Light My Fire [Hardcover]

Ray Manzerek (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 29, 1998

The Doors. Arguably the most important rock-and-roll band of the sixties, unquestionably a catalyst for American music as we know it. Their music was the product of late-sixties southern California, with its idyllic facades. The Doors looked beyond these facades and wrote music about what they found, thus becoming the ultimate symbol for rebellion and alienation. Ray Manzarek. The driving force, leader, and, along with Jim Morrison, cofounder of The Doors in the summer of 1965. Together with Robby Krieger and John Densmore, they created a legend. Their original mix of jazz, classical, California surf, Flamenco guitar, and Chicago blues made an irreversible impact on the music of the day. When Light My Fire hit number one on the charts, the legend began. Their worldwide popularity was and still is remarkable. Today, The Doors sell nearly two million albums a year. Jim Morrison. A magnetic presence and rock icon in life, still a legend more than twenty-five years after his death. Manzarek and Morrison were both UCLA Film School graduates, best friends, and rarely apart until Morrison moved to Paris shortly before his death in 1971. What Ray Manzarek knows about Jim Morrison and The Doors, no one else does. His story gives illumination to the dark myths and lays to rest the rumors that have abounded about Jim Morrison and the band. Bright Midnight truly gives us an insight into the times, the enigmatic lead singer, and the magic circle that was The Doors.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Legendary Doors keyboardist Manzarek cannot seem to figure out whether his close friend and bandmate Jim Morrison's wild antics were the result of a poetic desire to push the envelope as far as the singer could, or if the famous 1960s rebel (who died in Paris at the age of 27) was just a gifted drunk. This ambivalence gives rise to an interesting, open-minded chronicle of one man's (Morrison's) alcoholism and its impact on his loved ones. Manzarek surely loved MorrisonAthey were friends and collaborators before either man had met the other two musicians who would complete the Doors's lineup, drummer John Densmore (whom Manzarek claimed Morrison never liked) and guitarist Robby Krieger, who penned "Light My Fire," "Touch Me" and "Love Me Two Times" with little or no help from famed lyricist Morrison. Manzarek takes every opportunity to philosophize about the ills of capitalist America, and he incessantly, passionately alludes to Greek mythology, Hinduism and Christianity when relating tales of his rock band's rise and fall. It's all love, peace, happiness and Morrison, except for the caustic passages regarding Oliver Stone and his big-budget biopic, The Doors, which Manzarek despises. "Grow up and see it like it really is, you fascist," the keyboardist writes at one point, which makes one wonder why Manzarek, an award-winning filmmaker and graduate of the UCLA film school, didn't make the movie himself. 16 pages of photos, not seen by PW.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Manzarek, musical leader of and keyboard player for the Doors, takes us back to the strange days of 1960s L.A. in a striking personal memoir and ode to Jim Morrison. After singer-lyricist Morrison's untimely demise, the band drifted apart, but its music and Morrison's leering public persona get dredged up periodically by new generations of fans. Manzarek and fellow UCLA film graduate, budding poet, and aspiring lizard king Morrison were the band's nucleus, to which Manzarek added guitarist Robby Krieger and drummer John Densmore, whom Manzarek found in a transcendental meditation group. As the Doors, the four captured the orgiastic mood of the Age of Aquarius, L.A. style, by mixing mystical lyrics and extended musical jamming with the signature sound of Manzarek's carnival-like electric keyboard stylings. They enjoyed a commercial success rooted in the singles charts, which provoked dismissive criticism from the album-oriented rock-critic cognoscenti of the time. Manzarek posits that if Morrison had not fallen in with the wrong crowd (a problem then as now), he would have enjoyed an enduring career either as poet or rocker (like, perhaps, Henry Rollins?). Literate, perceptive, and thoughtful, this is the best book yet about the Doors and their legendary singer, not to mention Manzarek, and may be the best rock bio of the year, on a par with Dave Davies' Kink last year. Mike Tribby

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Putnam Adult; 1st ed/1st printing edition (June 29, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0399143998
• ISBN-13: 978-0399143991
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.2 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (112 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #257,650 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

44 of 48 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Manzarek Takes You With Him, July 15, 2000

By 

Reviewer - See all my reviews

This review is from: Light My Fire (Paperback)

Of all the books I've read about The Doors, my favorite has always been "No One Here Gets Out Alive," by Jerry Hopkins and Danny Sugerman. Until now. Now, unequivocally, it's "Light My Fire: My Life With The Doors," by Ray Manzarek, the keyboard player and co-founder (along with Jim Morrison) of The Doors. What makes this book so great is that Manzarek has a way of making you feel like you're there with him, and Morrison and the others, as he recounts that magical, psychedelic period of time between 1965 and 1971. As he puts it: "In that year we had an intense visitation of energy. That year lasted from the summer of 1965 to July 3, 1971." And as he writes, he as much as welcomes you into their lives, sharing their most intimate and personal moments. You're there with them on the beach in Venice, California, when Morrison first mentions to his friend Ray that he's been writing some songs; and it is in that moment that "The Doors" are born, and you're there, and it's as if it is one of your own memories. Manzarek writes with such obvious joy and fondness of this period of time in his life; of his memories of Jim Morrison, the charismatic and enigmatic poet whom he loved as a brother and still misses to this day; of his then girlfriend (now wife of all these many years), Dorothy Fujikawa, whom he adores; of finding guitarist Robby Krieger and drummer John Densmore and making The Doors a reality; and it's all done with such a Bradburyesque style and flair that by the time you're through you feel as though you're one of them, part of that unique inner-circle of friends. Of course, there's the down side, too, about which he is equally as candid as he is about the rest of it. How devastating it was, for example, to watch Jim Morrison's decline, his descent into the void of the bottle; how it began and why, and the reasons neither he, nor anyone, could help Morrison. He discusses quite frankly how his friend, Jim, the gentle poet with an exuberant love for life, would become "Jimbo," the self-destructive, counter-productive redneck. But throughout, Manzarek manages to remain upbeat and positive, concentrating on the love and good times, debunking many of the myriad myths about Morrison and the others, while painting an intimate portrait of who The Doors really were, and are. "Light My Fire," is poignant, incisive and alive; it is one of those books you are sorry to see come to an end. Like the short life of Jim Morrison, it's a shame there isn't any more.

53 of 61 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Youch! Ray the Historian..., June 24, 2003

By 

N. P. Stathoulopoulos "nick9155" (Brooklyn, NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Light My Fire (Paperback)

Since this book appeared in 1998, The Doors--sans John Densmore, who had an iota of self-respect--have played Las Vegas. Thank God Jim Morrison didn't live to see his bandmates mutated into an embarassing lounge act, singing his songs in the performance graveyard that is Vegas.

It's clear Ray Manzarek does not like Densmore. It's clear now and it's bitingly clear in this book. Ray Manzarek has a real go at the history of The Doors, rewriting it exactly as he'd like it to sound in his mind. Ray conveniently ignores entire albums, tours, and other events in favor of waxing on about the chi, about how unbelievably incredible The Doors were and still are. He has a lot of love for Jim Morrison, but even this is tinged with a nasty shade of green. Instead of facing the fact that Morrison had a serious drug and alcohol problem, Manzarek creates an alter ego for Morrison known as 'Jimbo'. See, it's all 'Jimbo's' fault. Jimbo is the redneck alcoholic idiot that Morrison would become at random times, not the regular Jim Morrison who was a brilliant poet and all around nice guy.

You can imagine why he hates Densmore. Riders on the Storm, Densmore's version of the story, clearly shows that the drummer felt guilt over Morrison's spiral downward. Densmore came off as honest; he didn't beat the reader over the head with endless babble about Dionysus or the Age of Aquarius and the massive amount of acid Ray appears to have taken.

Meanwhile Manzarek would rather attach some kind of cosmo-spiritual explanation to Morrison's decline. He claims to have seen the spirit literally leaving Morrison's head the night of the final Doors performance in New Orleans in 1970. It's embarassing, it's manipulative and it speaks volumes about Ray's character.

Ray always looked like an erudite. He was well-spoken and he loved Morrison, backing his friend up as a serious poet.

However, Ray comes off as vindictive, clouded, and plain silly in this book. He has a serious beef with Oliver Stone, referring to him as a fascist, a term Ray still throws around like it's 1968. Ray was horrified at another version of The Doors' story by another artist since Ray wants it told according to hiw own memory. Unfortunately, what Ray remembers is very selective. This book spends eternity to reach the release of the first Doors album in 1967 and the same year follow, Strange Days. Ray just doesn't want to get too involved in the REST of The Doors' days. He hardly makes mention of the fact that after Morrison died the band kept going, releasing two studio albums and touring. Conveniently, those two albums STILL have never been released to CD. As with their impressive resume of doctoring live albums, The Doors are unmatched in selling the same material over and over while keeping the stuff fans really want tucked away (hence the boxset delay and its underwhelming content).

I would recommend this strictly as an offical version of the story from one of the band. However, be very careful in reading Ray's story. He wants everyone to remember The Doors only as he does...

27 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars No Good, September 15, 2005

By 

A reader - See all my reviews

This review is from: Light My Fire (Paperback)

I give this book 2 stars for the occasional first person insights into the Doors. But there is too little of it. There is too much of the rantings of a man who is apparently trapped in the 6os, and is undergoing a personal mind battle between himself as a flower child and a business man. He often comes on as one or the other of these two conflicting images.

Often he rants about the establishment and their love of power and money, but at the same time he exudes great excitement when he describes the business and money aspect of his music career; like the big bucks he got when 'Light my Fire' hit the charts and the new car and beach house he was able to then buy. Or when he describes getting his first royalty check from Elektra and "Grinning and Dithering" while he makes his wife guess at the figure. Then she "squeals" and they hug and yell "We're rich!" A few pages later he goes on ranting about power and money hungry people.

I found too much hypocrisy in his writing like when he keeps using the phrase "I hope the lovers win the war. Don't you?" Then a few pages later he comes on as anything but a lover with his nasty second-hand gossip about Morrison allegedly telling him that he didn't like John Desmore. Uh, wouldn't a true lover and person who preaches peace and goodwill amongst each other, have kept that to himself rather than basically telling the world "Jim liked me more than John." I mean, what does that serve other than hurting another man's feelings? Nasty stuff from a self professed lover of people.

"Break On Through" is a much more supperior book on this topic. And it is a shame. Because with Manzarek's personal insight into the group, he could have provided the greatest story....But instead he chose to hog the spotlight and put too much of himself, his hypocritical pseudo hippy rantings, and his mean spirited jabs at others who were a part of this chapter in his life, into this book. I was hoping for more. Instead he delivered mostly junk.