"MOONLIGHT DRIVE": TWO YEARS OF TRANSFORMATION

 

One of Jim Morrison's early composition, 'Moonlight Drive' is widely regarded as one of the best songs on The Doors' second LP, "Strange Days", released on 25 September 1967.

The track underwent at least two transformations before reaching its final version on the aforementioned album, evolving along a musical journey that we will quickly explore together.

The main melody of this track dates back to the summer of 1965, prior to the official formation of the Californian group. In early September of that year, Jim Morrison, Ray Manzarek, John Densmore and two of Manzarek's brothers (on electric guitar and harmonica) recorded an early version (link here).

Along with five other tracks, it was intended as an introduction to secure a record deal. Although the project failed, it left behind a valuable historical document showing the band's early but passionate experiments.

This first attempt is notable for the piano line that forms the backbone of the sparse arrangement. The piano remains most prominent on the recording, along with the vocals. Here, Manzarek plays the piano percussively, overlapping with the drums to give the song an upbeat, relaxed rhythm inspired by the black music that was evolving from rhythm and blues to soul at that time.

This feature will be removed from the final version of "Moonlight Drive", but the connection with the Rhythm and Blues pieces that inspired countless British and American bands in the early 1960s is evident here. One example is "Walkin' The Dog", a Rufus Thomas song from 1963 (link here) that was popularized by The Rolling Stones in 1964 and also covered by the Sonics in 1965.

As mentioned above, in The Doors demo, the rhythm of "Walkin' the Dog" is reprised by the piano instead of the drums, as happens in the original.

After the September 1965 demo, the band attempted to rearrange "Moonlight Drive" during the sessions for their debut LP: "The Doors", recorded in August 1966 and released at the beginning of January 1967.

Here, Manzarek replaced the piano with the electric organ, but the percussive style, reminiscent of the rhythm and blues of "Walkin' the Dog", remained essentially unchanged.

Krieger's guitar and Morrison's voice added a charm that had been missing from the first version. However, the lack of enthusiasm in the performance led to "Moonlight Drive" being excluded from the debut album.

The third attempt was much better, turning the tune into a rock song whose complex rhythmic and melodic structure captivates the listener immediately. The piano returns here, but without the repetitive rhythm and percussive sound of the earlier versions.

It plays a dynamic melodic figure that evolves as the piece progresses. Having taken over the role of the drums in the previous two instances, the piano now leaves Densmore with the task of building the beat. All in all, the song takes a remarkable leap forward, finally unleashing the immense potential that we hear on track 6 of “Strange Days”.

P.S.: My book "The Doors Through Strange Days"- The most comprehensive journey ever made through The Doors' second LP, is out and available on Amazon.com, uk, mx, ca, etc.

Here’s the link:

Amazon – “The Doors Through Strange Days”