“Night Divides the Day…”: A Review

In 2000, The Beatles issued The Beatles Anthology, a giant book that encompassed interviews from the four bandmates discussing their memories of the 1960s. Lit up with photographs, drawings and mementos, it was their gift to the fans, a portal back to a less cynical time. Twenty-five years later, Night Divides the Day by The Doors delivers something very similar, permitting readers a chance to identify with Jim Morrison et al.

“I’ve never thought that an audience should be as passive as they’ve become,” the singer once proclaimed. “I think they should be an active participant in what’s happening.” Morrison was known for his wild performances, some of them summoning an animal spirit from within. Lead guitarist Robby Krieger later lamented the fact that American audiences put excessive emphasis on the group’s image, but there’s no denying the impact Morrison had on rock. More so than Mick Jagger, Morrison embodied raw cool, supporting the notion that rock could be sexual as much as it could be sincere. In the years after his death, vocalists Robert Plant and Bon Scott continued to ensure that their music shimmied as effectively as it stunned people. And yet here in this book comes a Morrison deep in thought, as one photograph showcases a lyricist in an almost Vedic state of reflection.

Like The Beatles before them, The Doors were happy to change sound, but unlike the Liverpool quartet, they weren’t always encouraged to do so. “The press killed us for changing our precious ‘Doors’ sound,” drummer John Densmore recalled, no doubt referring to the orchestral flourishes that padded out “Touch Me.” Following Morrison’s untimely death in 1971, Densmore and Krieger carried the band name forward with songwriting keyboardist Ray Manzarek for two albums. The trio elected not to hire a singer, fearing comparisons to Morrison, so vocals were delegated between Krieger and Manzarek, who weren’t attempting to be another Morrison. Listening to Other Voices in 2025, it sounds like a natural continuation of L.A. Woman, and the band was welcomed at their live gigs by enthusiastic audiences. It didn’t hurt that the surviving trio were experienced in this arena; Morrison had previously missed a concert in Amsterdam, necessitating the other three performing without him.

There have been dazzling re-inventions in rock: drummer Phil Collins traded the cymbals for the microphone during the recording of A Trick of The Tail, emerging as the new Genesis frontman, while the arrival of Sammy Hagar brought out a soulful yearning from Eddie Van Halen’s guitar. The Doors were less fortunate in that regard, disbanding in 1973, reuniting briefly to put Morrison’s spoken word poetry to music on 1978’s tepid An American Prayer.

Apocalypse Now is touched upon in the book, as is the No One Gets Out Alive memoir, but it effectively ends there. It’s understandable that the book omits a section about Manzarek–Krieger’s collaborations with Ian Astbury, but it’s a shame that Night Divides the Day by The Doors doesn’t delve into Oliver Stone’s 1991 biopic starring the late Val Kilmer. Where the book is strong is in the photographic content, exploring the band during their many iterations.

Manzarek died in 2013, meaning there are only two surviving members of The Doors. Which is why Night Divides the Day By The Doors, like The Beatles Anthology, is such an important artefact in that it opens the curtain, and showcases these artists at work. Yes, there are gaps, but that doesn’t detract from the work. Christmas has come early for fans of Jim Morrison and The Doors!

-Eoghan Lyng

Photo: The Doors, 1966 (public domain)