The Golden Scarab is the debut studio album by former Doors member Ray Manzarek as a solo artist. It was recorded in 1973 and released in 1974 on the Mercury label, one year after the Doors breakup (at that time a trio formed of the surviving members of the band: Manzarek himself, Robby Krieger, and John Densmore).
Reception
Joe Viglione of AllMusic gave The Golden Scarab a rating of three out of five stars. He considered it to be the "best embodiment of the Doors by one of the three surviving members", concluding:
In contrast, Uncut magazine wrote a scathing review, ridiculing, "It sucks... Even Jim at his dumbest, stinkiest drunk would have pissed himself laughing."
Track listing All tracks composed by Ray Manzarek except where indicated:
CD bonus tracks "Whirling Dervish" (Manzarek, Paul Davis) * "I Wake Up Screaming" (Manzarek, Danny Sugerman) * "Bicentennial Blues (Love It or Leave It)" *
Bonus tracks taken from Manzarek's 1974 LP The Whole Thing Started with Rock & Roll Now It's Out of Control.
Personnel Ray Manzarek – lead vocals, keyboards, piano, organ, synthesizer, kalimba Larry Carlton – guitar Tony Williams – drums Oscar Brashear – trumpet Mayuto Correa – wood block, bongos, congas Milt Holland – pandeiro, cabasa, quica, African cowbell Jerry Scheff – bass guitar Ernie Watts – tenor saxophone George Bohanon – trombone Steve Forman – tuned cowbells, whistles, guiro, tuned wood blocks Patti Smith – vocals on "I Wake Up Screaming"
References