Sunday Music – The Crystal Ship

Posted on Sun 02/14/2010 by TonyfromOz

Today’s music video is ‘The Crystal Ship’ from The Doors.

This video was posted to You Tube by HighVoltageSound

Just two days back, Ray Manzarek celebrated his 71st Birthday. It’s hard to believe that the band members of those bands we grew up with are slowly becoming old men. Thank heavens for their music. The mention of Ray Manzarek may not evoke many memories, perhaps some who actually are afficionado’s who do remember, and the mention of John Densmore, and Robbie Krieger probably mean even less, but the mere mention of Jim Morrison, and everyone knows of The Doors, the band who provided some of the music of our lives during the late 60’s and the first year or two of the 70’s.

The Doors formed in 1965, were picked up by Elektra Records in mid 66 and their eponymous first album was released in early 67, the big song from that being ‘Light My Fire’, the first song from Elektra to reach Number One, that single alone selling more than a million copies.

In the four further years up until Morrison died, they produced six studio albums, and one Live album, all going into the Top Ten of Albums Charts, as well as 13 Singles, 2 of those making it to Number One, and two others going into the Top Ten.

Not long after Morrison died, the band disbanded. Since that time however, there have been 40 further Doors albums, all compilations and unrecorded original masters, so the band has retained its popularity in the near forty years since Morrison’s death. So far sales from The Doors albums have totalled more than 33 million albums in the U.S. alone.

Morrison had a troubled career, and his best work was in the studio, as his live performances were only average at best, and sometimes fraught with danger for the band, and especially Morrison himself, due to his renowned unpredictability.

I mentioned Ray Manzarek at the top, and this song, ‘The Crystal Ship’, although well known, was not really one of the band’s hits, and in fact was on the flip side of the ‘Light My Fire’ single. However, it remains one of my favourites from the band because it has this beautiful keyboards section from Manzarek in the middle.

The song was originally one of The Doors long songs with improvisations from both Manzarek on keyboards and Krieger on guitar, but was shortened considerably for the B side and also for the album. It is rumoured to be a love song for Jim Morrison’s first true love and the inspiration is from an oil rig offshore from Sands Beach in Isla Vista California.

The Doors provided part of the soundtrack for the late Baby Boomer era, and is a band that has maintained its popularity for that music.