Light My Fire by Ray Manzarek Summary and Reviews
|
List Price: Our Price: $8.94 You Save: $8.06 (47%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $3.49 (click here) Category: Book See more book details and other editions |
|---|
Book Reviews of Light My Fire
Book Review: I now have a better under standing on the Doors.
Summary: 4 Stars
This story is about the Doors and Their life.It was a very intresting story and really told me alot of things that I didn't know about the Doors.Book Review: Intellectual, Psychedelic & The Desert Song
Summary: 5 Stars
.What impressed me very much about Ray Manzarek's book are both his observations of the 1960's time era and his knowledge of Greek and Nietzschian thoughts pertaining to Morrison and Dionysian darkness within the Doors music and creativity. His descriptions of Morrison's early acid trip where he envisioned a Satyr following him down the street; that would be the theme of his Dionysian career in the spirit of music, tragedy, dithyrambs and poetry. And Manzareks thoughts on the 1960's, drug use - it's psychedelic spiritual meaning as opposed to the designer drugs of escapism and the comparison of alcohol, the fundamentalism of the government contrasted the peace loving flower movement of mind expansion are worth reading the book by itself. It was like I was saying such things. His further description on the Satyr and Bacchius; this is coming from an intellectual from the 60's, with perception to see "behind" surface societal and cultural conditioning.
I truly became subjective inside the story, and that's what a good novel is supposed to do. And here it was actual history, a time era, a band, the people, and of course, Jim Morrison, his friend and someone you can see he deeply loved. I felt as though I was sitting in his car with him and Dorothy the day he first heard a Doors song on the radio - "Light My Fire" - and shouted out the window, "There playing our song!" "We're on the f----n' radio!"
Manzarek tells of Jim verses "Jimbo," and I can't help but think of Nietzsche's other personality, the shadow side, that finally consumed him in the end into his 11 last years of insanity. This "Jimbo" is someone spoken of objectively and there is no malice here, but brotherly affection and you can really see that after reading Denzmore's account, which has some accounts not mentioned by Manzarek: one example - that of Jim coming into the Manzarek house/studio late at night, drunk, obnoxious, gesturing, smashing and standing on Manzarek's records with his sandy feet at the beach house they rented where Manzarek lived and the band rehearsed.
I also very much enjoyed Denzmore's "Riders on the Storm" and can say a lot of positive traits of his account. However, I favor Manzareks book for his insights on his experiential meditations, trips, Dionysian comparisons and ultimately his warmness that permeates through the pages. Now Denzmore also had very insightful experiences and thoughts to convey, on the love generation, Edith Hamilton, Michael Harner, Jim Hillman, Joseph Campbell, Robert Bly, a host of others and of course Nietzsche and I also highly recommend Denzmore's book. Both Denzmore's and Manzarek's books complement each other significantly.
I once met Ray Manzarek at a Sci-fi/Movie/Music convention in New Jersey. He was sitting at his own table along with host of other artist's tables. I was with my young son and introduced myself, shook hands, made eye contact. I could feel his energy and that for me is enough. Nothing was said; as if words are ultimately meaningless, unless much is said, and even then, it's only the non-verbal, the power, the Dionysian and essence that has real meaning. All else is interpretation; and lacking at that.
Book Review: LIGHT MY FIRE,RIVETING.
Summary: 4 Stars
I AM 78 AND NOT REALLY A FOULER OF THE DOORS, BUT I CAN'T STOP READING RAY MANZAREK'S ACCOUNTS OF THERE RISE AND FALL.
HIS WRITING IS SO GRAPHIC AND INTERESTING.
YOU SHOULD READ IT!!!
Book Review: Light My Fire
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought this book for my 18-year-old grandson and just like The Doors Anthology he loves it and especially the music of that era.Book Review: Light My Fire: My Life With The Doors
Summary: 5 Stars
Undeniably one of the greatest dimensional rock bands ever formed, The Doors were a force not be reckoned with, and that statement stands as true as it did in their 1967 heyday, as it does now in 2004, thirty-seven years after-the-fact.
Made up of four seemingly indestructible units, The Doors, (named in homage to both mid 1800's poet William Blake whom mentions the "doors of perception," in his book The Marriage Of Heaven And Hell, and early 20th century novelist Aldous Huxley whom penned The Doors Of Perception and Heaven and Hell,) The Doors were a controversial band whom through their six official studio albums, displayed an impeccable artistry and vision of both musical and poetic direction; this story of a too-short career is documented brilliantly and quite possibly best in organist Ray Manzarek's auto-biographical memoir, "Light My Fire: My Life With The Doors."
Through it's three-hundred-fifty-two pages Manzarek's personable form of writing is radiantly displayed as he recalls everything from his warm upbringing in Chicago where he found boogie-woogie and the blues, to 1971 where he received an absurd phone call from manager Bill Siddons announcing his singer's death; along the way inserting large portions of philosophical meaning to everything from Jim Morrison to life as a whole.
In conclusion if you're looking for a luminous account of an extraordinary man and an extraordinary band, look no further than, "Light My Fire: My Life With The Doors."