Alone Again Or Lyrics

"Alone Again Or" Single by Love from the album Forever Changes B-side "A House Is Not A Motel" (USA) "Bummer In The Summer" (elsewhere) Released January 1968 Format 7" Recorded Los Angeles, June-September 1967 Genre Psychedelic rock, baroque pop Length 2:49 (edited single version) Label Elektra EK 45629 (USA) EKSN 45024 (UK) Writer(s) Bryan MacLean Producer Bruce Botnick and Arthur Lee "Alone Again Or" is a song originally recorded in 1967 by Love, the psychedelic folk-rock baroque-pop band from Los Angeles, USA. It was written by band member Bryan MacLean. It was the opening track on the classic album Forever Changes, and was also released as a single in the USA, UK, Australia, France and Holland. Bryan MacLean originally wrote the song, then called simply "Alone Again", in 1965 for Love's debut album. However, he did not complete it until the recording of Forever Changes in summer 1967. The song was inspired by his memory of waiting for a girlfriend, and the melody drew on Sergei Prokofiev's Lieutenant Kije Suite by a.o. [album artist=sergei prokofiev]Alexander Nevsky . The essence of the song is the contrast between the positivity of the tune and the bleakness of the lyrics, with the chorus "And I will be alone again tonight, my dear." For the recording session, arranger David Angel worked with MacLean, and they added a string section and a horn part for a mariachi band who co-producer Bruce Botnick had recently used on a Tijuana Brass album. MacLean later said "That was the happiest I ever was with anything we ever did as a band - the orchestral arrangement of that song". However, Botnick, with co-producer and band leader Arthur Lee, remixed the track to bring Lee's own harmony vocal to the forefront of the song, at least partly on the grounds that MacLean's own vocal lead was too weak. Lee also added to the mystery of the song by changing the title to "Alone Again Or". Released as a single at the beginning of 1968, "Alone Again Or" reached #99 on the US Billboard pop charts. Over the years it has become regarded as a classic of the era, being ranked #436 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. The song has been featured in several motion pictures, most notably two in 1996: Bottle Rocket and Sleepers. Versions have subsequently been recorded by an eclectic variety of bands and singers including The Damned (1987), UFO (1977), Sarah Brightman (1990), The Boo Radleys (1991), Chris Pérez Band (1999), Calexico (2004), Matthew Sweet and Susanna Hoffs (2006), Les Fradkin (2007). Two demo versions by MacLean himself were released in 1997 on his album Ifyoubelievein