Ray Manzarek - Carmina Burana (1983)

Carmina Burana is the title of the third studio album (or LP) released by the legendary American keyboardist Ray Manzarek who had formerly played with the Doors between 1965 and 1973 (prior to the Doors, he also played in a proto-Doors band, if you will, by the name Rick & The Ravens). It is a rock edition/version of the namesake composition by German classical composer Carl Heinrich Maria Orff (the original work is a medieval manuscript containing a total number of 254 poems and dramatic texts; its title means Songs from Benediktbeuern, nowadays a municipality in Bavaria, southern Germany). The album has a total length of 39 minutes and 57 seconds. It is a mixture of progressive rock, art rock, and classical crossover. It was released through A&M Records in 1983. The LP was produced by Philip Glass and Kurt Munkacsi.

The frontal cover artwork of Ray Manzarek’s third studio album entitled Carmina Burana, inspired by the eponymous classical work by German composer Carl Orff. Image source: YouTube

Below you can watch the music video of Ray Manzarek’s Carmina Burana embedded via YouTube:

This is an interview with Ray Manzarek on The David Letterman Show from 1984 in which the legendary keyboardist discusses about Carmina Burana, his then latest record, among other important things:

The frontal cover artwork of the album is quite interesting and has its own fascinating and surreal story: it is a montage of different illustrations by Dutch painter Hieronymus Bosch and early Netherlandish painter Jan van Eyck (more specifically the well-known Arnolfini Portrait dated 1434) combined with several rock and roll items such as an electric guitar, an amplifier, and various 20th-century recording equipment such as an amplifier or a synth.

The entire studio album contains 16 tracks as follows;

Destiny: Ruler of the World – The Wheel of Fortune (O Fortuna)
Destiny: Ruler of the World – The Wounds of Fate (Fortune plango)
Springtime: The Face of Spring (Veris leta facies)
Springtime: Sunrise (Omnia sol temperat)
Springtime: Welcome (Ecce gratum)
Springtime: The Dance (Tanz) – (Tanz Mix: Ich Schau D mix)
Springtime: Sweetest Boy (Dulcissime)
Springtime: If the Whole World Was Mine (Were diu werlt)
In the Tavern: Boiling Rage (Estuans interius)
In the Tavern: The Roasted Swan (Olim lacus)
In the Tavern: In the Tavern (In taberna)
The Court of Love: Love Flies Everywhere (Amor volat)
The Court of Love: A Young Girl (Stetit puella)
The Court of Love: Come, My Beauty (Veni veni venias)
The Court of Love: The Lovers (Blanziflor et Helena)
Destiny: Ruler of the World – The Wheel of Fortune (O Fortuna)

You can listen to the entire album on YouTube here in playlist format.

Credits (taken via the English-language Wikipedia): Music composed by Carl Orff. Original Latin lyrics adopted to English (C) B. Schott’s Söhne by permission of European American Music.

In terms of professional ratings, AllMusic gave the album 3.5 out of 5 stars. If I were to rate it, I would definitely give it 10 out of 10 stars. It is an excellent studio album and it allows the listener (whether he or she is a longtime Doors fan, just like me) to explore a new musical side of Ray Manzarek (who was a very creative musician and a very charismatic, funny, and wonderful storyteller as well).

The album’s description is as follows, taken from the liner notes:

In 1983 Ray Manzarek, long attracted to the spiritual power of Carmina Burana, chose to interpret the piece in a contemporary framework. This presentation intends to create enchanted pictures; to conjure up the ecstasy expressed by the lyrics, an enhanced intense feeling for life akin to the passions and revelry of the wandering poets of so long ago.

The recording personnel was as follows (taken from the English-language Wikipedia):

Ray Manzarek – piano, organ, keyboards, and arrangements
Michael Riesman – synthesizers, orchestrations, and conductor
Larry Anderson – drums
Ted Hall – guitar
Doug Hodges – bass guitar
Adam Holzman – synthesizers
Jack Kripl – saxophones, flutes
Catherine Aks – vocals
Ma Premm Alimo – vocals
Bruce Fifer – vocals
Maryann Hart – vocals
Cindy Hewes – vocals
Michael Hume – vocals
Elliot Levine – vocals
Dora Ohrenstein – vocals
Patrick Romano – vocals
Kimball Wheeler – vocals

Regarding the production of the album, below are the credits (taken from the English-language Wikipedia):

John Beverly Jones – recording engineer
Joe Chiccarelli – mixing engineer

The LP was recorded at the following studios:

A&M Recording Studios, Hollywood, CA
Cheerokee Recording Studios, Hollywood, CA
Greene St. Recording Studios, New York, NY

The record was mixed at Capitol Recording Studios, Hollywood, CA and digitally mastered at Masterdisk, New York, NY.

Bonus material

I was very lucky to get to know wonderful bassist Doug Hodges and keyboardist Adam Holzman online a while back ago and they were very kind to be part of my independent rock music-related podcast entitled Let’s Get Rocked! on YouTube. So it is that I had the great privilege and honour to interview both American artists and ask them about their experience working with the great late American keyboardist Ray Manzarek. You can listen to both interviews embedded via YouTube below. Thank you so much for your time, attention, and readership! All the best, take care, stay safe, and rock on! 🙂 🤘

Off the record, Doug told me that I am a wonderful person and that he felt it was fun talking with me (which was a great compliment for which I am super grateful to him). At the same time, the great keyboardist Adam Holzman (the son of Elektra Records and Nonesuch Records founder Jac Holzman) who played with the legendary Miles Davis told me off the record after the interview ended that I did really well and that I really did my homework (which are two wonderful compliments for which I am super grateful to him).

P.S. On a personal note, I’d like to share the fact that my first musical contact with this timeless musical masterpiece was when I was 21 (back in late 2018, namely in the autumn of that year), listening to during one evening after I went to my student dorm room from Aalborg University in Aalborg, Denmark. I used to listen to a lot of rock music back then as I do now, naturally. Last but not least, perhaps it’s just me but the guitarist on the frontal cover artwork looks a bit like Robby Krieger (or, at least, reminds me of him a bit). Anyway, nevermind. All the best and rock on once again!

Ray Manzarek – Carmina Burana (1983)

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