Ray Manzarek
Marxophone Solo on
Alabama Song

About

Ray Manzarek's Marxophone solo is the sole improvisation on the band's cover of Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht's "Alabama Song" from The Doors' 1967 self-titled debut album. The Marxophone—a fretless zither played with metal hammers that produce a distinctive tremolo effect—brings an unusual, period-appropriate timbre to this adaptation of the 1930 theatrical number. Manzarek's unconventional instrument choice connects to the song's Weimar-era cabaret origins while filtering it through The Doors' psychedelic sensibility. The solo unfolds at 117 BPM in F with a rock feel, lending the arrangement an exotic, theatrical quality.

Ray Manzarek was 26 to 27 years old at the time.