Track Listing

1. Spanish Caravan
2. The Crystal Ship
3. People Are Strange
4. Love Street
5. Love Me Two Times
6. Love Her Madly
7. Wishful, Sinful
8. Light My Fire
9. My Wild Love
10. Summer's Almost Gone
11. I Can't See Your Face In My Mind
12. Riders On the Storm
13. Bird of Prey

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #8107 in Music
• Released on: 2002-10-08
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Enhanced, Limited Edition
• Dimensions: .23 pounds

Amazon.com
George Winston cites the Doors as a seminal influence on his music in the liner notes for the 20th anniversary edition of Autumn. Winston is a voracious musical explorer, and the Doors are among several musical tributes Winston has rolling around in his head. He's already paid homage to pianist Vince Guaraldi with Linus and Lucy. Winston's take on the acid-rock shamans is sometimes magical, sometimes regretful. It's no secret that George isn't a great technician, and you can hear the flaws whenever he remains true to the melody, especially replicating Robbie Krieger's guitar lines. But some songs are just perfect for Winston, notably "Crystal Ship," which he expands into a gorgeous meditation. Winston mixes the hits, including "Light My Fire," with some eccentric personal choices like "Spanish Caravan" and "My Wild Love." Ardent Doors devotees may cringe, but Winston fans will find a home here. --John Diliberto

Ray Manzarek - Doors keyboard player
"I love this CD; George has captured the essence of the Doors and added his own unique voice"

Customer Reviews

Winston's Long-Awaited Tribute To The Doors
This CD was obviously a labor of love for George Winston. He has over the years freely acknowledged the influence of The Doors' music--especially on his 1980 album Autumn. In the liner notes to Night Divides the Day, Winston writes how he played "Love Me Two Times" and "Light My Fire" in the first band he played in back in high school. This is music that made a lasting impression on Winston and his approach to music.

Having listened to this tribute several times now, I still have mixed feelings. The playing, of course, is impeccable. And on songs like the opening "Spanish Caravan," "The Crystal Ship" and "My Wild Love," Winston manages to make the songs his own. On others songs like "Love Her Madly" and especially the nearly 10-minute "Light My Fire," I'm left with the nagging question: What's new here? I "hear" Winston's piano, but my brain is playing the Doors' version in my head at the some time. The familiarity of the original versions makes it difficult to always appreciate Winston's technique.

Among his die-hard fans (and I own all of Winston's recordings), I know there are those who will fall in love with this tribute. Heck, even Ray Manzarek declares on the sticker on the cover: "I love this CD! George has captured The Doors' essence and added his own unique voice." There is an energy and ferocity to Winston's playing here and there is much to enjoy. If you appreciate the music of The Doors half as much as Winston, this CD will not disappoint. RECOMMENDED

Wonderful And Brilliantly Played.
George Winston has provided one of the most melodic and enrapturing homages to The Doors with "Night Divides The Day," a beautifully done album that conveys the musical intricacies of the band. Like "Riders On The Storm: The Doors Concerto," "Night Divides The Day" works for Doors fans who truly love and appreciate the MUSIC and for those fans of classical tastes. The opening, "Spanish Caravan," is a great experience of what good piano playing is. Winston masterfully adapts the melody to his keys, creating a great collage of notes and sound. "The Crystal Ship" is one of the more beautiful tracks on the album, emotional, hypnotic and completely enrapturing. One of the most fun tracks on the CD is "People Are Strange," it sounds like a perfect piano copy of the original but with Winston adding special flavors to it that give it a nice jazz feel. "Love Street" is a neat delight, really nice and sweet would be the best word to describe it. What you really get out of the album is an appreciation for just how classical-based The Doors' music was and how wonderfully melodic, a sense you sorta lose when listening to versions performed by bands like Aerosmith and Creed, which simply bring out the rock aspects The Doors influenced. A lot of people forget they were a band that were probably more avant-garde than most rock bands ever have been. Jim Morrison obviously influenced more in musicians than just the desire to act like madmen on stage or wear black leather pants. And yet eventhough we think of Morrison during this great album, these classical tributes bring out a true appreciation for the other musicians, especially keyboardist Ray Manzarek, we realize how intricate the playing of Manzarek, guitarist Robby Krieger and drummer John Densmore really was. "Light My Fire" is wonderfully executed and plays like a roller-coaster, culminating in a beautiful rendition of a part from "The End." "Love Me Two Times" is a mixed bag, it works as a great, hard-thumping blues-like tune, but the feeling of the original is really lost. "My Wild Love" is as atmospheric as the original and conveys a threatening mood. One thing that should be appreciated is that Winston doesn't stick to just hits, in fact, tunes like "Hello I Love You" and "Strange Days" are missing. He does a great job with songs mostly Doors fans are familiar with like "Summer's Almost Gone," which can be beautiful and haunting. "I Can't See Your Face In My Mind" is very emotional, sometimes sounding like a melody you would hear in some kind of strange dream. "Riders On The Storm" is epic, heavy filled with some excellent craftsmanship. "Bird Of Prey" is one of the more simple songs, like the original, but it's an enjoyable listen. Winston has done a great thing here, it should be cherished by those who were really touched by Doors music when they first heard one of their albums. Winston himself is a professed Doors fanatic and the booklet in the CD case expresses this with him confessing that the band's first album is what inspired him to take up the keys. "Night Divides The Day" is real music for those who have real ears.

One of Winston's best--6 stars
If you like George Winston enough to have bought his other albums, then you'll love this album. Every single song is very, very good probably because they are all based upon an excellent melody. I have every single George Winston recording and this stands with the first four as being one of the best five because nothing is filler.

The point of this album is not to copy the covers. So, forget that Jim Morrison wrote these pieces and don't try to relate Winston's renditions to the original Doors recordings. Think of this music as you would other solo piano pieces--judged alone and on their own merit. But some people will never "get" George's approach to piano playing, like a friend for whom I bought several of the first albums. He was a jazz pianist so you would think that he might appreciate improvisational piano playing. But jazz pianists don't use the pedal much so he thought of George's dreamy playing as cheating technically. Yup, he was a conservative and was unable to break the ties that seek to bind us. George was too different than what he was used to and he couldn't feel the beauty.

But for those whose heart operates outside of the rib cage, George takes The Doors music to places that it's never been before with the same wonderful ethereal melodies and pedal sustain that attract so many. The Crystal Ship, Spanish Caravan, Wishful Sinful, Summer's Almost Gone, I Can't See Your Face In My Mind and Bird of Prey are especially haunting--bittersweet and sad like only George can consistently deliver.

So, what prospective buyers need to do, is sort the reviews in order of best to worst. When you get to the beginning of the 3 star ratings, then read no more--the remainder of the reviewers don't "get it".