What Were Once Vices Are Now Habits

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
What Were Once Vices Are Now Habits
The Doobie Brothers - What Were Once Vices Are Now Habits.jpg
Studio album by
The Doobie Brothers
ReleasedFebruary 1, 1974
Recorded1973
StudioWarner Bros. Studios, North Hollywood, CA, Wally Heider Studios, San Francisco, CA, and Burbank Studios, Burbank, CA
GenreRock
Length44:29
LabelWarner Bros.
ProducerTed Templeman
The Doobie Brothers chronology
The Captain and Me
(1973) 		What Were Once Vices Are Now Habits
(1974) 		Stampede
(1975)
Singles from What Were Once Vices Are Now Habits
  1. "Another Park, Another Sunday" / "Black Water"
    Released: March 13, 1974
  2. "Eyes of Silver" / "You Just Can't Stop It"
    Released: June 26, 1974
  3. "Black Water" / "Song to See You Through"
    Released: November 15, 1974
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic3.5/5 stars[1]
Christgau's Record GuideC–[2]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music3/5 stars[3]
The Great Rock Discography6/10[4]
Rolling Stone(mixed)[5]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide2.5/5 stars[6]

What Were Once Vices Are Now Habits is the fourth studio album by American rock band The Doobie Brothers. The album was released on February 1, 1974, by Warner Bros. Records.

Recording and content[]

Tom Johnston's "Another Park, Another Sunday" was chosen to be the album's first single. "It's about losing a girl," stated Johnston. "I wrote the chords and played it on acoustic, and then Ted [Templeman] had some ideas for it, like running the acoustic guitar through a Leslie." The song did moderately well on the charts, peaking at #32.

The second single released was "Eyes of Silver", another Johnston penned tune. According to him, "Wordwise, that one really isn't that spectacular. I wrote them at the last minute." That song did not have much success on the charts either, peaking at only #52. Grasping for chart action, Warner Brothers re-released the band's first single, "Nobody", backed with Tiran Porter's instrumental "Flying Cloud". This release was soon overshadowed when radio stations discovered "Black Water". Other stations joined in and the song was officially released as a single that went on to sell over a million copies and became the Doobie Brothers' first #1 hit.[7] "Black Water" had been featured as the B-side of "Another Park, Another Sunday" eight months earlier.

Artwork[]

The unusual lettering on the album cover was suggested by drummer John Hartman after visiting his high school alma mater, J.E.B. Stuart in Falls Church, Virginia. The School's newspaper, Raiders Digest, had just changed its masthead to include those stylized fonts. The cover photo is by Dan Fong, their touring "Media Coordinator". The cover photo was taken at a live concert on December 4, 1973, at E.A. Diddle Arena, Western Kentucky University, Bowling Green, Kentucky. He also did the cover photo for their album Takin' It to the Streets.

Track listing[]

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Song to See You Through"Tom Johnston4:06
2."Spirit"Johnston3:15
3."Pursuit on 53rd St."Johnston2:33
4."Black Water"Patrick Simmons4:17
5."Eyes of Silver"Johnston2:57
6."Road Angel"John Hartman, Michael Hossack, Johnston, Tiran Porter4:49
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
7."You Just Can't Stop It"Simmons3:28
8."Tell Me What You Want (And I'll Give You What You Need)"Simmons3:53
9."Down in the Track"Johnston4:15
10."Another Park, Another Sunday"Johnston4:27
11."Daughters of the Sea"Simmons4:29
12."Flying Cloud"Porter2:00

Personnel[]

The Doobie Brothers:

Additional Musicians:

Production[]

  • Producer: Ted Templeman
  • Production Coordination: Benita Brazier, The Doobie Brothers
  • Engineer: Donn Landee, Lee Herschberg
  • Mastering: Lee Herschberg
  • Horn Arrangements: Andrew Love and Wayne Jackson with the Memphis Horns
  • Cover Design and Art Direction: Chas Barbour
  • Photography: Dan Fong

Charts[]

Album

Year Chart Position
1975 Pop Albums 4

Singles

Year Single Chart Position
1974 "Another Park, Another Sunday" U.S. Pop Singles 32
1974 "Another Park, Another Sunday"[9] Canada RPM Top Singles 33
1974 "Another Park, Another Sunday" Canada RPM Adult Contemporary 36
1974 "Another Park, Another Sunday"[10] New Zealand (Listener) 18
1974 "Eyes of Silver" U.S. Pop Singles 52
1975 "Black Water" U.S. Pop Singles 1

References[]

  1. ^ Bruce Eder. "What Were Once Vices Are Now Habits - The Doobie Brothers". AllMusic. Retrieved 2018-08-21.
  2. ^ Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: D". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved February 24, 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
  3. ^ Larkin, Colin (2007). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-0857125958.
  4. ^ Strong, Martin Charles (2002). "The Doobie Brothers". The Great Rock Discography. The National Academies. ISBN 1-84195-312-1.
  5. ^ Alan Nlester (1974-05-09). "The Doobie Brothers: What Were Once Vices Are Now Habits". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 2008-05-28. Retrieved 2018-08-21.
  6. ^ Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian, eds. (2004). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 253. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  7. ^ "Old Black Water Keep on Rollin': 30 Years of the Doobie Brothers". Long Train Runnin': The Doobie Brothers 1970 - 2000 (CD Booklet). The Doobie Brothers. Warner Bros. Records. 1999. p. 20. 75876.CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  8. ^ Templeman, Ted; Renoff, Greg (2020). Ted Templeman: A Platinum Producer’s Life in Music. ECW Press. p. 179.
  9. ^ RPM Top Singles, June 22, 1974
  10. ^ "flavour of new zealand - search listener". Flavourofnz.co.nz. Retrieved 2018-08-21.

Notes[]

  1. ^ Hossack left the band after recording his drum parts and was replaced by Knudsen. In spite of not actually playing drums on it, Knudsen was officially considered a full member for the album, being pictured along with the other Doobie Brothers on the cover, while Hossack was listed in the credits as a guest musician.
Retrieved from ""