THE MUSICAL STYLE BEHIND THE DOORS’ "PEOPLE ARE STRANGE"

 

The variety shows that were broadcasted in Europe and the United States in the 1950s and 1960s drew their origins from cabaret shows staged at the turn of the century in clubs of major American cities.

Those were shows that combined entertainment music, theater, irony and short stories in music.

A cultural and musical reference that The Doors use for the arrangement of "People Are Strange", track number 7 on their second album, "Strange Days" (released in September 1967).

This musical tradition was born in the Anglo-Saxon countries and was first recovered as a source of inspiration by some British musicians in the mid-1960s. In a market dominated by The Beatles' Pop-Rock, other expressive possibilities were being explored that would modify its formal model while keeping intact its musical framework.

Among the first bands that began to consider the music hall tradition as a basis for songwriting, we find the Kinks, led by the overflowing creativity of Ray Davis.

As early as late 1965, this great British group began releasing songs that contained references to the shows of the early 1900s in their arrangements.

The first song that fully embraces these sound elements is "Dadicated Follower Of Fashion", a February 1966 single not included on any of their LPs.

In it we can appreciate the use of lead vocals by Ray Davis which makes the atmosphere of the piece adhere to the stylistic canons of the early 20th century. Also noteworthy is the intervention of the backing vocals and the drum pattern, which contribute significantly to the extroverted result.

From here on, the Kinks would produce numerous tasteful compositions that translated old fashioned cabaret into the appealing and melodic language of Pop-Rock.

Always in England, but a few months later, the Rolling Stones recorded "Something Happened To Me Yesterday", entering this particular type of expressive form. It would later be released on the January 1967 album "Between The Buttons".

Taking a step ahead that will bring this stylistic influence to prominence on charts around the world we find The Beatles' composition "When I'm Sixty-Four", included on the spring 1967 album "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart Club Band".

Its ironic stops (listen, for example, at min.1.03), along with the jolting electric bass and lighthearted clarinet, bring cabaret within one of the most important records in music history.

Although the track is not among the most famous or finest on the record, the Beatles' undisputed fame during that period served as an effective and powerful sounding board for this type of musicality.

The notoriety acquired in this way by this musical style propagated its influence on several other groups and artists, even on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean.

These artists also included The Doors, as mentioned initially, in the case of "People Are Strange". It is the only such example on the album "Strange Days", but music hall-inspired songs would return several times in their subsequent discography (for example with “We Could Be So Good Together” in 1968 and “Easy Ride” in 1969).

"People Are Strange" nevertheless remains the best spot in The Doors career in which to hear the band's unmistakable expressive gifts as they take a chance with an imaginative and original way of making music.