Genre: Music, Biography

Narrative Style: Third person, chronological

Rating: 4/5

Published: 1980

Format: Paperback

Synopsis: Jim Morrison, as frontman of The Doors, is instantly recognisable as the creator of a dark and compelling music. His dark good looks pushed him into the role of heartthrob where he would have preferred to be recognised as a poet, a contradiction he never quite managed to overcome. Morrison was a difficult character. He abused alcohol and drugs to the extreme. He was unpredictable and difficult to manage. But he was also charming and funny and managed to persuade people to forgive him time and time again.

Reading Challenges: TBR Challenge hosted by Roof Beam Reader

Time on Shelf: More than 20 years. My husband brought this book into our relationship when we moved in together. He has read it. I’ve never been a huge fan of The Doors. I like them but no more than that. However, when I asked him if he had any recommendations for music biography, he suggested this so I thought I’d give it a go.

This was an interesting read. Starting from the beginning, in his childhood, it is apparent that Morrison doesn’t really fit anywhere even with his own family. In fact, the early chapters of this made me think of the biographies of serial killers where they behave in a completely off kilter fashion. Morrison’s sense of humour even then was odd and unkind. He certainly seemed to lack empathy.

As The Doors rise to fame, Morrison enjoys the attention at first. He moves from being a shy performer, singing with his back to the audience, to the moody yet sexy performer that we are familiar with. Quickly, the band become famous and then notorious. Equally quickly, Morrison becomes dependant on drink and drugs. As he does, he becomes more and more unreliable and treats the people close to him appallingly.

There are frustrations for Morrison. He quickly gets fed up with being seen as a heart throb. He wants to be taken seriously. He releases volumes of poetry that he wishes to be released separately but the record company can only think about profit and release it as part of The Doors catalogue. There is talk of him wanting to escape towards the end, to get away from fame and fortune. Instead, he is found dead in a bathtub in Paris. Reading this book, it felt like there was no other way for this to end. As much as the author might like to fantasise that Morrison managed to walk away from it all, it seems highly unlikely. Morrison was always fascinated by risk taking. It could never end any other way.

For all this was an interesting read, it left me cold at times. The authors obviously knew Morrison well and cared for him. This results in them sometimes coming across as fanboys. Morrison treated everyone but particularly women terribly but there is little direct criticism. I found that hard to take. It did renew my appreciation of The Doors’ music but Morrison was too difficult and disturbed for me to really take to him.