On paper, a band co-led by former Doors keyboardist Ray Manzarek and former John Lee Hooker slide guitarist Roy Rogers might not seem likely.
But when their common agent suggested the pairing, the two collaborated on their 2011 debut CD Translucent Blues (Blind Pig), a dark yet accessible take on modern blues-based musical structures.
After all, the 73-year-old Manzarek was born on the bluesy south side of Chicago before he moved to Los Angeles to launch the psychedelic Doors with vocalist Jim Morrison, guitarist Robby Kreiger and drummer John Densmore in 1965. And the 61-year-old Rogers, who worked with Hooker through the ’80s, is a native Californian who recently played with acidic bluegrass icon Dan Hicks at his 70th birthday concert in San Francisco.
Each co-leader was a support vocalist with their famous entities, yet they split lead vocals with the Manzarek-Rogers Band. On Translucent Blues, studio effects and multi-tracking strengthened Manzarek’s lower-register growl and Rogers’ higher-pitched, more nasal delivery. But without those enhancements, the vocals proved the weakest aspect of their performance before a capacity crowd at the Bamboo Room in Lake Worth on Friday.
Backed by Elvin Bishop bassist Steve Evans and drummer Billy Lee Lewis, from Rogers’ Delta Rhythm Kings band, Manzarek opened the show by singing Hurricane, the first track from Translucent Blues. With lyrics by The Basketball Diaries author Jim Carroll, the track set the tone for the entire concert — a mid-tempo blues number with pitch-challenged vocals, Manzarek playing only acoustic piano sounds on a lone Kurzweil keyboard (which had the capacity for his signature Farfisa organ and electric piano tones), and Rogers impressively sliding around his customized double-neck guitar.
The guitarist used a capo on the bottom neck to change the tuning, and switched between both necks to play slide solos and rhythm lines all night. However, his low-in-the-mix vocals didn’t fare much better than Manzarek’s, even on quieter pieces like the mid-tempo swing of Greenhouse Blues (the title of which must have been creatively inspired by the Doors’ Roadhouse Blues).
A few tunes stood out solely by straying from the middling formula. Manzarek played a stride piano intro and delivered impactful, devil-themed lyrics on Game of Skill, an energetic shuffle that also featured a Crossroads-worthy slide solo by Rogers and rim shots by the animated Lewis during the middle bridge. With his slight build, shaved head and sunglasses on, the drummer actually resembled political consultant James Carville.
“This song is about getting over that white powder; it’s about kicking the habit,” Manzarek said to introduce Kick. A modified slow blues with lyrics by Beat poet and Jack Kerouac compatriot Michael McClure, the track featured one of Manzarek’s best classically influenced solos and impressive ambidexterity by Rogers, who played chords on his guitar’s upper neck and finger-picked solos on the bottom.
Rogers’ best lead-vocal tune was Blues in My Shoes, a funky vehicle that inspired some dancers to take the floor near the show’s end. Evans’ pulsating bass line was their primary inspiration, and Lewis upped the ante by substituting a maraca for a drumstick in his right hand halfway through.
Two Doors songs provided a highlight and lowlight. Midway through the 90-minute concert, Manzarek dedicated The Crystal Ship to Morrison, and his solo reading of the tune (from the Doors’ self-titled 1967 debut album) hushed the crowd. Yet the encore of Riders On the Storm, from the band’s 1971 finale L.A. Woman, fell flat. Manzarek sloppily tried to mimic the epic moodiness of his Roland electric piano solo, but to no avail.
In fact, the keyboardist seemed miffed at requests for other Doors tunes during the show, while intermittently inspiring such requests by telling tales of the band and reminding the audience of his place in it. Manzarek can’t have it both ways, and in attempting to do so, he created a musical oxymoron. Sort of like, perhaps, hellhound-themed blues imagery coming from the supposed City of Angels.