Riders on the Storm

August 1, 1990
Indispensable for fans of one of rock music's most flamboyant and controversial groups is Doors drummer Densmore's insider's look at hard-living singer Morrison, who died of a drug overdose in 1971. Like the trashier (and bestselling) biography No One Here Gets Out Alive by Jerry Hopkins and Daniel Sugarman, the book in hand provides numerous examples of Morrison's self-destructive behavior. But Densmore's love-hate relationship with the self-proclaimed ``Lizard King'' leads him to paint a more sympathetic picture of the doomed superstar, whose rebellious rock-poet persona is still worshiped today by fans (``Jim's decay was the dark side of an already very dark vision''). Densmore's detailed account of the Doors' rise and fall is often narrated in a glib style. But his extensive use of Morrison's lyrics thoughtfully reinforces his main concerns: Densmore's belief in music as a ``new religion'' on a par with his rejected Catholic upbringing; his ongoing attempt to build ``an inner life'' to match what he depicts as a heady and confusing musical career; and his ``guilt over failing to save Jim.'' Photos not seen by PW.