Toulouse Street

Rhino Records present the ORIGINAL ALBUM SERIES!
Its 5 classic Doobie Brothers albums packaged together as part of the Original Album Series.

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.

This one-man extravaganza finds John Fogerty plowing the same ground he worked with Creedence Clearwater Revival. This mix of originals and rock & roll classics finds him in fine voice, with the familiar vocal scream and hot guitars augmented in places by saxophones reminiscent of CCR's "Travelin' Band." Several of these songs rank with the top tier of Fogerty's Creedence material, particularly "The Wall," "Almost Saturday Night," and the anthemic "Rockin' All Over the World." He also delivers satisfying versions of Jackie Wilson's "Lonely Teardrops" and Frankie Ford's "Sea Cruise" (written by Huey "Piano" Smith). The closer, "Flyin' Away," could have come off the Doobie Brothers' Toulouse Street. This underappreciated album is worth checking out.

One would be hard-pressed to find a band more perfectly symbolic of the good-times politics-be-damned esprit de cannabis that symbolized a good chunk of 70's rock. While the Beach Boys were busy becoming an anachronism, the Doobs effectively took their mantle, fusing an array of musical Americana - be it blues, country, folk, or gospel - into a remarkably popular string of albums and radio hits by simply asking not much more of us than to "Listen to the Music." And if they didn't get much more controversial than to declare "Jesus Is Just Alright," well, that was kind of the point. This Rhino anthology is typically exhaustive. All the familiar radio hits are here, as well as a good sampling of deep catalog from the band's various line-ups, not to mention a few standout Tom Johnston and Patrick Simmons solo outings. Hardcore Doobie Bros. fans should be especially pleased by the fourth disc, which contains a wealth of outtakes and demos from the band's early '70s and '80s prime.

Wu Hen is the sophomore album from Peckham visionary Kamaal Williams an invitation to elevate to a higher state. Cinematic strings from Miguel-Atwood Ferguson and virtuoso saxophone from Quinn Mason are textural additions that make for a deeper, multi-layered experience than previous releases. Bringing groove back to the forefront, Wu Hen oscillates between celestial jazz, funk, rap and r&b reinforced with the rugged beat-heavy attitude of grime, jungle, house and garage – a self-styled fusion Kamaal describes as Wu Funk.