The drummer John Densmore said “nobody could imitate”
Most likely due to the somewhat conceited nature of frontman Jim Morrison, his position as a poet, and his self-given name ‘The Lizard King’, The Doors have long been associated with the flowerier aspects of the counterculture. Whilst this might be true in personal areas for their late vocalist, this idea starts to come unstuck in the music. They could be as emphatic as just about any of their peers, with each of the four members capable of playing extremely hard.
Whether it be Morrison’s raw vocals that can be comparable to the punk form of delivery – with the climax of ‘Light My Fire’ showing this – the biting guitar licks of Robby Krieger or even the blistering flourishes on the keys by Ray Manzarek, one thing The Doors did exceptionally well was counterbalancing the airy, more dreamlike side of their music with a dark fury that played into their generation’s anger at the world.
It was also, in a sense, a perfect embodiment of the stark contrast between the positive sides of the counterculture’s favourite tipple, LSD, and the well-documented dark side that, ironically, many of its most prominent figures would fall afoul of. Just like in reality, The Doors’ music would oscillate between both sides in an instant, another reflection of their collective musical genius that the mainstream tends to overlook in light of revisionism.
The key to this dexterity was undoubtedly drummer John Densmore. A strangely overlooked player – perhaps because of the notoriety and mystery surrounding Jim Morisson – he is one of the most technically gifted rhythmic masters of his generation, fusing jazz-influenced panache with natural power in a way that the likes of John Bonham and Neil Peart would later become lauded for.
Providing a first-hand account of Densmore’s talent in The Doors’ producer Paul Rothchild in a March 1967 interview with Crawdaddy: “John—a brilliant drummer, ‘The End’ proved that, in my book; that’s some of the greatest drumming I’ve ever heard in my life; irrespective of the fact that I’m involved in this album, it’s incredibly creative drumming— has an instinct for when. During a very quiet part he’ll just come in with three drum shots that are about as loud as you can hit a drum, and they’re right, they’re absolutely right! Now, you can’t plan those things.”
There’s no surprise that John Densmore was able to toe the line between darkness and light so adroitly. One of his heroes was The Who’s Keith Moon, arguably the first rock drummer to straddle the line in such a compelling way, and he studied him closely. The Doors man was so impressed by Moon’s work that he once told a TV interview that “nobody could imitate” his style. He said: “I watched him closely, and nobody could imitate what the hell he was doing. But he was so unique, and just… there’s no one like him.”
Watch John Densmore discuss Keith Moon below.
