Ray Manzarek Career - 7 Albums

Ray's Torrent Info: Filed in The Doors’ drawer, under M for Manzarek. Nite City could be seen as Ray’s Tin Machine, a band of equal parts doomed to stunted development in the shadow of the monument erected to The Doors. If you’re determined to effect a comparison between the two, vocalist Noah James’ musings on “Nite City” vaguely evoke Morrison, “Bitter Sky Blue” sounds like “Love Street” filtered through Mott the Hoople, and “Angel W/ No Freedom” has some of the dark dream imagery last seen on “Riders of the Storm.” The clarion call of organ at the onset of “Summer Eyes” would seem to promise more, but in fact there’s no reason to come knockin’ here for flashbacks of The Doors beyond the presence of Manzarek. Nite City is closer in style to The Tubes, Mott, even a little Aerosmith in Noah James’ vocals. It’s theatrical rock some of the time, plain old faceless rock the rest of it, and nothing that 1977 hadn’t seen before done better. The band still would have warranted a contract even without The Doors connection (hell, Baby Grand got one with less), but the lack of a strong musical identity would have been their eventual undoing anyway. "Golden Days Diamond Nights", was the second & final album from Ray Manzarek's post DOORS band NITE CITY. Following their self-titled 1977 debut, the band dispensed with the services of their singer Noah James, with guitarist Paul Warren taking the lion's share of vocal duties on their sophomore disc. Manzarek himself also handles lead vocals on two tracks, but neither of the pair had distinctive enough vocals to elevate the album to the heights of it's predecessor. Their U.S. label shelved the record after hearing the results, but it was released in West Germany where the debut LP had been a reasonable success. Frustrated by their lack of headway, bassist Nigel Harrison accepted an offer to join BLONDIE, and despite draughting in a replacement for a short tour, the writing was on the wall for Nite City, and the band folded soon after. Drummer Jimmy Hunter went on to play with FLO & EDDIE and STEPPENWOLF, becoming a respected session musician. Paul Warren became a long time ROD STEWART sideman and Manzarek forged ahead with a moderately sucessful career in production, with X being a notable success for him in this field. Ray Manzarek's spoken word story "The Doors Myth and Reality" the story of himself and The Doors is quite thorough, with many good vignettes. In addition to putting a lot of emotion into their music, The Doors incorporated a lot of intelligence, and Ray supplies the background. Blues (and some jazz and classical) for Ray, film and literary (ranging from French literature/poetry to Beat poetry) for both him and Jim Morrison. Ray speaks in glowing terms of the old blues masters like Howlin' Wolf and Muddy Waters and Willie Dixon (author of "Backdoor Man") and how they influenced him and The Doors. Contrary to Oliver Stone's portrayal, Jim Morrison graduated from UCLA Film School, but Ray's films did better during that time. This double CD does not provide a narrative treatment of the mainstream Doors years, which would be no novelty; there are selected very interesting stories about Jim, with no cheap sensationalism, and which by no means dominate. There is also much more, with occasional focus on the studio and the stage. As to Ray's account of Jim's death, is it clear what position he is taking--that is, is it myth or reality? Ray Manzarek - The Golden Scarab (1974) More than Full Circle and Other Voices, The Golden Scarab is the best embodiment of the Doors by one of the three surviving members, and it is amazing it wasn't a huge underground smash. With mentions of moonlight drives, tightrope rides, and titles of past Doors tunes in "The Solar Boat," drummer Tony Williams, guitarist Larry Carlton, bassist Jerry Scheff, and producer Bruce Botnick generate an eerie sound behind the singer, creating a title track as mysterious and fun as anything by Morrison and company. With intense rhythms and tons of creativity, Ray Manzarek brings us on a musical journey as unique as The Phantom's Divine Comedy, and if Robbie Krieger brought the commercial element to the Doors' gravy train, it is clear here that the eldest of the quartet had more a hand in the development of the Doors persona than he may have been given credit for. One can't fault Krieger and John Densmore for stretching out with Butts Band, but there is a certain responsibility hit artists should have to their audience. The Bright Midnight releases finally address those concerns, but decades before the opening of the Doors tape vaults, that sound from L.A. Woman was most obvious on "The Purpose of Existence Is?" on this solo effort. Yes, Ray Manzarek veers off into his jazz leanings; given the players on this, how could he not? But he gives enough of a taste of past glories to make The Golden Scarab accessible, spoon feeding his musical styles to those who couldn't get enough of the music he was associated with. It's dramatic and cohesive, making more sense than Jim Morrison much of the time, with more controlled insanity. It is amazing that such a fine work as The Golden Scarab escaped the masses, and shameful that classic hits stations don't add this to their incessant repertoire. Had Jim Morrison lived, this is the path the music of the Doors should have taken. Smooth and demanding of repeated spins. ~ Joe Viglione, All Music Guide Ray Manzarek & Roy Rogers - Ballads Before the Rain (2008) The legendary co-founder of The Doors, Ray Manzarek and the critically acclaimed slide/blues guitarist Roy Rogers have put their artistic minds together and have truly created a captivating new duet album for Friday Music entitled Ballads Before The Rain.......The nine instrumental works that make up this debut album are sonically some of the finest recordings to be released this year, and we are very proud to have both of these fine gentlemen on board with this incredible new release.......Audiophile fanatics and fans alike will truly dig the amazing new takes on Doors classics like The Crystal Ship and Riders On The Storm, as well as the other blues/jazz/classical tracks that define the utmost level of musicianship that each of these award winning composers/producers/performers display. The much emulated keyboard technique of Ray Manzarek and Roy Rogers solid guitar work carry on throughout all of the works contained on this debut release. Not foreign to the classics, the two even combine their talents and visit Eric Satie s Gnossienne No. 1 as well as deep blue etchings from Roy Rogers himself on Remembering You and Ruby Red Nails. Ray Manzarek and Roy Rogers- Ballads Before The Rain....This historic meeting is now waxed and ready for their legions of collective fans to enjoy. A session fit for a king indeed! The Whole Thing Started with Rock & Roll and Now It's Out of Control (1974/2005) Originally released in 1974, the full title is: Whole Thing Started With Rock & Roll, Now It's Out Of Control. This release is digitally remastered and on CD for the first time. Features the track 'Wake Up Screaming' a poem written by Jim Morrison which features Patti Smith on vocals. Album also includes Joe Walsh of the Eagles and Dick Wagner who worked with Lou Reed. Lemon. 2005. Love Her Madly (2006) The evocative and eclectic instrumental score to the Ray Manzarek directed film, "Love Her Madly" features Ray with composer Bruce Hanifan, and includes an appearance from fellow Doors alumni Robby Krieger. As Ray himself said about the score, "have a glass of wine and put your ears on it." Look for him on tour as both solo artist and as part of Riders On The Storm. This album was released in 2006 and is an update of the soundtrack for his low budget movie of the same name. It is 54 minutes long and the sound quality is excellent. This is simply a fantastic album (and I don't give out 5 stars easily). It is deep, rich, and sometimes spacy music. It is always very interesting and there is not a bad moment on it. The music is like an evolution of the Doors sound. There are bits that will remind you of the Doors, especially The End. This is mostly an instrumental CD, with some spacy talking on one track. As you would expect, it is keyboard driven but there are some interesting guitar parts (from Robby Kreiger) and some sax and some vocals (but no singing). It is hard to explain, but think of taking the best parts of The End, expanding on that theme and updating it in today's electronica style. But, it isn't boring ambient. It is complex, layered, interesting and accesible all at the same time. Awesome Torrent for Doors lovers. My favorite is The Doors Myth and Reality when Ray talks about Jim. This is truly a nice compilation and please enjoy and Seed! Zipped to save space.. This has been made possible by JugzG0nn4G3tY4.

udp://tracker.openbittorrent.com:80
udp://open.demonii.com:1337
udp://tracker.coppersurfer.tk:6969
udp://exodus.desync.com:6969

L2_BB (2010-07-29)

I must say thanks very much for including Nite City and Golden Days Diamond Nights, which are very hard to find torrents for.

tobalo (2013-05-23)

Thank you so much for sharing this!!