the fall of '66 were legendary moreso imo then the whisky shows b/c by this point, the band was even better, yet still coiled and dangerous. go back and listen to all the music in '66, no one was this deep & dark pushing then the doors at that point. that gets overlooked how powerfully original it was. the only thing vaguely in that zipcode was the velvet underground. but the doors were even more dangerous & wide scaping. by '69 it all fell off the rails. but thru '68, though inconsistent (in '67-'68), when they were firing on all cylinders, no band was more lethal in that period. to their credit also, their last 2 albums showed growth in a mature way, yet still maintained that unique signature of out of kilter, yet observantly alive.
in re to his poetic style, he mixed beat style urgency, concise & intense imagary w/ blake symbolist structure to also draw out a wider thesis range that was multilayered. on one level, an on the ground narrative in a desolate yet intense envir, yet the lyrics also use that scene w/ key words to scale up the meaning to the culture & even the transcending back & forward civilization. like a hawks eye seeing more yet both as it circles higher. its a powerful technique but is missed by many when listening to him. notice how he uses throughout his long works a passage way of roads & rivers as metaphors for time. & he puts the character or theme in a mobile vessel to illuminate the present but imply the past & future. then he scales up to view the culture in metaphors of large scape terrain. thats a blake technique. he was getting better at this by la woman. had flashes of brillance when he got it right, like here. riders is a great introspective poetic view of the present period when he wrote it but also the cyclical west culture that we inhabit now & further back. all in one. notice too, the characters: the hitcher (forboding temptation); the car (passing thru time); the road (time & destiny); the storm (cyclical cultural strife). both conditions pressing on the indiv but also the culture. dense theme & underrated.
@@Yugoslav1918 ... I here what your saying, but I have a different take on them. To your point, they could be pedestrian. They were inconsistent & morrison could go off the rails in a very destructive & even immature way that hurt the band. & w/ the exception of the first & last album they could do filler that was weak & not standout for that era.... but where I part ways w/ you is when they got it right. perhaps their inconsistency had to do w/ morrison's lack of musical background (he didnt start music until 21). but it also allowed a window for his singular brillance. he had a certain vision of what art meant to him. he was also very smart & curious & had a deep reference file in his brain of literature, history, philosophy etc. It made be overplayed, but the guy was truly intellectually very smart & aware. he also had the b@lls to stick w/ his own vision & its what made their sound & approach singular. yes, it was inconsistent, but when it came together, they could and did hit the mothelode. both musically, stagecraft & lyrically. the end, when you consider the time it was made, its arguably the most powerful dark theater song ever written in rock. a major influence to roger waters and others. they have about 20 songs that are for the ages & will always carry a very unique signature that no band as ever really sounded like or captured. I also think if you understand blake symbolist technique, morrison had times nailed it well in drawing out large visual nearly cinematic scapes of ideas and feel. doing that consistently they werent good at & it wasnt easy, thus at times he ended up in parody of himself. & it was also a high profile trainwreck & in turn obscures how good they were when they got it right.
@@Yugoslav1918 yes, some of its over the top. his legend, his antics & the hype, wh/ ray endlessly pumped. it hurt them to a degree and draws away from when they got it right. morrison seemed conflicted himself too. part of him loved the fame & to ham it up and delve in the dangers of it. yet, part of him loathe it and himself for it & fought it both negatively in self destruction. but positively in trying to get back to his artistic mindset of straight stripped down orginality. & at least 20 times he pulled that off. ive come to find their last album their best. & thats a credit to both the band and morrison's own intergrity to try to get it right and grow. he went out strong regardless how damaged he was by that point. the good, bad and ugly he truly was a unique animal of rock, never to be reproduced.
A few years ago, we had a big tropical storm move through. I battened down all the hatches and played this song on loop for the whole evening. It never, ever gets old.
Ray Manzarek's Fender Rhodes work here is incredible, the repeated descending notes pattern reminds me of the storm's raindrops. The basic 2-3 note melody was "influenced" by the song "(Ghost) Riders in the Sky" after the band heard the latter on the radio. The lyric "There's a killer on the road" is a reference to the infamous 1950s serial killer Billy Cook. This is classic Doors!
Once again, it's a song by the Doors, not only Jim Morrison, they play musically an equal part to Jim Morrison's genius. Great musicians they were all and the song is credited to all four.
That was really enjoyable. Its been raining here in NJ for 2 days so I could really feel the music. The Doors were willing to experiment with different musical influences, sounds and atmospheres and take their time doing it. They were not concerned with writing hit singles. Maybe that's why their music has the longevity it does. There is something timeless about songs like this, Riders On The Storm.
I'm happy that Amy seems to enjoy this band which has deeply affected me on a personal level. Her reactions add to my understanding of something important to me. Thank you!
Some early Fender amplifiers had a "tremolo" feature, which is that "stuttering" sound you hear. It's a very popular effect in Country music. Some Fender models still have it, and you can also buy stand alone effects to get the sound.
The guitar effect is called "Tremolo". It was built-in on old Fender amps and you could control intensity and speed with two knobs. And the piano is a Fender Rhodes, its bell-like timbre became very popular amongst jazz and rock musicians.
Only note that Fender were wrong. Tremolo is a fluctuation of volume, vibrato is a fluctuation of pitch. Fender would call the vibrato bridge (whammy bar), a tremolo, which is utterly incorrect but now of often the used term. The same happened on their amps when they would incorrectly call the tremolo effect, vibrato.
@@terrycunningham8118 When I was 14 in 1964, like most boys my age, I got an electric guitar.. A classmate of mine had a Sears Silvertone amp and we would practice together at his house after school. His name is Ted Nugent. He wasn't the last of my Highschool practice buddies to become famous musicians.
I am 62. In my teens I got a small transistor radio that I could hide under my pillow and surreptitiously listen after my parents had sent me to bed. In particular I could listen to a show on Capital Radio called "Your Mother Wouldn't Like It" featuring DJ 'Little' Nicky Horne. And the first (or at least the first memorable) piece that I heard was this one. I don't know how much of my reaction to the piece now is to the music and how much is because of that nostalgic memory.
I had a radio like that I’m Scottish and listened to Radio Caroline a boat outwith the waters belonging to uk tax. My god I heard EVERYTHING. Educated me.
I am a bit older than you but I did the same thing. I not only listened to music, though. The first time I remember doing this I was listening to the Sonny Liston vs Cassius Clay fight when the future Mohammed Ali first won his championship.
Amy, perhaps your next song should be “Light My Fire”. Ray Manzarek, the organ player, was a classically trained pianist. The organ part for Light My Fire was based on Bach’s “Two and Three Part Inventions”. I’d be interested to hear your take on it.
Can’t blame her for liking the doors man, good music will always shine through. Now I don’t want anyone talking this the wrong was but she probably also gets the sexy vibe from Jim, and why the heck not. My favourite band Love these explorations. Thank you
Shortly before his death in 2013, the great Ray Manzarek of The Doors sat in front of his beloved keyboard and told the fascinating musical story of how the iconic “Riders on the Storm” came to be : ruclips.net/video/4ZJ7xhu-wy4/видео.html
- 20:20 This guitar effect is called tremolo. - 21:57 Also, this song is another example of how the Blues influenced Rock, since it basically has a Blues structure, using some modified chords and played in a non-shuffling way. - 31:10 It's a trip. Amy, you realise this was a drug infued era, don't you? - 31:57 That close echo effect is called reverb.
I enjoyed your take on this. Your insight is always enjoyable and thought provoking. I can't imagine what it must have been like when this was originally aired on popular radio. The entire band is excellent of course, but I feel the drummer is never given enough due. So much texture, subtlety, and playfulness goes into his playing. He's more of an introverted drummer, as opposed to being bombastic.
I agree. I like all the parts of this song, but the drummer is the glue that holds everything together. To me, the drums have a stealthy sound, like someone is creeping up on you that you can't quite see, but you can feel. The drums set the mysterious tone and keep it going, while the other instruments move in and out of the darkness, hanging on the spooky skeleton of the drums. Every element of this song is a pleasure, but the drums is the song's internal structure.
A personal reminiscence. It was the summer of 1972 and I was a newly licensed driver. We had crossed the high plains of Kansas and eastern Colorado for a family vacation road trip. I was behind the wheel and we were about 20 miles outside of Colorado Springs with the front range of Rocky Mountains dominating the horizon ahead. Dark, angry clouds were boiling up behind those peaks and bursts of static from not so distant lightning punctuated the music playing on the car's AM radio. "Riders On The Storm" came on that little AM radio. It was a perfect moment that this now old far..., ehr, dude recalls after over half a century. Music can do that.
They were very much of their time. If Morrison had lived, it would have been interesting how he approached the 70s and 80s, but the Beach Boys, The Eagles, Fleetwood Mac, Nirvana, REM, the Ramones, and the Talking Heads come to mind. If it were solo artists, Hendrix and Springsteen would top the list, not to mention Dylan. Oh yeah, and some guy named Elvis.
I'm glad you said that, it made me ponder it for a long time. I can't refute it, although I can't really rank music. There's nobody better, maybe, but there are others no one is better than as well. My problem with the Doirs now is that I have listened to them sooo much, being 70 yrs old, that I now listen to other less familiar music I think I'll spend the day listening to the doors
@@paulmartinson875 An honest answer. They are always in the mix as one of the best American bands, I'm just unsure if they are number one or not. I played a lot of Doors in bands over the years and it always struck me that the audience was always keenly aware of the songs by the end of the first bar. I just wish Morrison had lived, but shooting stars....
Guitarist Robbie Krieger said that due to the fact that the bass was played by keyboardist Ray Manzerak, he was forced to add some "bottom end" to his style of playing when they formed the band. It's not unusual for certain guitarists to develop their style in this way. A great example of this is when Joe Walsh (who later joined the Eagles with Don Felder to "rockify" their sound) joined the The James Gang as a young guitarist just leaving Kent State University after the National Guard shootings. TWO members, including the rhythm guitarist, just didn't show for a concert. Joe Walsh said he was forced to add rhythm sections to his playing. He was so good at it, they stayed a power trio, with great songs like Funk #49, Walk Away, and The Bomber. Later, Joe would learn slide guitar from the great Duane Allman, and Joe became a sought after sessions guitarist ever since.
@@samsnead1824 True, but they were (almost) always a four-piece band live on stage, and they played many gigs before recording their first album. Ray played the Fender Rhodes bass keyboard while playing either Vox or Gibson organ with his right hand. It is the live playing that influenced Krieger's style and the development of their songs.
Awesome reaction. I loved it, and I love this song. Along with Morrison's voice, the Doors have such a unique sound which you are noticing and now getting familiar with. I can understand why they are starting to become one of your favorite bands so far. I am looking forward to when you return again to the Doors in the future. They have several really good songs I think you will also like a lot.
@@Hartlor_Tayley Yeah, who knows where he would have gone with his gift. I have always found it interesting how so many of the very creative types leave us early. Such an amazing body of work in such a short period of time. In the artistic world, it may in part be related to consuming those substances that help tap into their creativity, but also lead to premature deaths. Some survive, but many don't.
@@LeeKennison also since schizophrenia and creativity seem to be linked and schizophrenia seems to emerge around the age of 27, well maybe there is some of that too.
@@Hartlor_Tayley Yeah, many of the most creative types struggle with mental health issues, along with addictions. Something with how the brain works I guess. Two sides of a coin. Both a miracle and a tragedy, depending on how you look at it. In some respects, an analogy of life itself, which I think this particular song taps into.
So glad you like this, it's my favourite Doors song. Only problem is it makes you drive fast. I'm just at the start but wait till you hear Ray in the middle section!
The effect on the guitar is probably a tremelo built into the amp. The Jazz influences come mainly from keyboard player Ray Manzarek and drummer John Densmore. Ray was deeply steeped in all kinds of Jazz and John grew up emulating Jazz drummers, Ray thought of The Doors as," the modern Jazz quartet of Rock And Roll" The whispered backing vocal is much more apparent on earlier releases of the record, it gets largely lost in the remastered versions.
I am surprised that the bassline was not mentioned. It is a very unusual line, and to me gives a very strange feel to the music, it is simple yet complicated. I have always wished that The Doors had had a bassist from the start, the later tracks like this one sound much better for it, the much vaunted Ray’s bass keys I think have dated poorly and the outside bass players showed how better textures could be had. As a bass player myself back then I learnt this line and found it “awkward” and seemed to be spread over two chords, it was very different to other stuff I knew then and its consistency seems to give a backdrop for the keys and guitar
Bass and drums. You don't look for them, the musicians are rarely the big names in the front, but it's what keeps a track together. When the guitar and the vocals are having a party on the roof, bass and drums are the walls that keep the roof up.
I think one of the key lines in this song along with what you pointed out at the beginning about throwing is .."like a dog without a bone ...an actor out on loan". I think we are all Riders on The Storm. The song is simplistically complex...in music and in ideas as you have so eloquently pointed out.
he had perfected symbolist density by this point word usage wise. sparse but dense. blake symbolist style w/ beat urgency imagary mixed. whitman, crane were masters at this and also blake influenced. morrison was in that vein, even though he was mixing in more psychology & modern cinematic imagary.
I think the storm represents this life/world we are thrown into, and we become riders of that storm, experiencing both the good and bad things in life. I love experiencing the good side of thunderstorms (the exciting, the powerful, the needed rain), but if I or my house was struck by lightning, flooded, or destroyed by wind, I would experience the bad side of it. He expresses the joyful parts of life ("let your children play") followed by the tragedy that will happen if they pick up the killer hitchhiker ("You give this man a ride, sweet family will die"). And then speaks of love to help weather the storms of life.
Big the doors fan here. Right now my favorite song and it has been for years now is Hyancith House, but that’s because we Doors fan as every fan does, start liking the most obscure stuff after a while. But my official favorite song is Moonlight Drive. Please listen to them if you can.
Jim Morrison ‘s voice Manly haunting ,so mystic , so poetic , it actually.fits the music that he’s singing , Even Ray’s keyboard hitting certain notes , also the drummer, and guitar player working in perfect harmony, to me on my observation is pure genius
The Line; "Girl you got to Love your man Take him by the hand Make him Understand" The World on You Depends our life will Never End" Men will run through the flames of Hell carrying Gas cans for a Woman that Loves them. This is what it's All about.
Actually Jim's girlfriend wanted to get Jim out of L.A. and go to Paris. That line is very specific to Jim and Pam's personal situation. It just so happens that it resonates to other people. The album opens up with The Changling. He is preparing the audience for Jim's departure to Paris to do other things. " I'm a changling, see me change." It just so happens it resonates with other people.
Listening to your comments regarding the "storm" sounds in the music put another song in my head. It's nothing like the Doors or this song, but stirred a memory. If you can, please have a listen to Into The Mystic, by Van Morrison.
Riders on the storm"; a beautiful epitaph. Morrison channeled his poetry into music in a theatrical way. I would recommend listening to analyze this facet, in this order: "Cristal ship" (1967); "The soft parade" (1969) ; "The celebration of the lizard" (Absolutely live; 1970). Thank you for sharing your complete analysis; a fraternal hug from Guanaqueros; Chile. Kristofer Bonifay.
Would love to see your reaction to The Doors "LA Woman". I always loved the way the song seems to be song about a woman but it's really about the city of Los Angeles
I have watched/listened to a number of your analysise of songs. But " VIRGIN" Rock certainly describes you. I don't comment on Classical Music ( although I was clasically trained in the mid 60s ). That being said , I think you need to listen to many, many more of the Boomer generation's music. I like your theory written as I can read it and play. You need to keep this up BUT you also are ignorant of that generation's music to some degree and the implications of the songs See Joni Mitchell's " Big Yellow Taxi" and "Both Sides Now". God , I was only 13 but my mother cried at the latter. . Please listen to more and keep up the good work. P.S I don't care what you wear, it's your work I'm interested in. See Aimee Nolte she is with it,both theory and music from the 60s and 70s. Please, no offense meant. Please educate yourself- isn't that how we musicians progress?
Thank you Amy. Great insight as always. Having been a rock musician playing with numerous bands as a hobby since 1964, I've enjoyed your channel very much. So much so that today I signed up on your Patreon. Rock🤘😎
When I was growing up, the local rock radio station would always put this song on whenever it started raining outside. I always thought it was cool - especially when I was driving my car in the rain and it came on.
Interesting that Morrison was influenced by Heidegger and Nietzsche... I always thought this song was distilled Existentialism. From wikipedia, "common concepts in existentialist thought include ... dread, anxiety in the face of an absurd world, as well as authenticity, courage and virtue". The "killer on the road", "brain writhing like a toad", and still we are fighting to ride the storm, not letting our selves be submerged and destroyed.
My favorite Doors song, it exudes "cool"! The first time I heard the part starting with "There's a killer on the road", it felt like a non sequitur, out of place, especially with the musical ambience of the song. But, it became apparent to me that Jim Morrison chose this seemingly random, low probability, and out of place threat as an illustration of "the storm". The music makes us feel "safe", just like the family in the song. We are unknowingly sidestepping dangers. Conceptually, this use of a random and out of place event reminds me of "Synchronicity II" (by the Police), which tells and implicitly connects two stories in parallel that have nothing to do with each other other than that they're happening at the same time.
That guitar effect that you mentioned (stuttering) is called Tremolo. As part of your journey you might want to look into the various electric guitar effects that are used (reverb, delay, tremolo, chorus, flanger, wah-wah, fuzz, overdrive, etc...)
The sound effects set the backdrop, but the subtle interplay between Ray's cascades on electric piano and Robby's tremolo guitar effect they perfectly capture the magical sound of rainfall, particularly in the coda as the storm begins to pass and the last raindrops dwindle in the puddles.
LA Woman is the perfect intro into any rock music. As soon as the lyrics land the music is full on. That build up is my hands down best rock song intro.
I agree that Manzerek was a great player. But playing base with one hand and melody with the other is not what makes him so. Every pianist does that all the time.
In this album they used a bass player, but Manzarek talked about how he came up with the bass line on his keyboard and showed the bass guitarist... who promptly called him crazy. On keys it's simple, but on a bass it requires some big moves.
I know this song does give off a chill vibe of mystery. But, some of the descriptions you were using such as: "expansive", "mysterious quality", "envelops and wraps you in". and remarking that just a couple of notes produce a musical experience is so" expansive vast, spatially, texturally, emotionally" - are characteristics of psychedelic rock IMO.
Riders on the Storm makes me think of the Book of Genesis. We are riding the storm because of the curse. Into this house we're born because we have original sin, and into this world we are indeed thrown. The killer on the road is the Devil. He wants to kill the family of man taking an innocent holiday. Don't let Satan into our lives--or our family will die. Eve is the antidote: love your man and the world depends on her ability to produce love and family. Our life as a human line will never end.
I hope you get a chance to listen to Light my Fire by the Doors next - the keyboard intro is directly inspired by a Bach invention and because of this my personal classification of the song's 'style' is 'psychedelic baroque rock but make it blues'. They never fail to impress!
The Doors' keyboard player Ray Manzarek was a classicaly trained pianist who also played jazz and blues piano. The "stuttering" effect you hear on the guitar is called tremelo. It is built into some guitar amps and guitar pedals. It changes the volume up and down at an adjustable speed and depth with a few dials. Chet Atkins help make this a popular effect back in the 1950's on his own records and even on some Everly Brothers songs like "til i kissed you".
It should also be mentioned that, the music was developed as the band was playing around in the studio with the Sons of the Pioneers’ song “Ghost Riders In The Sky”. If you’re familiar with that song you will definitely hear its influence on this song.
Morrison used to say that he wrote a good opening phrase so he could remember the melody, because he composed in his head and didn't know how to play instruments or write sheet music.
What a beautiful job you have done in reacting and musically dissecting this amazing Door's classic. I'm sure Jim would be very pleased in the manner, depth and patience you have applied to his musical, vocal and lyrical approach in this amazing song. And also your appreciation of the instrumentation, the piano in particular, and the themes in general they have provided which certainly broach the jazz and spacial ambience not normally visited in popular music. Thanks again, you really are quite sweet in your presentation!
I grew up listening to the Doors and other bands during that time. Jim's voice is haunting. Also the band got it's name from Aldous Huxley's infamous psychedelic memoir, “The Doors of Perception.”
Ray was in a jazz/blues band before The Doors. The Doors couldn't find a bass guitar player that they liked so, Ray heard about a bass keyboard and so he used that with one hand and the other hand he used to play the piano/organ.
Excelente análisis musical pero te faltó revisar la letra: "into this world were thrown, like a dog without a bone, like an actor out of loan, his brain is squirming like a toad, if you give this man ride swit family will die, killers on the road, girl the world on you depends". Es un reflección para la humanidad basada en una experiencia de Jim, cuando iba de viaje con sus papás siendo niño, pasaron por la carretera donde estaba asesinada una familia en su auto por una persona que les había pedido un aventón (persona desconocida que recoges para llevarla en tu auto como un favor ). El mundo está lleno de gente que está muy dañada en su interior y puede ser potencialmente muy dañina, y es necesaria la prudencia y sexto sentido de las madres de familia.
On L. A. Woman they played with Elvis Presley's bassist who they were over the moon for. If you watch the Mr. Mojo Risin documentary extra features which is on youtube you will hear some different versions of Doors songs you may have never heard before. They sound like Elvis's band could have played them.
They always used a bass guitarist for the studio recordings, Ray only played bass live as Jim didn't want to add anyone on stage. BTW the key bass was the first version of the Rhodes piano featured here; Rhodes figured it'd be cheaper to make, and organs traditional have foot pedals for bass, something you could get with a Hammond, but not a more portable instrument like a Vox and Farsifa. Fender ultimately took over distribution.
That keyboard solo still has to be one of the greatest even today!
Have you heard ships w/sails? Ray goes xgames mode on that jawn lul. Seriously though, it’s beautiful what ray does on it especially the ending. And this working right after la woman so it’s the same feel if Jim were there to sing it. Man only if
I could not agree more. I grew up with the Doors, but the keyboard solo 50 years later sounds still as awesome as when I heard it for the first time. It was great hit in the Netherlands. Our music teacher in high school kept analysing it in our class. This song will be in my top 3 to take to a deserted island.
Actually the outro is better, ray started good on the bridge solo but then kept repeating the licks which kinda threw me off because he was a phenomenal player and he could've done something else.
Ray was one of the best keyboard players ever I guess!
The echo to his voice that you hear is actually the very last thing that Jim recorded. They recorded him whispering the lyrics to sit just under the main vocals giving that eerie echo sound.
I was just going to point out the same thing. It is so subtle but adds another layer of brooding menace, like the hitcher is leaning over in your backseat and whispering in your ear. I wonder if the whispering idea was lifted from The Moody Blues track 'Don't you feel small' which was released on their 'Question of balance' album on the 7th Aug 1970, and 'Riders on the storm' was recorded from December 1970 into January 1971. The Moodies album reached number 3 on the US Billboard chart and their music fitted in well with the L.A. hippie culture, The Doors and their producer were very likely aware of their music, although The Doors took this eerie production idea to a much darker side of the psyche.
Also, didn't they record the whole LA Woman album in someone's bathroom or something which gave it a strange sound (I could be mistaken and getting Morrison myth confused with reality, though).
Then he started to record as Rush.
Thanks for that 👍 I was unaware of the recording process for this song. Do you know if they used an echo plate during the recording as well? It sounds a bit like one.
I Thought so! I can hear it Best at the End of the song...
The Doors' mega-smash "Light My Fire" needs a review, as do the jazzy "Break On Through (To The Other Side)" and the introspective "People Are Strange".
Yes, please
I second those selections. 🙂
Up
Alabama song is pretty cool too
LA Woman and Peace Frog are great, as well. I like driving to LA Woman, and Peace Frog is jazzy social commentary.
Thinking of all the people on here listening to this masterpiece for the first time. A very special combo of brilliant musicians with a singer who sounds like the voice of Apollo.
The Doors were truly a perfect band. Jim was the brooding poet/wild child, Ray was a genius on the keyboards, Robbie was a very nuanced player that knew exactly when to play and even more importantly when not to. John held them all together perfectly on the drums.
Krieger the genius, wake up
Densmore is criminally underrated.
@@gforce4063 I never said he wasn't.
This song is from the L.A. Woman album. It's amazing. Not a bad or even mediocre song on it. Any song could have been chosen for radio air play. My favorite song on it is "Hyacinth House." When you run into Doors fans, it's those songs that didn't make it to radio that they love the most.
Hyacinth House and End of the Night are amazing…
Morrison's voice rarely gets the credit it deserves. I'm glad to hear you enjoy it.
Also, with regard to the title being the first line of the song, if you read Morrison's poetry books you'll notice he does this with his poems, too-i.e., the title of the poem is often the first line of the poem. This is not such an uncommon practice in poetry. If I'm not mistaken Dylan Thomas (who, I'm sure, was an influence on Morrison-and not just because of their shared drinking habits) almost exclusively used the first line as the title to his poems, followed by an ellipsis. Morrison was probably being quite retro at the time amidst all the neo-beat poets trying to subvert everything, like Ginsburg and even Bob Dylan giving their songs and poems strange and cryptic titles like "Howl" and "Rainy Day Women #12 & 35", respectively.
band & singer indeed misrepresented & not given proper due. it had a lot to do w/ morrison's in your face persona & the band's marketing of that pre his death & later w/ manzarek pumping that image also. it sold records, but hurt them as artist. but it doesnt take away from their talent & impact. it should be remembered they were performing their very powerful & visceral music of the first 2 albums by the summer of '66 live & had it perfected by august. the odine shows in nyc in the fall of '66 were legendary moreso imo then the whisky shows b/c by this point, the band was even better, yet still coiled and dangerous. go back and listen to all the music in '66, no one was this deep & dark pushing then the doors at that point. that gets overlooked how powerfully original it was. the only thing vaguely in that zipcode was the velvet underground. but the doors were even more dangerous & wide scaping. by '69 it all fell off the rails. but thru '68, though inconsistent (in '67-'68), when they were firing on all cylinders, no band was more lethal in that period. to their credit also, their last 2 albums showed growth in a mature way, yet still maintained that unique signature of out of kilter, yet observantly alive.
in re to his poetic style, he mixed beat style urgency, concise & intense imagary w/ blake symbolist structure to also draw out a wider thesis range that was multilayered. on one level, an on the ground narrative in a desolate yet intense envir, yet the lyrics also use that scene w/ key words to scale up the meaning to the culture & even the transcending back & forward civilization. like a hawks eye seeing more yet both as it circles higher. its a powerful technique but is missed by many when listening to him. notice how he uses throughout his long works a passage way of roads & rivers as metaphors for time. & he puts the character or theme in a mobile vessel to illuminate the present but imply the past & future. then he scales up to view the culture in metaphors of large scape terrain. thats a blake technique. he was getting better at this by la woman. had flashes of brillance when he got it right, like here. riders is a great introspective poetic view of the present period when he wrote it but also the cyclical west culture that we inhabit now & further back. all in one. notice too, the characters: the hitcher (forboding temptation); the car (passing thru time); the road (time & destiny); the storm (cyclical cultural strife). both conditions pressing on the indiv but also the culture. dense theme & underrated.
@@Yugoslav1918 ... I here what your saying, but I have a different take on them. To your point, they could be pedestrian. They were inconsistent & morrison could go off the rails in a very destructive & even immature way that hurt the band. & w/ the exception of the first & last album they could do filler that was weak & not standout for that era.... but where I part ways w/ you is when they got it right. perhaps their inconsistency had to do w/ morrison's lack of musical background (he didnt start music until 21). but it also allowed a window for his singular brillance. he had a certain vision of what art meant to him. he was also very smart & curious & had a deep reference file in his brain of literature, history, philosophy etc. It made be overplayed, but the guy was truly intellectually very smart & aware. he also had the b@lls to stick w/ his own vision & its what made their sound & approach singular. yes, it was inconsistent, but when it came together, they could and did hit the mothelode. both musically, stagecraft & lyrically. the end, when you consider the time it was made, its arguably the most powerful dark theater song ever written in rock. a major influence to roger waters and others. they have about 20 songs that are for the ages & will always carry a very unique signature that no band as ever really sounded like or captured. I also think if you understand blake symbolist technique, morrison had times nailed it well in drawing out large visual nearly cinematic scapes of ideas and feel. doing that consistently they werent good at & it wasnt easy, thus at times he ended up in parody of himself. & it was also a high profile trainwreck & in turn obscures how good they were when they got it right.
@@Yugoslav1918 agree.... good ear. waiting for the sun is his singing at best. sinatra meets psychedlia. excellent phrasing and tempo singing wise.
@@Yugoslav1918 yes, some of its over the top. his legend, his antics & the hype, wh/ ray endlessly pumped. it hurt them to a degree and draws away from when they got it right. morrison seemed conflicted himself too. part of him loved the fame & to ham it up and delve in the dangers of it. yet, part of him loathe it and himself for it & fought it both negatively in self destruction. but positively in trying to get back to his artistic mindset of straight stripped down orginality. & at least 20 times he pulled that off. ive come to find their last album their best. & thats a credit to both the band and morrison's own intergrity to try to get it right and grow. he went out strong regardless how damaged he was by that point. the good, bad and ugly he truly was a unique animal of rock, never to be reproduced.
Particularly good choice for showcasing The Doors as a complete, and very talented, band.
I've been waiting for this one since your first Doors reaction.
I was not disappointed...Great reaction and analysis Amy!
I was at a restaurant in the Simpson Desert and a French pianist played this in a thunder storm - what a great moment in time and space!
A few years ago, we had a big tropical storm move through. I battened down all the hatches and played this song on loop for the whole evening. It never, ever gets old.
Ray Manzarek's Fender Rhodes work here is incredible, the repeated descending notes pattern reminds me of the storm's raindrops. The basic 2-3 note melody was "influenced" by the song "(Ghost) Riders in the Sky" after the band heard the latter on the radio. The lyric "There's a killer on the road" is a reference to the infamous 1950s serial killer Billy Cook. This is classic Doors!
I'd say Ray was listening to Advice to Medics (1957) by jazz genius Sun Ra.
Wasn't it a reference to Zodiac?
Once again, it's a song by the Doors, not only Jim Morrison, they play musically an equal part to Jim Morrison's genius. Great musicians they were all and the song is credited to all four.
Krieger genius
That was really enjoyable. Its been raining here in NJ for 2 days so I could really feel the music. The Doors were willing to experiment with different musical influences, sounds and atmospheres and take their time doing it. They were not concerned with writing hit singles. Maybe that's why their music has the longevity it does. There is something timeless about songs like this, Riders On The Storm.
Timeless, yet very much of its time as well…….that psychedelic sound puts it immediately in the 60’s.
I'm happy that Amy seems to enjoy this band which has deeply affected me on a personal level. Her reactions add to my understanding of something important to me. Thank you!
Some early Fender amplifiers had a "tremolo" feature, which is that "stuttering" sound you hear. It's a very popular effect in Country music. Some Fender models still have it, and you can also buy stand alone effects to get the sound.
The guitar effect is called "Tremolo". It was built-in on old Fender amps and you could control intensity and speed with two knobs.
And the piano is a Fender Rhodes, its bell-like timbre became very popular amongst jazz and rock musicians.
Thanks! Good information….
Only note that Fender were wrong. Tremolo is a fluctuation of volume, vibrato is a fluctuation of pitch. Fender would call the vibrato bridge (whammy bar), a tremolo, which is utterly incorrect but now of often the used term. The same happened on their amps when they would incorrectly call the tremolo effect, vibrato.
Old '50s Silvertone amps had a really nice tremolo effect.
@@terrycunningham8118 When I was 14 in 1964, like most boys my age, I got an electric guitar.. A classmate of mine had a Sears Silvertone amp and we would practice together at his house after school. His name is Ted Nugent. He wasn't the last of my Highschool practice buddies to become famous musicians.
The Fender Rhodes is one of the most beautiful sounds in the world.
I think Jim's "whisper track" is key in giving this recording its very ethereal sound.
I am 62. In my teens I got a small transistor radio that I could hide under my pillow and surreptitiously listen after my parents had sent me to bed. In particular I could listen to a show on Capital Radio called "Your Mother Wouldn't Like It" featuring DJ 'Little' Nicky Horne. And the first (or at least the first memorable) piece that I heard was this one. I don't know how much of my reaction to the piece now is to the music and how much is because of that nostalgic memory.
I had a radio like that I’m Scottish and listened to Radio Caroline a boat outwith the waters belonging to uk tax. My god I heard EVERYTHING. Educated me.
I am a bit older than you but I did the same thing. I not only listened to music, though. The first time I remember doing this I was listening to the Sonny Liston vs Cassius Clay fight when the future Mohammed Ali first won his championship.
Same here. Little Nicky Horne was my introduction to a wonderful world of music! I still get nostalgic chills when I hear 'Jessica' on the radio. :D
I don’t think the Doors were around when I got my crystal set 😂
For me it Radio Luxembourg under the covers😊
Amy, perhaps your next song should be “Light My Fire”. Ray Manzarek, the organ player, was a classically trained pianist. The organ part for Light My Fire was based on Bach’s “Two and Three Part Inventions”. I’d be interested to hear your take on it.
Seems like the Doors are probably Amy's favourite band so far. Which is amazing...
I think it's too early to make that call.
Can’t blame her for liking the doors man, good music will always shine through.
Now I don’t want anyone talking this the wrong was but she probably also gets the sexy vibe from Jim, and why the heck not.
My favourite band
Love these explorations.
Thank you
Shortly before his death in 2013, the great Ray Manzarek of The Doors sat in front of his beloved keyboard and told the fascinating musical story of how the iconic “Riders on the Storm” came to be : ruclips.net/video/4ZJ7xhu-wy4/видео.html
Definitely a good one for sitting out on the porch during a thunderstorm!
(She's squirming!😆)
- 20:20 This guitar effect is called tremolo.
- 21:57 Also, this song is another example of how the Blues influenced Rock, since it basically has a Blues structure, using some modified chords and played in a non-shuffling way.
- 31:10 It's a trip. Amy, you realise this was a drug infued era, don't you?
- 31:57 That close echo effect is called reverb.
I enjoyed your take on this. Your insight is always enjoyable and thought provoking. I can't imagine what it must have been like when this was originally aired on popular radio. The entire band is excellent of course, but I feel the drummer is never given enough due. So much texture, subtlety, and playfulness goes into his playing. He's more of an introverted drummer, as opposed to being bombastic.
I agree. I like all the parts of this song, but the drummer is the glue that holds everything together. To me, the drums have a stealthy sound, like someone is creeping up on you that you can't quite see, but you can feel. The drums set the mysterious tone and keep it going, while the other instruments move in and out of the darkness, hanging on the spooky skeleton of the drums. Every element of this song is a pleasure, but the drums is the song's internal structure.
A personal reminiscence. It was the summer of 1972 and I was a newly licensed driver. We had crossed the high plains of Kansas and eastern Colorado for a family vacation road trip. I was behind the wheel and we were about 20 miles outside of Colorado Springs with the front range of Rocky Mountains dominating the horizon ahead. Dark, angry clouds were boiling up behind those peaks and bursts of static from not so distant lightning punctuated the music playing on the car's AM radio. "Riders On The Storm" came on that little AM radio. It was a perfect moment that this now old far..., ehr, dude recalls after over half a century. Music can do that.
Loving this; the Doors are the greatest American band of all time, in my opinion
All time? Or during that time?
Doors are the greatest american band of all time . only the english bands led, beatles and stones could rival them
They were very much of their time. If Morrison had lived, it would have been interesting how he approached the 70s and 80s, but the Beach Boys, The Eagles, Fleetwood Mac, Nirvana, REM, the Ramones, and the Talking Heads come to mind. If it were solo artists, Hendrix and Springsteen would top the list, not to mention Dylan. Oh yeah, and some guy named Elvis.
I'm glad you said that, it made me ponder it for a long time. I can't refute it, although I can't really rank music. There's nobody better, maybe, but there are others no one is better than as well. My problem with the Doirs now is that I have listened to them sooo much, being 70 yrs old, that I now listen to other less familiar music I think I'll spend the day listening to the doors
@@paulmartinson875 An honest answer. They are always in the mix as one of the best American bands, I'm just unsure if they are number one or not. I played a lot of Doors in bands over the years and it always struck me that the audience was always keenly aware of the songs by the end of the first bar. I just wish Morrison had lived, but shooting stars....
This was a favorite of American combat solders in Vietnam
Doors were deep... credit to you for covering on of the very best artist's of all time!
Guitarist Robbie Krieger said that due to the fact that the bass was played by keyboardist Ray Manzerak, he was forced to add some "bottom end" to his style of playing when they formed the band. It's not unusual for certain guitarists to develop their style in this way.
A great example of this is when Joe Walsh (who later joined the Eagles with Don Felder to "rockify" their sound) joined the The James Gang as a young guitarist just leaving Kent State University after the National Guard shootings. TWO members, including the rhythm guitarist, just didn't show for a concert. Joe Walsh said he was forced to add rhythm sections to his playing. He was so good at it, they stayed a power trio, with great songs like Funk #49, Walk Away, and The Bomber. Later, Joe would learn slide guitar from the great Duane Allman, and Joe became a sought after sessions guitarist ever since.
Actually every Door’s album had a bass player. The bass player most used was Doug Lubahn. On Riders on the Storm, it was Jerry Scheff.
@@samsnead1824 True, but they were (almost) always a four-piece band live on stage, and they played many gigs before recording their first album. Ray played the Fender Rhodes bass keyboard while playing either Vox or Gibson organ with his right hand. It is the live playing that influenced Krieger's style and the development of their songs.
I have a feeling she’s really going to like this one 😊
that song remains me everytime, that a former school friend has my lp since over 30 years now... and i still want the lp back one time...^^
Awesome reaction. I loved it, and I love this song. Along with Morrison's voice, the Doors have such a unique sound which you are noticing and now getting familiar with. I can understand why they are starting to become one of your favorite bands so far. I am looking forward to when you return again to the Doors in the future. They have several really good songs I think you will also like a lot.
I suppose if Jim lived they would have gone more in this direction, a jazzy poetry kind of thing
@@Hartlor_Tayley Yeah, who knows where he would have gone with his gift. I have always found it interesting how so many of the very creative types leave us early. Such an amazing body of work in such a short period of time. In the artistic world, it may in part be related to consuming those substances that help tap into their creativity, but also lead to premature deaths. Some survive, but many don't.
@@LeeKennison also since schizophrenia and creativity seem to be linked and schizophrenia seems to emerge around the age of 27, well maybe there is some of that too.
@@Hartlor_Tayley Yeah, many of the most creative types struggle with mental health issues, along with addictions. Something with how the brain works I guess. Two sides of a coin. Both a miracle and a tragedy, depending on how you look at it. In some respects, an analogy of life itself, which I think this particular song taps into.
Yes
So glad you like this, it's my favourite Doors song. Only problem is it makes you drive fast. I'm just at the start but wait till you hear Ray in the middle section!
L A Woman
@@gforce4063 True, another license trasher!
Hyacinth House
The effect on the guitar is probably a tremelo built into the amp.
The Jazz influences come mainly from keyboard player Ray Manzarek and drummer John Densmore. Ray was deeply steeped in all kinds of Jazz and John grew up emulating Jazz drummers, Ray thought of The Doors as," the modern Jazz quartet of Rock And Roll"
The whispered backing vocal is much more apparent on earlier releases of the record, it gets largely lost in the remastered versions.
Drumming is fantastic. John Paul Densmore an amazing drummer.
There is a video on RUclips where Ray Manzarek explains the whole story of how this piece developed. It would add much to your incisive reaction.
I love the bass driving in the background all through this song. It’s crucial to this song (and many others).
Absolutely yes! Props to the great bassist Jerry Scheff 👍
I am surprised that the bassline was not mentioned. It is a very unusual line, and to me gives a very strange feel to the music, it is simple yet complicated. I have always wished that The Doors had had a bassist from the start, the later tracks like this one sound much better for it, the much vaunted Ray’s bass keys I think have dated poorly and the outside bass players showed how better textures could be had. As a bass player myself back then I learnt this line and found it “awkward” and seemed to be spread over two chords, it was very different to other stuff I knew then and its consistency seems to give a backdrop for the keys and guitar
Bass and drums. You don't look for them, the musicians are rarely the big names in the front, but it's what keeps a track together. When the guitar and the vocals are having a party on the roof, bass and drums are the walls that keep the roof up.
Sly n Robbie being the structural props for many great songs. As Grace Jones knows very well.
I think one of the key lines in this song along with what you pointed out at the beginning about throwing is .."like a dog without a bone ...an actor out on loan". I think we are all Riders on The Storm. The song is simplistically complex...in music and in ideas as you have so eloquently pointed out.
he had perfected symbolist density by this point word usage wise. sparse but dense. blake symbolist style w/ beat urgency imagary mixed. whitman, crane were masters at this and also blake influenced. morrison was in that vein, even though he was mixing in more psychology & modern cinematic imagary.
He is a poet; first. The keyboardist is the Composer
I think the storm represents this life/world we are thrown into, and we become riders of that storm, experiencing both the good and bad things in life. I love experiencing the good side of thunderstorms (the exciting, the powerful, the needed rain), but if I or my house was struck by lightning, flooded, or destroyed by wind, I would experience the bad side of it. He expresses the joyful parts of life ("let your children play") followed by the tragedy that will happen if they pick up the killer hitchhiker ("You give this man a ride, sweet family will die"). And then speaks of love to help weather the storms of life.
There's a second vocal track of Morrison mirroring the main in a whisper, all the way through
Nice detail
Perfect song. From beginning to end.
Big the doors fan here. Right now my favorite song and it has been for years now is Hyancith House, but that’s because we Doors fan as every fan does, start liking the most obscure stuff after a while. But my official favorite song is Moonlight Drive. Please listen to them if you can.
Jim Morrison ‘s voice Manly haunting ,so mystic , so poetic , it actually.fits the music that he’s singing , Even Ray’s keyboard hitting certain
notes , also the drummer, and guitar player working in perfect harmony, to me on my observation is pure genius
I think Ray is playing a Fender Rhodes piano--
The Line;
"Girl you got to Love your man
Take him by the hand
Make him Understand"
The World on You Depends
our life will Never End"
Men will run through the flames of Hell carrying Gas cans for a Woman that Loves them.
This is what it's All about.
Actually Jim's girlfriend wanted to get Jim out of L.A. and go to Paris. That line is very specific to Jim and Pam's personal situation. It just so happens that it resonates to other people.
The album opens up with The Changling. He is preparing the audience for Jim's departure to Paris to do other things.
" I'm a changling, see me change."
It just so happens it resonates with other people.
It’s rarely mentioned, but I always liked the Doors song, Soul Kitchen. Nice, simple organ hook. Great vibe.
There's an interesting story about what inspired Souk Kitchen. Are you familiar with it? If not, I highly recommend checking it out.
love soul kitchen too.
Listening to your comments regarding the "storm" sounds in the music put another song in my head. It's nothing like the Doors or this song, but stirred a memory. If you can, please have a listen to Into The Mystic, by Van Morrison.
What a fabulous band! I feel so lucky to have come of age when they hit the music scene.
This is one of the greatest rock songs of all time!!!!!
I'm glad you like it! It's so deep and soulful! They take their music serious. Not looking for popularity with a basic hook to it.
Fantastic song. As the last song he recorded, it's quite haunting. Great reaction, as always.
Riders on the storm"; a beautiful epitaph. Morrison channeled his poetry into music in a theatrical way. I would recommend listening to analyze this facet, in this order: "Cristal ship" (1967); "The soft parade" (1969) ; "The celebration of the lizard" (Absolutely live; 1970). Thank you for sharing your complete analysis; a fraternal hug from Guanaqueros; Chile. Kristofer Bonifay.
Check out "Spanish Caravan," the intro has classical/flamenco elements to it, Robbie Krieger shines on this one, think you'll enjoy it.
Would love to see your reaction to The Doors "LA Woman". I always loved the way the song seems to be song about a woman but it's really about the city of Los Angeles
Could you make "Eiti-Leda" by "Serú Girán"? It's an Argentinan well known band and it uses a fretless bass. The title it's a made-up name.
"Riders on the Storm: is very similar to "Ghost Riders in the Sky". I go back and forth between the two while playing my bass.
I have watched/listened to a number of your analysise of songs. But " VIRGIN" Rock certainly describes you. I don't comment on Classical Music ( although I was clasically trained in the mid 60s ). That being said , I think you need to listen to many, many more of the Boomer generation's music. I like your theory written as I can read it and play. You need to keep this up BUT you also are ignorant of that generation's music to some degree and the implications of the songs See Joni Mitchell's " Big Yellow Taxi" and "Both Sides Now". God , I was only 13 but my mother cried at the latter. . Please listen to more and keep up the good work.
P.S I don't care what you wear, it's your work I'm interested in. See Aimee Nolte she is with it,both theory and music from the 60s and 70s. Please, no offense meant. Please educate yourself- isn't that how we musicians progress?
Listen to "L.A. woman" (Latin American woman)...a fraternal hug from Guanaqueros; Chili.
Thank you Amy. Great insight as always. Having been a rock musician playing with numerous bands as a hobby since 1964, I've enjoyed your channel very much. So much so that today I signed up on your Patreon.
Rock🤘😎
When I was growing up, the local rock radio station would always put this song on whenever it started raining outside. I always thought it was cool - especially when I was driving my car in the rain and it came on.
Interesting that Morrison was influenced by Heidegger and Nietzsche... I always thought this song was distilled Existentialism.
From wikipedia, "common concepts in existentialist thought include ... dread, anxiety in the face of an absurd world, as well as authenticity, courage and virtue".
The "killer on the road", "brain writhing like a toad", and still we are fighting to ride the storm, not letting our selves be submerged and destroyed.
You should listen to ( The Vanilla Fudge ) they are psychedelic symphonic rock band from the 60's
My favorite Doors song, it exudes "cool"! The first time I heard the part starting with "There's a killer on the road", it felt like a non sequitur, out of place, especially with the musical ambience of the song. But, it became apparent to me that Jim Morrison chose this seemingly random, low probability, and out of place threat as an illustration of "the storm". The music makes us feel "safe", just like the family in the song. We are unknowingly sidestepping dangers.
Conceptually, this use of a random and out of place event reminds me of "Synchronicity II" (by the Police), which tells and implicitly connects two stories in parallel that have nothing to do with each other other than that they're happening at the same time.
That guitar effect that you mentioned (stuttering) is called Tremolo. As part of your journey you might want to look into the various electric guitar effects that are used (reverb, delay, tremolo, chorus, flanger, wah-wah, fuzz, overdrive, etc...)
A collab with JHS Pedals perhaps.
The sound effects set the backdrop, but the subtle interplay between Ray's cascades on electric piano and Robby's tremolo guitar effect they perfectly capture the magical sound of rainfall, particularly in the coda as the storm begins to pass and the last raindrops dwindle in the puddles.
LA Woman is the perfect intro into any rock music. As soon as the lyrics land the music is full on. That build up is my hands down best rock song intro.
I always thought all of Jim Morrison's music was sliding across the ragged edge of "The Blues"...
One thing to remember is that Manzerek is playing the organ with his right hand only. He is playing a keyboard bass with the left. He is amazing.
This song and a lot of their later stuff has session bassists recording in the studio.
I agree that Manzerek was a great player. But playing base with one hand and melody with the other is not what makes him so. Every pianist does that all the time.
In this album they used a bass player, but Manzarek talked about how he came up with the bass line on his keyboard and showed the bass guitarist... who promptly called him crazy. On keys it's simple, but on a bass it requires some big moves.
The great Jerry Scheff on the bass on this album:)
I know this song does give off a chill vibe of mystery. But, some of the descriptions you were using such as: "expansive", "mysterious quality", "envelops and wraps you in". and remarking that just a couple of notes produce a musical experience is so" expansive vast, spatially, texturally, emotionally" - are characteristics of psychedelic rock IMO.
Two of their biggest hits "Break on Though" and "Light My Fire" do not lyrically open with the title...
Thank you very much for your analysis. I liked it but unfortunately you missed the importance and the roll of the bass creating the ambience.
Riders on the Storm makes me think of the Book of Genesis. We are riding the storm because of the curse. Into this house we're born because we have original sin, and into this world we are indeed thrown.
The killer on the road is the Devil. He wants to kill the family of man taking an innocent holiday. Don't let Satan into our lives--or our family will die. Eve is the antidote: love your man and the world depends on her ability to produce love and family. Our life as a human line will never end.
The Beatles and Stones are for blowing your mind. The Doors are for after.
The pure joy you take from music and sharing it is so evident and genuine on your face is infectious.
With Morrison the future’s uncertain and the end is always near.
Talking about imitating birds voices just try to listen Parents by Budgie.
I hope you get a chance to listen to Light my Fire by the Doors next - the keyboard intro is directly inspired by a Bach invention and because of this my personal classification of the song's 'style' is 'psychedelic baroque rock but make it blues'. They never fail to impress!
The Doors' keyboard player Ray Manzarek was a classicaly trained pianist who also played jazz and blues piano. The "stuttering" effect you hear on the guitar is called tremelo. It is built into some guitar amps and guitar pedals. It changes the volume up and down at an adjustable speed and depth with a few dials. Chet Atkins help make this a popular effect back in the 1950's on his own records and even on some Everly Brothers songs like "til i kissed you".
All four band members are four equal parts. Unbelievable song. . .
Jim was a force of nature!
You should listen to " An america prayer" created after Morrisons death
American Prayer is the read for you Amy😊
I would like , but . . . It’s a book of most all of Jim’s poetry
Perfect driving song.
Want to really trip? You need to listen to The End from the first album. 67
It should also be mentioned that, the music was developed as the band was playing around in the studio with the Sons of the Pioneers’ song “Ghost Riders In The Sky”. If you’re familiar with that song you will definitely hear its influence on this song.
Morrison used to say that he wrote a good opening phrase so he could remember the melody, because he composed in his head and didn't know how to play instruments or write sheet music.
The drummer riding that cymbal is like rain crashing to the ground or on the windshield of a car..
And the bass setting the speed is the wheels on the Highway..
I think you would find ‘the soft parade’ very interesting
What a beautiful job you have done in reacting and musically dissecting this amazing Door's classic.
I'm sure Jim would be very pleased in the manner, depth and patience you have applied to his musical, vocal and lyrical approach in this amazing song.
And also your appreciation of the instrumentation, the piano in particular, and the themes in general they have provided which certainly broach the jazz and spacial ambience not normally visited in popular music.
Thanks again, you really are quite sweet in your presentation!
You aren't the first person to fall in love with Jim Morrison.
I grew up listening to the Doors and other bands during that time. Jim's voice is haunting. Also the band got it's name from Aldous Huxley's infamous psychedelic memoir, “The Doors of Perception.”
I'm surprised that you, and most commentators here, do not remark more on the darkness of the lyrics.
"Into this world we're thrown."
Most painful words to be heard in this channel since the last Pink Floyd video.
Ray was in a jazz/blues band before The Doors. The Doors couldn't find a bass guitar player that they liked so, Ray heard about a bass keyboard and so he used that with one hand and the other hand he used to play the piano/organ.
Excelente análisis musical pero te faltó revisar la letra: "into this world were thrown, like a dog without a bone, like an actor out of loan, his brain is squirming like a toad, if you give this man ride swit family will die, killers on the road, girl the world on you depends". Es un reflección para la humanidad basada en una experiencia de Jim, cuando iba de viaje con sus papás siendo niño, pasaron por la carretera donde estaba asesinada una familia en su auto por una persona que les había pedido un aventón (persona desconocida que recoges para llevarla en tu auto como un favor ). El mundo está lleno de gente que está muy dañada en su interior y puede ser potencialmente muy dañina, y es necesaria la prudencia y sexto sentido de las madres de familia.
This channel is awesome. Great reaction.
You really need to hear either L.A.Woman or The Soft Parade for some interesting jazzy transitions.
Ray Manzeric played Bass on the keyboards with his other hand.
On L. A. Woman they played with Elvis Presley's bassist who they were over the moon for. If you watch the Mr. Mojo Risin documentary extra features which is on youtube you will hear some different versions of Doors songs you may have never heard before. They sound like Elvis's band could have played them.
They always used a bass guitarist for the studio recordings, Ray only played bass live as Jim didn't want to add anyone on stage. BTW the key bass was the first version of the Rhodes piano featured here; Rhodes figured it'd be cheaper to make, and organs traditional have foot pedals for bass, something you could get with a Hammond, but not a more portable instrument like a Vox and Farsifa. Fender ultimately took over distribution.