You Make Me Real / The Spy

The single under review is the UK pressing of You Make Me Real / The Spy, released on Elektra Records in 1970 under catalog number 2101 004. This is a 7-inch single pressed and distributed for the British market, with "You Make Me Real" on the A-side and "The Spy" on the B-side. Both tracks are drawn from the Morrison Hotel LP, released earlier that same year. The 2101 004 catalog number places it squarely within Elektra's UK singles run of that era, and it should not be confused with the concurrent US pressing, which carried a different catalog number entirely.

The physical presentation of this UK single is consistent with Elektra's standard 7-inch production for the British market in 1970. The label itself typically features the Elektra butterfly design in the red and black colorway used during this transitional period in the label's visual identity. The typography on the label is clean and period-correct, with the track titles, artist name, and catalog number laid out in the utilitarian style common to UK pressings of the era. There is no picture sleeve documented for this pressing; it would have shipped in a plain company sleeve or a generic Elektra house sleeve, which is consistent with how many of the band's UK singles were distributed at the time. Collectors looking for an example in fully original condition should be watching for the company sleeve as well, since finding both together adds to the completeness of the piece. The vinyl itself, when found in strong condition, holds up well given its age, though copies have had over five decades to accumulate wear. Surface noise is a practical concern on most surviving copies, so grading is important when buying blind. The pressing weight and quality are in line with what Elektra was producing for the UK market at this time, generally regarded as solid if not audiophile-grade. There are no inserts, lyric sheets, or additional materials associated with this release. What you have is the disc and whatever sleeve it was originally paired with, nothing more.

What makes this specific release worth tracking down for a serious collection is its regional identity. The UK market received a number of Doors singles that were configured differently from their American counterparts, and the Elektra 2101 004 pressing is one of the more focused examples of that. "You Make Me Real" was a reasonable commercial choice for an A-side, a driving, bluesy track from Morrison Hotel that showed the band in a leaner, more raw mode than some of their earlier psychedelic work. Pairing it with "The Spy," one of the more atmospheric and slow-burning cuts from that same album, gave UK listeners a solid two-sided representation of where the band was at in early 1970. For context on how the band's UK singles catalogue developed over the years, it's useful to compare this pressing against earlier UK seven-inches like Light My Fire / People Are Strange and Love Me Two Times / Moonlight Drive, which chart the evolution of Elektra's approach to the band's UK single releases across different years and label configurations. The Discogs data for this pressing currently shows 34 collectors marking it as owned and 57 with it on their want list, a want-to-have ratio that signals genuine collector demand and limited supply in the open market. That gap between haves and wants is meaningful; it suggests copies don't turn up frequently enough to satisfy the existing collector base. This is not a pressing that appears at every record fair or in every online lot. Compared to the US single equivalent or the album version, this specific UK configuration on 2101 004 occupies its own distinct slot in a Doors discography. Collectors building a comprehensive run of UK Doors singles will also want to cross-reference Love Her Madly / You Need Meat, which followed later in the UK singles sequence. The LA Woman HMV Collection offers a later-era UK market perspective for those mapping out the full arc of the band's British releases.

This is a legitimate piece of the Doors UK singles discography and worth acquiring for any collector building a thorough regional run. The want-to-have ratio on Discogs reflects real scarcity; copies in VG or better condition are not easy to find. It is not a casual pickup, but for collectors focused on UK pressings or Morrison Hotel-era material specifically, the Elektra 2101 004 pressing of You Make Me Real / The Spy is a worthwhile and genuinely uncommon addition.