2. “the doors of perception” Formed in Venice L.A. by drop out UCLA Film students. Jim Morrison was a poet interested in opening what William Blake called “the doors of perception” Many Californian students were legally experimenting with LSD which chemically alters the brain’s sensory perception Musicians in the mid-60’s were looking to break the RnB boundaries of Rock The Doors fused Rock, Classical and Jazz influences in this unusually lengthy track. Edited to 3 mins to create a US #1 hit

3. Intro Ray Manzarech (Farfisa organ & Fender keyboard bass) wrote the keyboard intro. The chord progression echoes the ‘cycle of 5th’ harpsichord of classical composer Bach: /G D7 /F Bb /Eb Ab /A //

4. Chord structure Robbie Krieger (guitar) wrote the song structure. An unusual Am7 > F#m7 in the verse The chorus modulates to an uplifting:/G A /D/ D sus4 colours the 1st line D > B7 adds drama on the 2nd On “try to set the night on…fire” /G D /E7 // adds a musical climax. The low E7th acting as a pivot chord back to the Am verse/bridge

5. The vocal Morrison sings the simple (flat 3rd > root) 1st verse with a light touch: breathy /slight vibrato The chorus lowers to his natural baritone range: E on last low “fire” Slight re-phrasing with higher “time to…..” on verse 2 Chorus 2 hits a higher E after pause on “fire” to lift dynamics for solo In the last verse Morrison lifts the dynamics singing off a high blue 7th G note In the last chorus he abandons the melody to riff on a sustained D and blue notes The climax: a blue 5th ‘devils note’ on “Fire…..”with a descending glissando

6. Solo bridge 1.05-5.23 Inspired by the ‘modal’ jazz improvisational style of Miles Davis/John Coltrane The harmonic structure is a simple Am7>Bm7 This allows Manzerak to freely improvise on the white notes of the A minor scale The sustain of the organ allows him to lean on notes and plays less percussively. The organ climaxes at 2.45 with triplet parallel thirds Krieger’s guitar (mid-toned Gibson SG) strays into flamenco phrasing. The E/F notes creating a particular exotic effect. He avoids any string bends until the blue note triplets pattern at the climax 5.03

7. Drums: John Densmore Latin syncopation in the verses: Rim shots on 2 & 3a The ride & snare opens up the chorus A bar of 8ths on snare builds dynamics before drop back to the verse A half bar of 1/16th snare followed by open hi-hats pushes the band into the solo section Samba style breaks at 2.28 adds an extra Latin flavour 8 bars of triplets build intensity at the end of each section Cool crash accents at 4.31! No Latin accent in the last verse Mid chorus 1/16 snare roll A cheeky dropped beat in the climax stop time: 1234 123 1/32nd roll at fanfare.

8. Wider Listening Break on Through – The Doors The End - The Doors Eight Miles High – The Byrds Third Rock From the Sun – Jimi Hendrix East West – Butterfield Blues Band Milestones – Miles Davis Light My Fire – Jose Feliciano Light my Fire -- Shirley Bassey