The Doors, a band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1965, released two LPs in quick succession in 1967. The overwhelming success of their debut album prompted the band, under pressure from their record company Elektra Records, to record a second album as quickly as possible, which was released as Stange Days just eight months later in September 1967. Fortunately, there was plenty of song material, as most of it had already been written in 1965/66. Until Jim Morrison's death in 1971, the legendary rock band consisted of Jim Morrison (voc), Ray Manzarek (keyb, p), Robby Krieger (g) and John Densmore (dr). They were supported on the recordings by bassist Doug Lubahn, producer Paul A. Rothchild and a state-of-the-art 8-track tape recorder. This allowed them to present a more sophisticated and spacious sound, as well as new and unusual elements, some of which were created using clever production tricks.

By expanding their musical spectrum with more complex arrangements and timbres that were more experimental and psychedelic, they reinforced the bizarre and melancholic atmosphere of the LP. The Doors were thus the dark and ominous counterpoint to the sunny Californian L.A. sound of the 1960s. Also visually supported by the strange album cover photographed by Joel Brodsky, featuring a group of street artists in New York. Initially, the album flopped, but with growing fame it eventually achieved platinum status, albeit long after the band had moved on to other projects.

The German first pressing, with a very limited run of only 2000 copies, is considered the rarest edition of this album and is a highly sought-after collector's item worldwide.