My wife tells me that I read entirely too many music books. Also, as an attorney, I must confess to a
soft spot for legal thrillers. If you
put the two together, I can guarantee I’ll read it. (Right here is a good place to praise Stan
Soocher’s They Fought the Law, one of the best nonfiction music/legal books
out there – a fascinating read).

Early in
the book Densmore recalls how the late Jim Morrison was vehemently against the use of The Doors’ songs in commercials. Densmore felt that he had to honor Morrison’s
legacy and the band’s original partnership agreement by continuing to veto any
commercial exploitation of the band’s music.
There is a fascinating section where Densmore discusses The Doors’
original attorney, Abe Somer, and the band’s original partnership
agreement. We forget sometimes that
there was a formal music business back in the ‘60s and this section of the book
fascinates me.
All of this
leads to a trial in civil court in Los Angeles.
Densmore’s depiction of the trial is spot on. He gives a wonderful description of his own counsel
Jerry Mandel as well as opposing counsel John Lavely. People are strange and it is really strange
to see icons of a generation reduced to spiteful litigants but it is this
inherent drama of Morrison’s legacy versus 21st century economics
that makes this story so compelling. Of
course you root for Densmore and his ideals but you can’t help but feel
sympathetic to Robby Kreiger and Ray Manzarek when faced with the opportunities
to profit off of work they did 40 years earlier. It would be hard to resist. Densmore also gives a great description of the
life of a lawsuit from the discovery phase through the actual trial itself
where monotony goes head to head with angst and fear until the trial itself
becomes almost a new daily reality for the litigants.
As in all
legal thrillers, I won’t tell you how the book ends.
If I have
any criticism, it is that the last chapter is totally unnecessary and a bit
self-serving. Still, one is left with
the impression that Densmore is one of the good guys. As Tom Waitssays in the blurb, “John Densmore
is not for sale and that is his gift to us.”
I highly recommend this book to fans of The Doors and to those with an
interest in the legal inner workings of a rock and roll partnership.
No comments:
Post a Comment