By Monk
When one thinks of The Doors, one is automatically drawn to the captivating imagery of the band’s confusing, enigmatic, energetic frontman, an artist subsequently and often copied and imitated but never equally or surpassed. But, of course, to make a band as enduring and timeless as The Doors, you have to have more than a charismatic frontman. And part of the enduring attraction of a band like The Doors is that, outside of the doomed icon that became Jim Morrison, it was constituent of three other highly accomplished musicians, each of whom brought their own dynamic and influence to the band’s overall sound, and thus contributing to the endurance it continues to enjoy until this day.
Over the intervening half a century since Morrison’s death, guitarist Robby Krieger has divided his time between fighting to equally exploit and preserve the band’s legacy and to establish one of his own outside the adventure which took up such as relatively small part of his own life and musical journey. Now, he is back with a new project, one which sees him pursuing his love of integrating free-flowing jazz improvisation as much as it does his background in blues and rock, with the added element of collaborating with a group of musicians whose previous include sessions with the likes of Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder, Chaka Kahn and Lenny Kravitz. The result is a good old-fashioned jam of an album, recorded largely live in Krieger’s own studio, which evokes the spirit of how things used to be done, with bands just sitting down together and seeing what came out the other end… and if they liked it, then they’d see if we did as well…
One thing that strikes about this album, outside Krieger’s own gracious, laconic yet fulfilling style is how he applies that grace and fulfillment to his collaboration with his new band mates, especially in terms of his interaction with Ed Roth’s keyboard work. From the opening run of ‘Shark Skin Suit’ to the dying harmonic of ‘Math Problem’, that is very reminiscent of Krieger’s former band mate Ray Manzarek in both its prominence and restraint, while at the same time both contemplating and extrapolating the guitarist’s own contributions and stylistic approach, neither overwhelming nor contradicting but each melding and moulding into one another with the natural, seamless cognizance and fluidity of two compatible souls meeting in a unique moment in time.
And then you get the likes of ‘Killzoni’, where the talents of bassist Kevin Brandon and drummer Franklin Vanderbilt are first truly called into play, with their jammed-out mix of laconicism and loquaciousness, their subtle little background runs not just filling out the sound but accentuating every little aspect of its subtlety. Superb muscianship that just encapsulates and enraptures you on every level.
This is an old-school fusion album. One that makes you sit back and absorb it. One which emphasizes the importance of quality over quantity. One which makes you appreciate what happens when a group of highly talented get together and decide to lay down some cool grooves and vibes just for the sheer enjoyment of it.
- ‘Robby Krieger and The Soul Savages‘ is released on Friday 19 January.
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