Robby Krieger

[zzmoore]

Considering that he was in such a high profile band, he does not get much press. Was he an influence for any of you guys? Care to discuss what he brought to the table? Strengths, little things that were unique to him.
Thank You

p.s. I would say he belongs on that current list of good rhythm players.

[Wooley]

Considering that he was in such a high profile band, he does not get much press. Was he an influence for any of you guys? Care to discuss what he brought to the table? Strengths, little things that were unique to him.
Thank You

p.s. I would say he belongs on that current list of good rhythm players.

I enjoy his lead guitar quite a bit and the more I play guitar, the more I enjoy his solos. Some really nice modal work in there and a great tone to boot.

[CharAznable]

but... but... solid state amps!!! How can he possibly be good if he uses solid state amps????

[Structo]

I was never impressed with his lead parts that much but he was integral to the total vibe of the Doors.

[Marty s Horne]

I remember walking into the Hampton Beach Casino in '67 and seeing the Doors playing there. It was just a dance club/teen hangout type place and I had no idea they were there. They sounded really good from what I remember.

[BIGGERSTAFF]

His playing as of late is very good.

[MuseCafeChris]

Watched the D21C DVD "LA Woman Live" last Friday night. Robby was ON IT that night.

[Cussion]

I really like his smokey jazz-influenced solos on "Yes the river knows" and "You're lost little girl".
SG Special with P90s!!

[Shine]

Cars Hiss By My Window and The End are sexcellent, and I love the funkiness of Peace Frog.

[bluesjunior]

I remember reading an article way back when and it saying that he was a classically trained guitarist before joining the Doors. This maybe explains a bit about his playing style.

[sfarnell]

He was one of my favorites when I was a kid. Look at the flamenco guitar work on Spanish Caravan. The "extended lead" on Light My Fire was pretty cool for it's day. A lot of the guitar work on "Strange Days" was great. He was more than a "blues based" guitarist.

[telelion]

Ridiculously under-rated. He was the Doors, well I guess Jim was, but Robbie wrote most of the tunes. He was a great guitar arranger. He gets dissed I think because his vibrato was not Clapton's. As someone said, great rhythm player but I look it as a guy who got inside the song. I love his playing and tone, just not the kind of guy who influences you.

[Bassomatic]

He played some very odd (as in a bit off, for my tastes), but he worked so so wonderfully in the hugest of the odd little bands.

[Jazzydave]

He is easily my top 10 rock players of all time. I love The Doors and if you listen to their early work, Robby was making that SG sound amazing for the time. Before Clapton was doing his "woman tone" Robby was already making the SG sing.

His solo and tone on Five to One just floors me!

Not to mention he actually wrote many of The Doors' hits!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZls5ZH5ytA

[skydog]

I was never impressed with his lead parts that much but he was integral to the total vibe of the Doors.
+1. Like Ringo to The Beatles.

[Drifting]

Not an influence necessarily to my actual guitar playing, but for my love of music, hell yes. I agree on the Five to One solo, he makes that just sound so badass :JAM

The thing about the Doors as a whole is, there tone as a band is so unique and distinct, they really can pull off some spooky feelings(When The Music's Over, The End etc.).

[TommyMambo]

An original for sure...his approach was unique, as was his sound, as was his band.

[NyteOwl]

His playing as of late is very good.Well, he has had 40 years to practice...

[coldinWI]

When the music's over - 'nuff said

[slackandsteel]

My mom used to play cards with her girlfriends (all the husbands worked and the wives played cards, golf, went to lunch etc). This was in West L.A.

One day my mom off-handedly said to me "One of the girls I was playing cards with today has a son in a band who plays guitar. I think the band is named The Doors..."

Funny to think about Mrs Krieger, this upper-middle class Jewish lady bragging to her majong-playing friends about her son playing with the Doors.

Not exactly the typical "My son, the doctor..."

[TommyMambo]

I had an aunt who was a Go Go dancer at the Whiskey from '65-7, and I remember her telling me in the mid-70s how she knew Robbie and the other Doors, and they were all "acid heads."

I found it funny that she was casting stones...

[Yngtchie]

I can't say I dig The Doors, and the little I've heard of Krieger's playing hasn't exactly thrilled me. What album would you say contains his most representative playing?

[TommyMambo]

I can't say I dig The Doors, and the little I've heard of Krieger's playing hasn't exactly thrilled me. What album would you say contains his most representative playing?

L.A. Woman

[BIGGERSTAFF]

Well, he has had 40 years to practice...

I've heard plenty of guys that haven't improved any over time. His last solo album had some very jazzy stuff on it, and I have a Particle DVD where he jams with Satriani, and doesn't embarass himself.

[franksguitar]

I remember Robbie Playing blackface Fender amps and his SG on alot of clips. I guess the arena days were big solid states

[NyteOwl]

Well, he has had 40 years to practice...

I've heard plenty of guys that haven't improved any over time. His last solo album had some very jazzy stuff on it, and I have a Particle DVD where he jams with Satriani, and doesn't embarass himself.I'm not saying some people don't improve over time, merely that the high point of Krieger's musical career was 40 years ago. There were a lot of stellar guitarists in the mid-60s, and Krieger never impressed me as being one of them. Of course, that's just my opinion; I could be wrong.

[GerryJ]

check out his slide playing on moonlight drive from strange days.
Also, he's One of the earlier players who played jazz chords thru distortion, like Hendrix.

[Stike]

Sorry for the derail but would this thread even exist if Morrison had not died?

[pickaguitar]

Sorry for the derail but would this thread even exist if Morrison had not died?
Why not? I love the doors dead or alive...Krieger is da'man IMO.

[MuseCafeChris]

Why not? I love the doors dead or alive...Krieger is da'man IMO.

Plus, who knows how much more iconic stuff they would have recorded had Morrison lived?

Krieger is a guy who I appreciate more the older I get. Again, the LA Woman Live DVD with Astbury on vocals is killer.

[NyteOwl]

Sorry for the derail but would this thread even exist if Morrison had not died?More to the point, if not for Morrison, would Krieger, Manzarek or Densmore ever have gotten their moment in the sun?

[Stike]

More to the point, if not for Morrison, would Krieger, Manzarek or Densmore ever have gotten their moment in the sun?

Who's to say. I'm not trying to slight Krieger but I'm curious about how death is related to achieving an iconic status. I've wondered if Grace Slick had died and Janis had not would Grace be revered as much as Janis is and would Janis had eventually recorded something a shitty as "We Built This City"?

[Fifthstone]

I think The Doors have aged very well, for me at least. It still has a vitality and vibe that is as strong now as when I first heard them. Krieger's playing never really stood out for me, but the more I've listened to them over the years, the more I've come to appreciate his playing and how it contributed to the songs. He's not flashy, and not a guitar hero, but a very musical member of a unique band. Truly under-rated as a musician.

[Ocelot]

Krieger was a hell of a guitar player. Sounded like no one else. Great feel and touch. Always tasteful and melodic. And a great, unique slide player.

[sonic romp]

I thought he was a pretty eclectic guy across the board. And if you're one of those loons like me who rates a good/memorable solo that you can whistle none-for-note; the guy picks the right ones, for sure.

[JRC4558Dude]

Krieger is a HUGELY under-rated player. As other have mentioned, being in a band with Jim Morrison meant that his talents were kind of over-shadowed. But, Krieger did some awesome playing and writing, especially on the first two Doors records.

His solo on "Light My fire" is beatiful. Really nice composition. Great tone and phrasing that (IMHO) totally blows away the noodling stuff that other West coast bands were doing at the time (Dead, the Airplane, Quicksilver Messenger Service etc.)

How about great silde playing? His slide on "Wild Child" is pretty straight-forward blues stuff, but "Moonlight Drive" is just incredible. So spacey and psychedelic sounding. And still sounds as fresh today as it did in '67.

Check out Robby's achingly beatiful phrasing and tone on the solo from "You're lost little girl."

Dig the awesome fuzztones on "Spanish Caravan" or "Not to touch the Earth."

Dig the cool lick and classy finger-picked rhythm playing on "Love me Two Times"

There's lots of really aweson guitar playing on those Doors albums...

[Shine]

i can't choose between LA Woman and Morrison Hotel as my favorite, and I love Peace Frog. :RoCkIn

[jefesq]

[QUOTE=JRC4558Dude;6069945]
His solo on "Light My fire" is beatiful. Really nice composition. Great tone and phrasing that (IMHO) totally blows away the noodling stuff that other West coast bands were doing at the time (Dead, the Airplane, Quicksilver Messenger Service etc.)
QUOTE]

Happy Trails! noodling indeed.

[Twangdaddy]

Robby has always been an inspiration to me - his understated, soulful style spoke for itself, IMO.

[gitarzilla]

Back in the 80s in LA, I played in a Doors tribute band -- mostly to generate some $$ to survive. I never was a big Doors fan and especially not a RK fan, but after having to get inside their music and his playing and recreate "the vibe," I ended up developing a lot of respect and admiration for their stuff and his playing.

He was supposedly classically trained and has fingerstyle chops for days. Of course there's dozens of guys I'd prefer to listen to, but I'll always have a lot of respect for RK and the Doors.

[bjjp2]

I like his mixolydian licks in "LA Woman".

[tim gueguen]

I've got a cassette copy of Krieger's 1983 instrumental album Versions in one of my boxes I should dig out. Some interesting cuts on that one, including a cover of the Pretenders' "Tattooed Love Boys."

[rubbersoul]

Krieger and the Doors are great. Twentieth Century Fox, Five To One, and People are Strange are full of great guitar licks.

[zzzezums]

i respect his work, just not my cup of tea.

[Phoebe]

I always thought he was a very credible player in many ways. But, IMO, his tone with the Doors was sterile, lifeless, and bland.