ROBBY KRIEGER'S GUITAR IN THE DOORS "RIDERS ON THE STORM"

 

The last track recorded by The Doors for their sixth LP, "L.A. Woman" (released in April 1971), was "Riders On The Storm", which also represents the end of the artistic journey undertaken by the band as a quartet.

In fact, the merciless sickle of death would take over the life of lead singer Jim Morrison only three months after the album's release.

The long track that closes the album is full of interesting insights, already partially reviewed in this blog: the use of rain effect in the song (here’s the link to article), the magnetic dialogue between electric bass and drums (here’s the link to article), and Ray Manzarek's fascinating electric piano solo (here’s the link to article).

Although "Riders On The Storm" is an accomplished example of collaboration among all members of the group, Robby Krieger's electric guitar is the least prominent instrument throughout the track's pattern.

The essentially rhythmic role entrusted to the guitarist's Gibson SG contributes to an overall musical climate marked by gloomy and mysterious tones. This atmosphere is one of the most appreciated and celebrated among The Doors' discography to this day.

The song derives its initial inspiration from a 1948 Western tune (that is, a sub-genre of Country music): "Ghost Riders In The Sky" by Stan Jones (here’s the link), on whose main theme the band was playing and improvising freely.

By reworking this old melody in a rock style and using some of its harmonies to create something entirely new, the group demonstrated their ability to devise an original composition emblematic of the cultural and musical transition between the 1960s and 1970s in the United States.

Incidentally, other bands before The Doors had already explored Western cadences in pop-rock and rock compositions during the 1960s: Examples range from The Beatles' "Things We Said Today" (1964) to Quicksilver Messenger Service's brief cover of "Happy Trails" (1969).

Starting with a suggestion decidedly far removed from their usual musical inclinations, here The Doors combine imagination and artistic flexibility to design a sonic vision with hypnotic and somber tones. A composition that remains remarkably evocative and meaningful fifty-four years later.

The element most reminiscent of "Ghost Riders In The Sky" within the arrangement of "Riders On The Storm" is Krieger's guitar.

It enters at min. 0.47, echoing Morrison's voice with some phrasing that retains much of the Western tune from which the group's creative process had begun.

These brief interventions float on notes that are fragmented and ethereal due to the guitar’s tremolo pedal. This distortion adds a dark, tense profile to the Western-style soundtrack theme, which Krieger plays with four consecutive variations (listen from min. 0:47 to min. 1:03).

Immediately thereafter, the guitar drops the tremolo effect and takes on the task of sustaining the piece’s progression from a relatively subordinate position, doing so with extroverted consistency.

The oscillating rhythmic movements described by Krieger and performed in unison with Manzarek's electric piano, as well as the refined accompaniment that tastefully flows under the keyboardist's solo, absorb nearly all of the guitar playing during the song.

The only exception is the brief solo from min. 1:42 to min. 2:08. In this section, Krieger's six strings are once again under the spell of tremolo distortion’s dense reverberations, reprising the Western theme first presented at min. 0:47.

The Doors' guitarist admirably dilutes the scores of Ennio Morricone in “The Dollar Trilogy” with faded, faint psychedelic memories. In doing so, he sets aside technical licks in favor of emotional and atmospheric impact.

From min. 5:30, the track fades out with an extended and evanescent coda lasting nearly two minutes, in which the guitar makes use of the tremolo pedal for the third time.

Although the latter’s nuanced vibrations are less intense here, they lend a simultaneously allusive and caressing texture to the sinuous guitar line that penetrates the song's concluding segment.

This closing is a kind of solo shared with the electric piano and surrounded by the ominous noise of thunder and Morrison's voice. The guitarist plays notes arched by bending, vibrato, and glissando techniques, creating evocative and elusive expressiveness.

Beginning at minute 6:20, Krieger's guitar part is crowned by a series of tenuous, dreamy, and enigmatic chords that sway softly until they disappear under the curtain of rain beating down the final seconds of the track.

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

Here’s a link:

Amazon – “The Doors Through Strange Days”