What Were Once Vices Are Now Habits

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.

What Were Once Vices Are Now Habits
Studio album by The Doobie Brothers
Released	February 1, 1974
Recorded	1973 at Warner Bros. Studios, North Hollywood, CA, Wally Heider Studios, San Francisco, CA, and Burbank Studios, Burbank, CA
Genre	Rock
Length	44:29
Label	Warner Bros.
Producer	Ted 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
"Another Park, Another Sunday" / "Black Water" Released: March 13, 1974 "Eyes of Silver" / "You Just Can't Stop It" Released: June 26, 1974 "Black Water" / "Song to See You Through" Released: November 15, 1974

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Christgau's Record Guide	C–[2]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[3]
The Great Rock Discography	6/10[4]
Rolling Stone	(mixed)[5]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[6]

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 didn't 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.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Song to See You Through"	Tom Johnston	4:06
2.	"Spirit"	Johnston	3:15
3.	"Pursuit on 53rd St."	Johnston	2:33
4.	"Black Water"	Patrick Simmons	4:17
5.	"Eyes of Silver"	Johnston	2:57
6.	"Road Angel"	John Hartman, Michael Hossack, Johnston, Tiran Porter, Simmons	4:49

Side two

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
7.	"You Just Can't Stop It"	Simmons	3:28
8.	"Tell Me What You Want (And I'll Give You What You Need)"	Simmons	3:53
9.	"Down in the Track"	Johnston	4:15
10.	"Another Park, Another Sunday"	Johnston	4:27
11.	"Daughters of the Sea"	Simmons	4:29
12.	"Flying Cloud"	Porter	2:00

Personnel

The Doobie Brothers:

• Tom Johnston – acoustic and electric guitars, lead and backing vocals
• Patrick Simmons – acoustic and electric guitars, lead and backing vocals
• Tiran Porter – bass, backing vocals
• John (Little John) Hartman – drums
• Michael Hossack – drums

Additional Musicians:

• Keith Knudsen – backing vocals
• Jeff "Skunk" Baxter – pedal steel guitar on "Tell Me What You Want"
• Bill Payne – organ on "Song to See You Through" and "Eyes of Silver", piano on "Pursuit on 53rd St.", clavinet on "You Just Can't Stop It", synthesizer on "Flying Cloud"
• James Booker – piano on "Down In The Track"
• Arlo Guthrie – autoharp on "Black Water", harmonica
• Eddie Guzman – congas on "Road Angel", "You Just Can't Stop It" and "Daughters of the Sea", timbales on "Daughters of the Sea", and various other percussion instruments
• Milt Holland – tabla on "Tell Me What You Want", vibraphone on "Black Water", "Tell Me What You Want" and "Another Park, Another Sunday", marimba on "Daughters of the Sea", pandeiro, and various other percussion instruments
• The Memphis Horns - horns on "Song to See You Through", "Eyes of Silver" and "You Just Can't Stop It"
  • Wayne Jackson – trumpet
  • Andrew Love – tenor saxophone
  • James Mitchell – baritone saxophone
  • Jack Hale – trombone
• Novi Novog – viola on "Spirit" and "Black Water"
• Ted Templeman – additional percussion

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"[8]	Canada RPM Top Singles	33
1974	"Another Park, Another Sunday"	Canada RPM Adult Contemporary	36
1974	"Another Park, Another Sunday"[9]	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). 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 (link)
8. RPM Top Singles, June 22, 1974
9. "flavour of new zealand - search listener". Flavourofnz.co.nz. Retrieved 2018-08-21.