Search - Doors :: No One Here Gets Out Alive

LSD, booze, madness, and full moons

eleventy-one | 07/07/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Throughout most of the 1970s and 1980s, a syndicated radio show called "Innerview" was a Monday night favorite across America. Joni Mitchell, Carlos Santana, Pink Floyd, and many other legendary artists were the feature of the music interview series that was hosted by legendary Los Angeles disc jockey Jim Ladd. Perhaps no other "Innerview" was as intriguing, though, as the first ever four-part special that was devoted to The Doors.



After taking two years to produce, the shows aired around the same time the bestselling book "No One Here Gets Out Alive" was released. They were originally broadcast for one hour each week for four weeks in the summer of 1979 (eight years after the death of Jim Morrison). The radio special assumed the same name as the book when it was made into an LP boxed set. This vinyl release was limited to just 150 copies and many ended up in the personal record collections of radio station employees. But before long, bootleg versions began circulating on cassette tape.



The audio of this four cd set was taken from the original vinyl, and as a result, the background crackling that is associated with vinyl is ever-present. It never really causes much of an annoyance, though. All commercials and have been edited out, reducing each episode to about 45 minutes. (One episode is on each disc.)



The shows are very well produced. About as much time is devoted to The Doors' music as to interviews, and the music highlights the topics well. Song segments range from a few seconds to a few minutes and are often played as background music to the conversations. The three remaining Doors members, Robbie Krieger, John Densmore, and Ray Manzarek, were interviewed separately. It would have been great if they had been interviewed together, in the same room, but as is, they each seem to have opened up to Jim Ladd like they would an old friend. Also interviewed are original manager of The Doors, Bill Siddons; founder of The Fillmore, Bill Graham; The Doors' concert promoter, Rich Linnell; and The Doors' second manager and author of the book "No One Here Gets Out Alive," Danny Sugerman. Singer Alice Cooper also makes a brief appearance.



This cd set makes for fascinating listening for any fan of The Doors or for any FM radio fan who longs for the days when radio was great. Of course, drug references are prevalent. Ray Manzarek mentions that when The Doors were first beginning, marijuana and The Rolling Stones blew their minds. It seems the list would eventually include LSD, booze, "madness," and "the full moon."



There are some stories included here that only the members of The Doors could tell. On the first disc, one of those stories is John Densmore telling how he and the other two musicians in The Doors could control Morrison on stage. Referring to Jim, John reveals that the band could "steer him around at times." They could "rile him up" or "make him go into some dance" by playing a certain way. The three talked about this to one another, but never to Jim. "He was so open," John explains as the reason Jim Morrison could be controlled in such a way. "He lived in the subconscious, it seemed like."



The four-disc set takes many somewhat shallow excursions into obvious topics. Oliver Stone recreated many of these stories after he was given a copy of the radio special to use as a source for his movie about the band. There are some little gems, however, that can undoubtedly be found nowhere else. The end of disc two has Ray telling us about one such gem, the quick story of "Cigar Pain." "Cigar Pain" was the nickname given to a hard-to-get-rid-of guy who occasionally hung around the band. He apparently burned his throat with a cigar to make his voice sound more like Morrison's. "Cigar Pain," according to what Ray had heard, eventually killed his mother and then himself. Man, these guys have some stories to tell!



On disc three, actual audio of the infamous Miami show is included. What can be heard is Jim Morrison yelling at the audience. What, of course, can't be heard ...and what probably never actually happened... was Jim "exposing" himself to that audience. Regardless, Morrison was charged with the crime and The Doors' single, "Love Me Two Times," was pulled off top-40 stations around the country. Robbie Krieger talks openly about that incident. "It ruined our career for at least a year," he laments. "It probably was one of the contributing factors to the demise of The Doors." It's incredible to hear both actual audio and first-hand accounts of such a pivotal moment in the life of the band and of their ill-fated singer.



In the episode on the final disc, we hear Jim Morrison recite his poems "Hitler" and "Cemetery Poem," both of which, as of 1979, were never before aired or published. (In 1983, a loose performance of "Cemetery Poem," called "Graveyard Poem," was released. It's part of the version of "Light My Fire" heard on the album "Alive She Cried." "Adolph Hitler" is the poem where Jim, uh, tells us what he did with a female Hitler last night.)



One of the most fascinating segments revisits the persisting idea that Jim Morrison may still be alive. Ray and John both agree that the possibility of Morrison still living (and, it's mentioned, living in Africa) does exist. When Robbie Krieger is interviewed on the topic, he mentions that, after Jim's death, there was no autopsy performed and practically no one saw the body. Morrison's girlfriend Pam, who was with the singer when he died, never really cleared up many of the mysteries surrounding his death before her own death a few years later. Robbie inquires suddenly, "is this on tape?" When Jim Ladd asks Robbie if he would rather it not be, Robbie responds, "turn it off for a second." We are then left to finish the conversation only in our imaginations.



In 1978, not long before these interviews were conducted, the three remaining members of The Doors were listening to tapes recorded for the album "An American Prayer." During the listening session, Ray Manzarek recalls, a tiny bird flew in through an open window. He describes it as fluttering around the studio a bit over everyone's heads before flying out and away. According to Ray, the band looked at each other and said, "Here he is. He was here, fluttered over us, and gave us his little blessing." They had all somehow felt Jim Morrison's presence. It is undeniable that in important ways, "The Lizard King" will always be alive. The stories and music contained on "No One Here Gets Out Alive" are unarguably a significant part of that."

FOR REAL DOORS FANS ONLY

WAYNE | 02/22/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"THIS IS A DOCUMENTARY OF THE DOORS WITH FANTASTIC INTERVIEWS THAT EXPLAIN HOW,WHEN AND WHY THE BAND DID WHAT THEY DID.IF YOU LOVE THE DOORS,THIS WILL BE A VERY SPECIAL ADDITION TO YOUR COLLECTION.



SIGNED,

THE LIZARD KINGS FAN!

PEACE"

Not worth it.

Chad A. Blessinger | Jasper, Indiana United States | 08/08/2007

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I would not consider paying over $20.00 or this set. If you can find it cheaper and love the Doors, it is worth a listen. This is not something you would listen to multiple times. I bought mine, listened once, and sold it on ebay(and I love the Doors). Get their collector's dvd for a better value."