Tom Johnston's "Another Park, Another Sunday" was 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 No. 32. Record World said that it was "more melodic and easy-tempoed [than previous Doobie Brothers' hits], in tune with the pastoral weekend setting."[7]
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." Cash Box said that it was "very similar to their smash 'Listen To The Music'" and "features every lick the Doobies have featured in their great patented sound".[8]Record World said that the group was "back into their chuggin' folk-rock groove, fitting more easily into their 'Listen to the Music' bag".[9] That song did not have much success on the charts either, peaking at only No. 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 No. 1 hit.[10] "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 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.
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 and pandeiro on "Daughters of the Sea", 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"
^"Single Picks"(PDF). Record World. July 13, 1974. p. 12. Retrieved 2023-03-15.
^"Old Black Water Keep on Rollin': 30 Years of the Doobie Brothers". Long Train Runnin': The Doobie Brothers 1970 - 2000 (CD Booklet). Warner Bros. Records. 1999. p. 20. 75876.
^Templeman, Ted; Renoff, Greg (2020). Ted Templeman: A Platinum Producer's Life in Music. ECW Press. p. 179. ISBN978-1770414839.
^Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 92. ISBN0-646-11917-6.
^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.
