Eric Burdon Appreciation

[Nick X]

Does anyone else think Eric Burdon should have been the rock icon that Jim Morrison was? (In my opinion) he was cooler, had a better voice and made better music. I'm sure, I'm in the minority on this among most people.

[DanyHell2011]

They are completely different from each other. It is like compare wine and beer. Maybe you would prefer one or another, but it is a matter of taste and not who is better than the other. 

 

[kopper]

I'll agree with ya on this one, but that's mainly because I was never a huge Doors fan. Actually, that's not entirely true... I thought the Doors were cool *before* I discovered all of the other great '60s bands, like the Animals, Seeds, Pretty Things, Remains, Shadows of Knight, Electric Prunes, Chocolate Watchband, 13th Floor Elevators, etc. etc. etc.

[John Battles]

I don't think Eric Burdon could have been elevated to iconic status the way Jim Morrisson was , about 10 years after his death . He would have only graced magazines like "16" OR "Tiger Beat" when they were REALLY hurting for space filler. Until he started putting on the pounds ,  growing out his beard and , allegedly , introducing Lil' Jim to a Miami audience , Morrisson's looks made him quite the sex symbol in his day, but , everybody knows that. Burdon might not have been such a great looker , by comparison , but , his singing voice was pure "No blobs in the bog" animal sexuality. They were both very different , it's true , but , Burdon , as an early (White) student of The Blues was just as macho in his delivery as Morrisson. Van Morrisson.

Jim Morrisson is an icon , today , partly because he represented danger to a lot of people. And , it's true , he did get himself into a lot of brushes with the law , which he seemed to shrug off. Burdon openly admired , and dated , Black women when that was regarded as extremely dangerous , except maybe in places like France. He was a street - fightin' Geordie , and did'nt take any shit. It does'nt mean they're so alike or dissimilar as singers. Morrisson was a crooner as well as a shouter. Burdon had no time for croonin'.

[Nick X]

Yeah, I think the only reason I compared them is because they both have baritone voices, also because I was drinking gin and tonics and playing "It's my Life" really loud and got caught up in the moment pondering why Eric Burdon's status as a rock icon didn't carry over into today's generation like Jim's Did. In my world it did, ha. Like Kopper said, I was never a massive Doors fan, Jim openly stole riffs from the Kinks and fancied himself some kind of post modern poet. Eric was just a salt of the earth blues singer trapped in a white kids body.

DanyHell2011 said:

They are completely different from each other. It is like compare wine and beer. Maybe you would prefer one or another, but it is a matter of taste and not who is better than the other. 

 

[John Battles]

....Sure , I used to like The Doors. But , we've had Jim Morrisson coming out of our ears since about 1980 - 81. Musically , I would'nt hold them against the original Animals , either , but , that's just me. When I was a kid in the 70's , the only Doors songs I ever heard on the radio were Love Her Madly , Hello , I Love You , and Light My Fire , and only the latter in rotation. I remember hearing Riders on The Storm a lot for a while , but , that would have been right after Morrisson passed away. I knew who they were , and who HE was , by the time I was in Jr. High , but , they really were'nt a big deal at the time. They were'nt popular in the way Jimi Hendrix was popular with younger people....yet. I THINK jIM WAS PROBABLY INFLUENCED , TO A DEGREE , BY ERIC , and The Doors , to some extent , by the classic Animals lineup. Probably . But , EVERYTHING i'D EVER READ ABOUT tHE dOORS , THEY'D SAY that Love was the band to beat. The Seeds' names only started getting dropped , recently.

Nick X said:

Yeah, I think the only reason I compared them is because they both have baritone voices, also because I was drinking gin and tonics and playing "It's my Life" really loud and got caught up in the moment pondering why Eric Burdon's status as a rock icon didn't carry over into today's generation like Jim's Did. In my world it did, ha. Like Kopper said, I was never a massive Doors fan, Jim openly stole riffs from the Kinks and fancied himself some kind of post modern poet. Eric was just a salt of the earth blues singer trapped in a white kids body.

DanyHell2011 said:

They are completely different from each other. It is like compare wine and beer. Maybe you would prefer one or another, but it is a matter of taste and not who is better than the other.