Doobie Brothers The Doobie Brothers

Out on the road in the 2020s, the Doobie Brothers feature Michael McDonald, but when it comes time for the group to cut a record, the band whittles down to the trio of Tom Johnston, Patrick Simmons, and John McFee. Naturally, this means Liberté – the Doobies' first album of new original material since 2010's World Gone Crazy – sounds closer to a refurbished version of Toulouse Street or The Captain and Me than Takin' It to the Streets; there's no funky soft rock or smooth blue-eyed soul, just a lot of straight-ahead rock & roll. While Liberté may be old-fashioned in its aesthetic, this trio of Doobies take pains to make the album sound contemporary, dressing it in glassy production, generously adding electronic rhythms, and vaguely addressing the turmoil in the modern world. All this flair may announce Liberté as a 2021 album, but the record works because the Doobies remain dedicated to the rocking boogie they've been playing for 50 years.

"Let The Music Play" is the authorized story of The Doobie Brothers from their beginnings as a biker band in California in 1970, through their breakthrough with "Listen To The Music" in 1972, sustained success and line-up changes in the mid-seventies and their change of musical direction and further success following the arrival of Michael McDonald in 1976…

One Step Closer is the ninth studio album by American rock band the Doobie Brothers. The album was released on September 17, 1980, by Warner Bros. Records. The album included the hit "Real Love", which reached #5 on the Billboard Hot 100. This album is the band's last studio album with Michael McDonald in the lineup until 2014's Southbound, and also the first studio album to feature John McFee as a member of the band.

The group's first album with Michael McDonald marked a shift to a more mellow and self-consciously soulful sound for the Doobies, not all that different from what happened to Steely Dan - whence McDonald (and Jeff Baxter) had come - between, say, Can't Buy a Thrill and Pretzel Logic. They showed an ability to expand on the lyricism of Patrick Simmons and Baxter's writing on "Wheels of Fortune," while the title track introduced McDonald's white funk sound cold to their output, successfully. Simmons' "8th Avenue Shuffle" vaguely recalled "Black Water," only with an urban theme and a more self-consciously soul sound (with extraordinarily beautiful choruses and a thick, rippling guitar break). "Rio" and "It Keeps You Runnin'" both manage to sound like Steely Dan tracks - and that's a compliment - while Tiran Porter's hauntingly beautiful "For Someone Special" was a pure soul classic right in the midst of all of these higher-energy pieces…

The Doobie Brothers' third long-player was the charm, their most substantial and consistent album to date, and one that rode the charts for a year. It was also a study in contrasts, Tom Johnston's harder-edged, bolder rocking numbers balanced by Patrick Simmons' more laid-back country-rock ballad style. The leadoff track, Johnston's "Natural Thing," melded the two, opening with interlocking guitars and showcasing the band's exquisite soaring harmonies around a beautiful melody, all wrapped up in a midtempo beat - the result was somewhere midway between Allman Brothers-style virtuosity and Eagles/Crosby & Nash-type lyricism, which defined this period in the Doobies' history and gave them a well-deserved lock on the top of the charts…

The Doobie Brothers’ illustrious career is marked by a string of hits, two of which, “Sweet Maxine” and “Take Me In Your Arms (Rock Me),” are included here. But Stampede offers much more. In terms of musical dexterity, the 1975 set stands as the group’s peak studio moment.
With ex-Steely Dan guitarist Jeff “Skunk” Baxter finally a full-time member of the band, the California quintet steps up everything from the arrangements to the songwriting. The group also invited several distinguished guests along for the ride: Vocalist Maria Muldaur, soul legend Curtis Mayfield, slide guitarist Ry Cooder, and jazz hand Victor Feldman among them. The results are as good on record as they appear on paper…