The Doobie Brothers

The first full-length LP I ever owned was "What Were Once Vices Are Now Habits"...I was 4 years old.

When I heard the funk guitar riff in the middle of Road Angel I wanted to play guitar...but since I didn't have one I grabbed an old tennis racket and danced around the house pretending I was rocking the house.

The Doobies were also the first band I ever saw in concert (UFO was the opening act)...I was 7.

It was around the same time that I discovered Kiss, so for awhile The Doobie Brothers were forgotten by me. But in my early teens I got all their albums at a local thrift store and immediately fell in love with the all over again. Sometimes I may go years without listening to them, but when I do all those memories come flooding back again.

Toulouse Street, The Captain And Me & What Were Once Vices Are Now Habits are damn near perfect albums. They had the talent to record an endless variety of styles (country-tinged rockers, hard rockers, bluegrass, folk, jazz, funk, etc). One of those bands that doesn't sound like ANYBODY but themselves. All of this guided by the production genius of Ted Templeman.

Once Michael McDonald came aboard their sound changed to more of a smooth R&B style...but there are still good songs to be found during that era as well.

Anyway, nostalgia plays a big part...but this band still immediately puts me in a good mood to this day. I can be depressed as hell, but if I hear Long Train Runnin' or Eyes Of Silver it's impossible not to smile.

Any other fans?

I've only got Stampede and Best Of The Doobies, which still aren't bad albums. This is one of those bands I've been meaning to check out more of their releases, but always forget to look for them at the CD stores.

Best Of The Doobies is a pretty solid collection, but I would recommend getting "Vices" because I think only Black Water is duplicated on Best Of and that entire album is fantastic...easily their most solid release.

All I remember about the Doobie Bros. is when they appeared on "Good Times" (!) when I was a kid. Roger asked one of'em "Which Doobie you be?"

I have Toulouse Street, What Are Once Vices Are Now Habits and Captain And Me. All three are great albums and as far as the McDonald era there are a lot of good songs but I have to be in the mood for that era. When I need a Doobie fix I usually reach for the aforementioned three albums. Long Train Runnin' is my fave...hmmm, I thing I'll listen to all three albums right now.

I catch the Doobies alot being they play alot here in No. Calif.

Don't care much for the Mc Donald years, though like mentioned, good tunes here and there.

They put on a great show and are very tight onstage. They have alot of fun playing and that is something missing in alot of today's ccokie cutter programs.

James B. wrote:

I catch the Doobies alot being they play alot here in No. Calif.

Don't care much for the Mc Donald years, though like mentioned, good tunes here and there.

They put on a great show and are very tight onstage. They have alot of fun playing and that is something missing in alot of today's ccokie cutter programs.

My feelings exactly.

detuned wrote:

Best Of The Doobies is a pretty solid collection, but I would recommend getting "Vices" because I think only Black Water is duplicated on Best Of and that entire album is fantastic...easily their most solid release.

Next time I have the chance to buy, I'll get it!

I just bought "What Were Once Vices Are Now Habits" and "Takin it to the Streets" on Friday and I can't stop listening to them. I've had their first album for awhile and it is awesome mainly because it doesn't contain any "hits", but that doesn't mean that I don't love their hits because I do. I also have the 2 best of comps from 76 and 81, and a comp called "Doobies Choice", where all the songs are entirely picked by the band members. It's nice to hear the songs that the band member like rather than China Grove and What a Fool Believes, though I do love those songs, but you know what I mean. I guess what I'm trying to say is that the Doobie Brothers are a fantastic band.

I always thought it was interesting that the Doobies ended up with Jeff "Skunk" Baxter & Michael McDonald in the band...because both had been recording with Steely Dan (who didn't tour) prior to joining. The stylistic shift on "Takin' It To The Streets" definitely has a little bit of a Steely Dan vibe to it.

Fat Freddy wrote:

All I remember about the Doobie Bros. is when they appeared on "Good Times" (!) when I was a kid. Roger asked one of'em "Which Doobie you be?"

I think you meant 'What's Happenin', not Good Times. That was the classic 2 part episode where Rerun got busted by the band for trying to bootleg the concert the Doobies were playing in their high school gymnasium.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDuW2rgbsD4&feature=PlayList&p=BBBF69A1A51175D3&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=50

MetalGuy71 wrote:

Fat Freddy wrote:

All I remember about the Doobie Bros. is when they appeared on "Good Times" (!) when I was a kid. Roger asked one of'em "Which Doobie you be?"

I think you meant 'What's Happenin', not Good Times. That was the classic 2 part episode where Rerun got busted by the band for trying to bootleg the concert the Doobies were playing in their high school gymnasium.

My bad, I did indeed mean "What's Happenin'," not "Good Times." Sorry. Been a while since I've seen either show.

detuned wrote:

I always thought it was interesting that the Doobies ended up with Jeff "Skunk" Baxter & Michael McDonald in the band...because both had been recording with Steely Dan (who didn't tour) prior to joining. The stylistic shift on "Takin' It To The Streets" definitely has a little bit of a Steely Dan vibe to it.

It definitely does have a Steely Dan vibe, not there is anything wrong with that. to quote Seinfeld.

Steely Dan is one of my all-time favorites, so I'm not complaining.

I remember playing the heck out of my "Best of the Doobies" cassette. I have since,of course, replaced it on CD. I still play it frequently... the songs on this complilation are unbeatable. I took a bit of heat back in the 80's from some of my friends who found them definitely low on the coolness-scale. I didn't care then, and don't care know. The Doobies could write good, solid songs. Period.

There's these two kids I hang out with that just smoke weed all the time, while the rest of us drink. We call them the Doobie Brothers.

They were definitely one of the ten or so bands that formed my tastes as a teenager. Unfortunately like a lot of that stuff it's just gotten played out for me over the years. Nowadays though I still like Doobie influenced stuff that I didn't overplay quite as much, such as Jo Jo Gunne etc.

Isn't China Grove in a movie or something?

SAHB Healer wrote:

They were definitely one of the ten or so bands that formed my tastes as a teenager. Unfortunately like a lot of that stuff it's just gotten played out for me over the years. Nowadays though I still like Doobie influenced stuff that I didn't overplay quite as much, such as Jo Jo Gunne etc.

That's why I tend to stay away from the greatest hits collections and listen to the "album tracks" for the most part. I can't stand listening to "China Grove" anymore...but songs like "The Captain And Me" are still awesome.

If you were to listen to the rest of the album that each song from the best of Vol. 1 was compiled from, you'd be digging it alot. Very versatile band with alot of depth.

THe Tom Johnston era was the Doobie Brothers!

I had their best of once... Great music for a BBQ or driving.

I was actually going to start a thread on the Doobies a long time ago, so I'm glad Detuned started one. I have a father who was a huge Doo-Wop/R&B fan. He wasn't a huge Rock N' Roll guy, but he had his moments, with the likes of Chicago (early stuff), Steely Dan, & of course the Doobie Brothers. As his son, I idolized him, and because of that, I appreciated things that he appreciated. One of those things I appreciated, was his love of music.

My first concert ever was the Doobie Brothers in 1983, on their farewell tour. My Father had two customers cancel on him, so he took our next door neighbor Herb, and a very appreciative 12 year old. I can't say that I remember most of the nuances that encapsulated that night. Though, I do remember my Mother pointing out what that certain smell was that was in the air. I also remember Patrick Simmons changing the lyrics to "Black Water", and singing "Indianapolis moon won't you keep on shining on me" (though I'm sure this happened in every town). More than anything, I remember the power of live music, and the effect that it had on me for the rest of my life.

They were hit or miss for me, the Michael McDonald era I did not like they were to soulful.

Wargod50

They're doing a show with Allman Brothers called BroFest.