JIM MORRISON AT THE PIANO: “AN IMPROVISED ODE TO FRIEDRICH NIETZSCHE”

 

In early September 1968 The Doors were at the peak of their fame following their recent number one hit “Hello, I Love You” and their number one LP "Waiting For The Sun". They were preparing to leave the United States first time.

In fact, the band were about to bring their live show to Europe for the first time as part of a two-week tour visiting five cities. However, standing between the quartet and their flight to London on 2 September, was their performance at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center near New York on 1 September 1968.

Before the performance, the band members were captured backstage by Paul Ferrara’s camera. He was finishing filming what would become the self-produced documentary "A Feast of Friends", which was occasionally screened at festivals and concerts from June 1969 onwards.

A wealth of interesting material was yielded by the filming of the events surrounding The Doors' marvelous, unpredictable and turbulent live performances in spring and summer 1968.

However, only a portion of the footage shot by Ferrara, which included both stage performances and everyday life "on the road", made it into the official documentary. Among these precious images is Jim Morrison’s experimental improvisation (piano and vocals) titled "An Improvised Ode to Friedrich Nietzsche".

In Saratoga Springs, the singer sits with mysterious calm at the piano provided for the band in a room of the building where the concert was about to take place.

Also present in the room are the other members of the group: Ray Manzarek and Robby Krieger with their respective partners, and John Densmore.

Morrison's initial demeanor — at once focused and witty — is accompanied by a concise piano introduction. Consisting of notes and chords played almost casually, it is nonetheless capable of drawing attention to what is about to happen.

Morrison could not play the piano, and the technique he employs during this two-minute performance is arbitrary, devoid of technical skill, yet evocative.

Immediately after the introduction, the poetic narration of the legend recounting the final, tormented year of Friedrich Nietzsche’s life begins.

The famous philosopher’s tragic descent into madness and subsequent death at the age of fifty-five remain partially shrouded in mystery to this day.

These tragic events are conventionally explained by a modern myth inspired by a heart-wrenching passage in Fyodor Dostoevsky’s great novel “Crime and Punishment” (1866).

According to this account, Nietzsche experienced a mental breakdown after witnessing a horse being cruelly whipped. He then approached the animal with great pain and sorrow, embracing it pitifully before falling unconscious.

The established facts, however, are as follows: in Turin in 1899, the German philosopher suffered a severe nervous breakdown, leaving him in a state of total mental and physical exhaustion. This ultimately led to his sudden death a few months later, in 1900.

During the brief period between his psychological collapse and death, Nietzsche was taken by his friend Franz Overbeck to Basel, Switzerland, where his mother looked after him in his final days.

Jim Morrison subtly alludes to these events in his ode to Nietzsche, revealing a solid philosophical grounding skillfully concealed beneath the playful nature of his improvisation.

The Doors’ lead singer adds several fictional elements to the proceedings surrounding Nietzsche’s final days. While these made-up details do not alter the chronology or substance of the events, they vividly color the story’s contours.

For instance, during the impromptu ode recited in Saratoga the philosopher goes mad, playing the piano wildly and producing a cacophony of sound, which is further amplified by Morrison’s high-pitched screams.

In this chaotic setting, Morrison emphatically steps into Nietzsche's shoes, expressing his madness with calculated irony through an obscure and “philanthropic” piano sonata.

Another product of The Doors frontman’s imagination is the finale, in which Nietzsche is taken to a psychiatric clinic where he remains for fifteen years, cared for by his mother (in reality, she took care of him only a few months before his death).

The sly, mischievous and delighted smile that slips across Morrison’s face as soon as he finishes playing gives us a lovely glimpse of his humorous smartness. He is visibly satisfied and amused at having provoked historical and philosophical reflections while remaining in the realm of lighthearted entertainment.

This video offers a behind-the-scenes look at a restless and fascinating period for The Doors: the summer of 1968. Musically outstanding and extremely compelling overall, it was also a time of great artistic achievement for the band.

Backstage at the Performing Arts Centre in Saratoga Springs, the legend surrounding Nietzsche's death is reimagined as a spontaneous tale rich in little-known, reality-rooted details.

Here Morrison combines philosophy, avant-garde music and poetry together in a deliberately carefree, dissonant and farcical manner that is nonetheless capable of inspiring thought and introspection. Just like the way in which The Doors’ lead singer blended the ingredients of his own life: reflective intelligence, transgression, and artistic expression.

Here is the link to the video of Morrison’s ode to Nietzsche taken from The Doors' self-produced documentary “A Feast Of Friends”.

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”