A Night out with Jim Morrison

Burn Down the Night by Craig Kee Strete
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Have you ever wondered what it was like to be part of the Rock and Roll party scene in the 60’s and 70’s? This is when Rock and Roll was just emerging and the parties were excessively wild. Filled with revels of late night parties at Venice Beach, excessive drug use and very free sex. Author , Craig Kee Street , takes us into the heart of the bitch Goddess Los Angeles in what I think is his fictitious romp with Jim Morrison, perhaps before he became the lead singer for the doors.

Stete captures the essence of Jim Morrison perfectly in this work. Written in first person, Craig bumps into Jim while trying to hit on some chick at a party in Venice Beach California. Jim just sort of appears speaking in rhymes an stealing Strete’s girl. The two later on wander off to the beach,drive Craig’s car to the Valley. Picking up two girls, on e fat and one pretty, they romp and head off of another party . Craig passes out in the bushes only to be awakened by a poodle pissing on him.

Craig later on goes into his background, growing up as an adopted child who is soon no longer wanted as his adoptive parents sire their own child and leave him neglected. Drifting into a life of crime, Craig later on ends up killing someone in a break in. A rock and roll band takes him. Working as a roadie he ends up in California.. The work keeps him out at nights where he gets to party and fool around all without his girl even knowing. Several times they get together write poems, pick up on women and take mass amounts of drugs..Their trips take them to Rock and Roll shows, getting drunk with married women in a cemetery.

Not only capturing Jim’s essence rather well but also giving incite into the party scene of the sixties. It was a free for all love in at several parties with hippies mixing in with gang members. Violence is a plenty as jealous boyfriends threaten to pulverize their womens for fooling around behind their back.. Lots of fights , trashed houses and women getting beat up. Most of the violent scene involve someone literally getting their head smashed in against pavement. I am not sure if such violence occurred regularly at parties but then hey was not there. The end is tragically sad , a warning against infideleity.

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