THE DOORS' "LIGHT MY FIRE" AND JAZZ: ROBBY KRIEGER'S SOLO

 

The deep interest that the members of The Doors had in Jazz can be heard in some of their music, especially in their early period (1966-1967).

This is true both regarding the band's concerts and some of the songs recorded for their first two LPs.

The group's debut album ("The Doors", January 1967) included one of the clearest examples of their initial inclination to incorporate jazz elements into Rock, the latter being the musical genre to which they belonged.

We are talking about "Light My Fire", a tune of about seven minutes that was bound to become famous both in 1967 and in the years to come.

This wonderful song has one aspect (among others) that should be highlighted to emphasize its connection with Jazz: Robby Krieger's electric guitar solo.

The striking instrumental part we are taking into consideration begins a few seconds after the third minute of the song, following Ray Manzarek's electric organ solo (analyzed in detail in the article at this link).

The total duration of the path drawn on the strings of Krieger's Gibson SG guitar is about sixty seconds, a considerable amount of time for a composition recorded in August 1966.

The guitarist does not apply any noticeable distortions to the instrument, so the flow of the notes is clearly audible.

The guitar style Krieger adopts here consists of melodic, extended themes that suggest, in a barely hinted but suggestive way, the traditional Spanish music that was indeed part of his musical training.

However, the languid melodies developed by the guitar are punctuated and rippled by short and sudden phrases.

They take the form of sharp changes of direction, creating effective contrasts with the more relaxed progression of the solo as a whole.

The compressed and fast figures contained in the solo of The Doors’ guitarist recall, both in conception and execution, the instrumental solos characteristic of a genre of Jazz played especially between 1952 and 1964: Hard Bop Jazz.

We want to highlight three such passages along Krieger's solo in "Light My Fire".

1 - From min. 3:34 to min. 3.40.

2 - From min. 3:46 to min. 3.52.

3 - From min. 4.30 to min. 4.37.

 

The sudden turns that the electric guitar traces with agility and creativity at the points marked above denote a consonance with the conceptual innovations developed by Hard Bop saxophonists such as Jackie McLean or Sonny Rollins in the first half of the 1950s.

This correspondence is not coincidental, but rather a practical demonstration of how The Doors not only loved jazz, but sometimes actively used some elements of it in their creative songwriting process.

Thanks to Krieger, the unpredictable flair inherent in Hard Bop Jazz improvisation style spills over into Rock and The Doors’ music.

In this way, sound dynamics, technique, and ideas unexpectedly inserted along the solo path give the song we are discussing a fascinating jazz nuance that is highly distinctive from other groups of the period.

Finally, it is worth noting how in “Light My Fire” The Doors anticipate, albeit in an embryonic form, the adoption of jazz elements by Rock, which would come to full fruition with the music of the late 1960s and early 1970s.

The Hard Bop related performance mode used by Krieger to make his solo in "Light My Fire" more interesting also confirms the striking originality and quality of the music produced by The Doors in 1966 - '67.

P.S.: My book "The Doors Through Strange Days" is available on Amazon.com. The most comprehensive journey ever made through The Doors' second LP.

Here’s the link:

Amazon – “The Doors Through Strange Days”