The Doors Forum

I’m not sure if these can be answered, but I wanted to ask about a couple of Love's 45s…

Why was a single made of “Stephanie Knows Who”, but then withdrawn in favor of “She Comes In Colors”? Also, why was “Hey Joe” used for the b-side of the “Que Vida!” single, as opposed to another track from “Da Capo”?

BallroomDays67 wrote:I’m not sure if these can be answered, but I wanted to ask about a couple of Love's 45s…

Why was a single made of “Stephanie Knows Who”, but then withdrawn in favor of “She Comes In Colors”? Also, why was “Hey Joe” used for the b-side of the “Que Vida!” single, as opposed to another track from “Da Capo”?

Jac Holtzman, in his infinite wisdom, made those decisions.... mostly without our input! She Comes in Colors, was receiving a lot of airplay, and seemed to be the more commercially viable choice. I liked Stephanie Knows Who much better, It was one of the first, if not [the] first "Jazz fusion" singles. JE.

I love both songs, but "Stephanie Knows Who" would seem to be the better choice to capitalize on the success of "Seven & Seven Is." Why was "Seven & Seven Is" initially offered to another band when it had such hit potential?

BallroomDays67 wrote:I love both songs, but "Stephanie Knows Who" would seem to be the better choice to capitalize on the success of "Seven & Seven Is." Why was "Seven & Seven Is" initially offered to another band when it had such hit potential?

That was Arthur's trip, so I have no really good answer. Though I will say, it would have sounded totally different. The vibrato, the distorted sliding bass, the bluesy ending, were not part of the original song. In fact the ending was a completely different song, I had written years before. A take off of Santo and Johnny's "Sleepwalk." I had planned on us recording a full version, for one of our albums, until it became incorporated into Seven and Seven is. JE.

I can't imagine a better arrangement of that song, including the ending, although The Sons of Adam did a terrific job with "Feathered Fish." Did Love cut a demo of "Feathered Fish." If so, did it sound similar to the Sons of Adam version?

BallroomDays67 wrote:I can't imagine a better arrangement of that song, including the ending, although The Sons of Adam did a terrific job with "Feathered Fish." Did Love cut a demo of "Feathered Fish." If so, did it sound similar to the Sons of Adam version?

We did play "Feathered Fish" but I don't recall doing a demo. It sounded pretty close, though there were some differences. Their version was cool. JE.

What was the reaction to the choice of "Alone Again Or" as the a-side of the single from "Forever Changes"? Was it a surprise? Prior to its release, was there another track that was assumed would be the hit single? Was Arthur as upset about the choice as has been portrayed? Was there any discussion about issuing an additional single from "Forever Changes"?

BallroomDays67 wrote:What was the reaction to the choice of "Alone Again Or" as the a-side of the single from "Forever Changes"? Was it a surprise? Prior to its release, was there another track that was assumed would be the hit single? Was Arthur as upset about the choice as has been portrayed? Was there any discussion about issuing an additional single from "Forever Changes"?

All of us felt that Alone Again, had the most commercial potential of any of the possible choices. Arthur never expressed any negative feelings to me, concerning It being a single. He certainly didn't have any problems making his feelings known. There were other releases considered, but over the years "Forever Changes" has had so many different incarnations, I can't recall which ones were chosen, back then. Though I do believe there is a promotional poster on my Facebook site, for A House is not a Motel single. JE.