The Doobie Brothers – The Very Best Of

The Doobie Brothers – The Very Best Of / 2007 Warner Bros / 33 Tracks / http://www.rhino.com / Reviewed 11 March 2007

Listen to this mammoth two-discs set has shown me that I knew a lot of Doobie Brothers songs, even if I did not know who was playing them at the time. Case in point: “Listen to the Music’ and “Jesus Is Just Alright”. They are rare tracks in the sense that they are classics, played accordingly, and I can still somewhat dig what they are doing. Each of the songs on “The Very Best Of” sound more fresh and pop in listener’s ears.

Perhaps it is just listening to the tracks on radio for so many years, but having the chance to listen to these CDs should inspire listeners to listen in. Another strength of the tracks on this album have to be the fact that the radio technology has not had the chance to shorten the tracks (for those that do not know, most radio stations run tracks through a programs to squeeze a few more seconds out of the songs by cutting out silences). For bands would be able to start an album with such a four-track salvo (Listen to the Music, Jesus is Just Alright, Rockin’ Down The Highway, and Long Train Runnin’). The Doobie Brothers do just that with this album, and there are still 29 other tracks for individuals to remember and dig.

Songs like “China Grove” may not be as big as the prior tracks, but individuals can probably still dredge up the track if they listened to classic rock radio for a day. The prevalence of The Doobie Brothers in the fabric of rock music is really shown by this two-disc set, which makes any further purchases (beyond the original albums that the songs appeared on) extraneous. The only thing that I could see The Doobie Brothers or Rhino doing in the next few years would be to start releasing albums a la The Grateful Dead of live shows from their heyday. Should The Doobie Brothers re-release (remaster) the original albums, the one thing I could see them doing would be to add session outtakes and other versions of tracks, like the Ramones did for their first few albums. For those individuals that are on a budget and want to get a Doobie Brothers fix, “The Very Best of The Doobie Brothers” should be a definite pick-up. For individuals looking to get the next generation of fans into the band, this set would be a very smart purchase.

Top Tracks: Long Train Runnin’, Here To Love You

Rating: 6.2/10

[JMcQ]