THE SEEKERS

The Doors drummer serves up a mishmash of nostrums, memoir, and fan notes.

Densmore is no mere passing student of how beautiful things are put together. He has been pondering it for decades, and given the traumatic nature of the day, “the time has never been more right for writing a book that elucidates my lifelong commitment to the arts and creativity.” These sketches get some of that elucidation done, but the best parts of this collection of musings are the frequent quotations from his first two memoirs. New Age references fly thick here: The inspiration for the book may be Greek Armenian mystic G.I. Gurdjieff, but lesser saints come into play: “The muse is very psychic….Sometimes she blows the circuitry like in Janis Joplin’s case.” So do evocations of the Doors, and though something seems to have happened (perhaps just still being alive) to keep Robby Krieger from earning much room here, Jim Morrison and Ray Manzarek figure prominently. Sometimes Densmore lays down cringeworthy lines: “So early on Mr. Shankar had his creative impulses dipped in spiritual curry sauce of the highest caliber” is one of the more exceptional ones. The book succeeds when he lands on simple observations: “Musicians are ambassadors to the hidden world inside everyone.” “Music is a candle, lighting the way along the road toward the art of living.” There are also some charming moments, as when Densmore, now in his 70s, revels at meeting Willie Nelson, to whom he exclaimed, “It’s great to meet a musician who’s older than me!” And any aspiring rock musician can stand to learn from Densmore’s observations on how the rhythm section of a band works, affirming that the best guitarist in the world can’t save a band if the rhythm section is off, whereas a good rhythm section can make a mediocre guitarist sound at least tolerable.

Studded with good moments, but only diehard fans are likely to seek this one out.