Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *
It can be quite understandable that for many there was no afterlife for The Doors after the tragic passing of Jim Morrison, many will have drifted away, the millions will have just hung on the short but ultimately significant list of studio albums and the final hurrah of arguably one of the most important groups to have come out of 1960s America, the brutal, the dominating and utterly beguiling L.A. Woman.
It is understandable to believe that the story ended there, in Paris and with the final, sublime moments of the record and the poetry that Morrison had created, but for many, for those that see beyond the sacramental and the processional mystique, there has been so much more offered by those that lifted the spiritual Jim Morrison to elevated heights, and for Robby Krieger, as well as John Densmore and the now passed Ray Manzarek, the music remained the ultimate in expression.
Robby Krieger might not be the most prolific musician to have made his name seemingly part of the indestructible fabric of the 20th Century, but when you hear his solo output, when you come across his laid down thoughts and inspirations, you cannot but help fall in love, and you feel a connection to a lost American dream, one that is not hemmed in by the pre-war ethics but which even now find the space to be inventive and colossal, despite the turn in thinking since the days of the Big Beat and the static turning to moving emotion on Texas Radio.
A decade on from Robby Krieger’s last album, The Ritual Begins At Sundown is a timely reminder in the world we have allowed to be created in our name is a sham, a mistake, and it takes the genius and craft of someone like Mr. Krieger to show how life could be, an adventure, a chance to explore without damaging others self-esteem or ego, and just playing something because it sounds as the soul would benefit from it.
The first album since 2010s Grammy nominated release Singularity, and 9th studio album overall, The Ritual Begins At Sundown is a journey of the wonder of discovery, a piece of music that the self-confessed lover will take to their hearts and the Jazz enthusiast will applaud.
Robby Krieger may suggest that when he was younger he didn’t understand Jazz, but as the ritual and the dance moves throughout the album, to the point where the notes sway their hips and the fingers click progressively to the bartender for another smoky concoction from the bar of life, all that becomes clear is that being young is just the open door you go through to find the beauty within the room, and if the room is vast and full of different flavours, then so be it, then the habit of a lifetime is worth the wait.
Across tracks such as the sublime opener What Was That? The Drift, the positive glow that surrounds the Frank Zappa cover of Chunga’s Revenge, Bianca’s Dream and The Hitch, Robby Krieger shows with grace and fascination why he will always be considered one of the finest guitarists to have walked this musical Earth.
Innovative, willing to always experiment, always a reminder of what we could have, The Ritual Begins At Sundown is Robby Krieger reborn, returned and ruthless in his pursuit of enjoyment.
Robby Krieger releases The Ritual Begins At Sundown on April 24th via The Players Club/Mascot Label Group.
Ian D. Hall