Why Densmore doesn't want to raise the dead..

As far as I am concerned it is not a question of "is Densmore right or not". That question will be decided in court with all the legalese that comes with a lawsuit. It is the question why he filed a lawsuit. Like everything in life, why is the most compelling and hardest of all questions.

Like Densmore, I think there are circumstances that I would totally disagree with him. Like when fans are begging for a reunion and they are willing to do a free concert. Ok, call it "The Doors", they have my blessing. The context in which this lawsuit is filed is far more important.

I recently read an article on Densmore in the German edition of "Rolling Stone". John was never my favorite Door, but after reading this he sharply raised in my list of "Most respected people".

I like copyright, I really do. Copyright prevents people to steal my poems and make money out of it to which they are not entitled. But when copyright is corrupted in a legal or moral sense I hate it.

I feel that nowadays copyright gets corrupted more and more. Big movie studio's and record companies think it's right to corrupt a CD in such a way that it becomes impossible for me to make perfectly legal copies or compilations. They think it is alright to charge me double for a DVD although the cost of making a DVD is LOWER than a video. And still they are wondering why they get pirated.. Microsoft thinks it is alright to let me phone a zillion times in order to add a harddisk to my computer. The activation codes for their products are linked to my hardware configuration. It has been proved that their margin is 85%!! And that is where it all boils down to.. money!

Money, money, money, money!!! The GOD of the great US of A. Like I said before, I feel it is alright to make money. Everybody should be able to eat the fruits of their work. But at some point enough is enough. How many cars do you need? I can only drive one at the time, can't I? And for the last few years it boils down on me that some of the Doors regard the fans as a cow that can be milked over and over again. And if it won't give any milk anymore, slaughtered.

A few examples. The boxset was a great thing, absolutely. The fan community has always known that there is more in the safe of the Doors than just the studio albums and a few live albums. There were the bootlegs that filled the gap. Sorry guys, if you don't bring out the goods we'll get it elsewhere. And sure enough, we were ripped off by the bootleggers as well. But we could well have done without the fourth CD, but if you say so, you're not a friend of the Doors anymore.

Sure, it was a nice box, with a nice booklet full of pictures but as far as I am concerned I could have done without it, at a lower price. So about a year after a cut-up boxset came out.. with a lower price tag. Then the remastered studio album set came out. Nobody was really waiting for that one. Apart from one or two new tracks or remixes. The "Best of the Doors" came out again, in three versions. Who was waiting for that "special edition" where the original tapes of "Riders on the Storm" was slaughtered in several horrible ways?? They did that again on "Stoned immaculate", an absolute waste of money.

Please note, I'm not against remixes or experiments: as long as it is done in a respectful way, like Fat Boy Slim did. Please note, fans have ears! I'm anxiously waiting for new reissues. Read my lips: anxious. Some of my friends are collectors and they feel obligated to buy all that junk. Although some of them are starting to doubt they should get out their wallet for every single thing that is issued or re-issued. On the other hand, some CD Recorders are running a little hot here.. Whose fault, I ask you again.

Then finally the safe opened up. Not to please the fans, but "to beat the boots" as Danny Sugerman put it. There was a market and lots of money. Unfortunately for him he put his business at a company that failed miserably several times, so I'm not sure how much money they actually made. Any idea how expensive it is to order a CD from Bright Midnight records in Europe? Ok, let's share the costs. Your CD recorder or mine..?

That the defendants do not cherish the legacy of the Doors is only confirmed when I read that Manzarek lets his kid play with an original Doors tape - which he wastes.. forever!!! Or sell "Riders on the Storm" to a commerical - something Morrison definitely did not want! At least when he was alive.

I frequently visit and like cover bands. Some of these guys are really doing a good job - recreating the Doors as they were in the late sixties. When the Doors would have been just a continuation of the original Doors they would have left that legacy alone and create new music. Move on, just like any normal band does. But this is not a normal band. This is a feeble attempt to cover themselves.

The Doors have tried to stay alive after Jim died - and they failed. The only thing that is left of that effort is two obscure albums and a more satisfying poetry album - with the regards of the late Jim Morrison. His legacy lives on and does not need the Doors in order to stay alive. It has done that successfully on its own merit. Such a legacy has to be cherished - not marketed. John seems to understand that.

No, the Doors of the 21st century is another attempt to make money - "Beat the coverbands". Sure, Sugerman did not say that, but I could almost hear him say it. Somebody had to say stop and they did it. Densmore did it for the right reasons. I'm not too sure about the others. I guess at least some of them would like to see a piece of the cake.

Nobody knows what Morrison would have said or done. He would now be an old man of almost sixty years with a whole life behind him, living in a different time. The rest is pure speculation. But I know what he said in the sixties: "We're now gonna sing the national anthem. Shhhh, pay some respect. The anthem: MONEY!!!"