1968 Folk Rock Classic, Ranked Among 'Greatest Songs of All Time,' Took 2 Years to Write
Some of the biggest hits in rock history were written in astonishingly short amounts of time. Warren Zevon's "Werewolves of London" was penned in just 15 minutes; Mungo Jerry's "In the Summertime" took only 10 minutes to write. Other classic tunes, however, were much longer in the making...like the iconic '60s track "Alone Again Or" by the highly influential psychedelic rock band Love.
Band member Bryan MacLean originally started writing "Alone Again Or" for Love's debut album, but he didn't end up finishing the track until the band was recording their third studio album, Forever Changes, during the summer of 1967, according to the 2001 book Arthur Lee: Alone Again Or.
As music journalist Andrew Hickey reported in his critically acclaimed 500 Songs podcast, what began as a folk song turned into something more layered and complex.
"Bryan started ‘Alone Again Or' as another one of his folk songs," guitarist Johnny Ecols said later.
"I started playing flamenco licks and flourishes in rehearsal, and it went from being a folk song to a Spanish-influenced song," he continued. "We changed the cadence of it. I was just noodling around, trying to find different things that would complement what Bryan was doing. I would always rearrange Bryan's songs, trying to add something so as to pull them away from sounding like show tunes. It had that Spanish feel, to me. There were probably two or three overdubs of mine where I'm playing inside the chords of that song."
Tensions arose in the studio during the recording of "Alone Again Or" when it was decided that MacLean's vocals were too "weak" and fellow band member Arthur Lee's vocals were raised in the mix, making his harmony the lead. Though he later accepted this decision, MacLean was furious at the time. Lee, for his part, wasn't happy with how the intro of "Alone Again Or" faded in. MacLean was more than pleased with the string arrangement on the song, however, later calling it "the happiest I ever was with anything we ever did as a band."
No matter how the members of Love felt about "Alone Again Or," the song - released as a single in January 1968 - went on to become not only one of their most famous tunes, but one of the most beloved classics of the era.
Included in both Rolling Stone and NME's "500 Greatest Songs of All Time" lists, the song has also been featured in multiple TV shows and movies, including Bottle Rocket, Sleepers, and Russian Doll, and has been covered by such bands and artists as The Damned, Sarah Brightman, Calexico, and Matthew Sweet and Susanna Hoffs.
Copyright 2026 The Arena Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved
This story was originally published May 27, 2026 at 9:38 PM.