Publishers Weekly
07/26/2021
Doors guitarist Krieger riffs melodiously through the discordant and harmonious measures of his life and times with the band in this galloping, episodic debut. He starts with his 1950s youth “in perpetually sunny Southern California,” where he discovered guitar and an abiding love of music. After laying eyes on Chuck Berry’s Gibson ES-335 at a show in 1965, Krieger swapped his acoustic guitar for a Gibson SG Special. In college, he reconnected with his old friend, John Densmore, who was playing drums with the Doors and invited Krieger to audition. While every year in the Doors was a strange one, he writes, 1967 set a whole new bar as the band went from “touring in a van as unproven unknowns... to headlining gigs as number one artists.” Krieger chronicles the notorious ups and downs of the band and its lead singer, Jim Morrison, whose antics onstage and off attracted zealous fans and police looking to make a bust. He also sets the record straight about discrepancies in Oliver Stone’s 1991 film The Doors—for one, “the Doors never did peyote in the desert.” His most insightful moments come in his reflections on songwriting, “a constant reminder that music is infinite.” Krieger’s engrossing stories are sure to be relished by fans. (Oct.)
From the Publisher
Set the Night on Fire is always warm, often funny, and frequently revelatory…an intimate and honest look inside one of the most compelling outfits in music. It towers above the piles of other Doors documents as a powerful reminder that the truth can be more fascinating than the myth.” —People
“Doors guitarist Krieger riffs melodiously through the discordant and harmonious measures of his life and times with the band in this galloping, episodic debut.” —Publishers Weekly
“Krieger [is] just as compelling as a writer as he is with his vast carousel of Gibsons…But besides the treasure trove of new Doors anecdotes in his memoir, the guitarist and singer-songwriter candidly reveals many other personal stories about “living and dying.”—Vulture
“Set the Night on Fire is the best memoir by a band member of one of the era’s most unique—and mythologized—groups.”—Houston Press
"Krieger relays untold anecdotes and he's ribaldly funny...Everyone remotely connected to the Doors has written reminiscences of the Lizard Kingdom, but this is one of the very best."—MOJO
Library Journal
10/08/2021
It's hard to fathom there could be anything new to discuss about the much-documented band the Doors, but this memoir by the group's guitarist/singer/songwriter Krieger puts a deeply personal and moving spin on life as a rock star. Some might assume that Krieger, having grown up in relative wealth, had nothing to rebel against, but in fact he found ways to push boundaries at a young age—particularly by shunning education and immersing himself in music, beginning with folk and jug bands. Influenced by Chuck Berry, he discovered electric guitars and found his future bandmembers, including the introverted Jim Morrison. Krieger discusses the creation of the Doors' iconic songs, including his "Light My Fire," which transformed the Doors from an unknown group to the most in-demand band in the United States. He attempts to lay to rest some of the rumors about the band that have been perpetuated in Oliver Stone's film The Doors, Jerry Hopkins and Danny Sugarman's No One Here Gets Out Alive: The Biography of Jim Morrison, and his own bandmates' memoirs. Krieger casts himself as the peacemaker with no hidden agenda and writes openly about his own drug addiction, his twin brother's mental decline, and the difficulty of life without Morrison. VERDICT Krieger brings another perspective to the mythology of the Doors; music aficionados will devour his intimate memoir.—Lisa Henry, Kirkwood P.L., MO
Kirkus Reviews
2021-08-17
The Doors guitarist reminisces about music and life in the fast lane.
Krieger’s story of fragmented “moments” and “sensations” reads like it was dictated into a tape recorder. Regardless, rock fans will be looking for substance rather than style, and the author provides enough. A Southern California kid, he writes about dealing with poor eyesight, vandalism, and drugs. Then, bang, he supposes he should recount the “infamous” 1967 New Haven concert when a drunk, raucous Jim Morrison was arrested on stage, a “moment of double-edged mythmaking that affected everything from then on.” Then, abruptly, Krieger moves on with his life story. Trading his acoustic guitar for an electric “was a major turning point in my life.” When he first met the itinerant Morrison, a “shaky-voiced, corduroy-clad introvert,” Krieger was unimpressed. John Densmore said they were starting a band; they had a deal with Columbia Records (which fell through) and a few songs. They worked for months on “Light My Fire,” their first hit and by far the most lucrative. For “Love Me Two Times,” Krieger contributed words and music, which he borrowed from a John Koerner song. Morrison welcomed the collaboration, and early shows at the “always-packed, scene-making” Whiskey a Go Go gave the band a chance to jell and for Morrison to transform his shyness into a “complete, unflinching honesty.” Signing with Elektra in 1966 was their first step to success. Krieger capsulizes their first two albums as “fun and fast” and “experimental and exciting.” Waiting for the Sunwas a “chore,” andThe Soft Parade was recorded when Morrison’s “drinking was at its peak.” Throughout, the author chronicles Morrison’s alcoholism and drug problems. In 1971, L.A. Woman“showed that we still had something to offer.” Musicians will enjoy reading about Krieger’s composing process and will likely be unsurprised that he calls Oliver Stone’s Doors film “laughable as a historical artifact.”
Krieger’s dry, chatty, wistful memoir will appeal primarily to Doors’ aficionados.
