About a thousand years ago, when I had long hair and had a little band
of my own, I was cranking up the doobies almost all the time. Fortunately,
we had a large house with few neighbors, so I was allowed by my folks to
just tear up the hill with my music. While playing cover tunes, the
doobies were not usually included with our material because of the complexities
and quality of the vocal arrangements. We knew we could not do the
songs justice so we didn't even bother to try except for one from the M.D.era.
One night my dad came down to the basement (our rock-n-roll sanctuary)
to listen to us. He often commented on the lead guitar parts and
referred to them as "that zithery guitar shit." He often said
the same with the doobies recordings too. (No accounting for taste)
At that point I was quick to point out the harmonies and the vocal qualities
that were more than obvious in the doobies recordings. While not
being an easy person to convince, he did agree with me and said "ya you
are right! (for a change) Those guys really can sing!." While the
Rock and Roll component (zithery guitar shit) is most likely a generational
difference, the harmonies will live on forever and for any generation.
There is no mistake when it comes to "perfect" harmonies. While S.R.
may not have quite as much of the kick (zithery guitar shit), the
talents of these men are on a pedestal on this album. Each man is
for himself and put under the spotlight. The album is outstanding
in my opinion. Earlier I was complaining that my copy had not arrived,
but after buying it at the store because I was tired of waiting, I loaded
it into my real jukebox and decided to put my copy in my dads car without
him noticing. When I opened the glove box of his hot little BMW, two other
Doobie Brothers cd's fell out! Maybe it is just a pride thing, but
my dad finally came around! Now he has the new cd! I can now
endure until my mail order cd arrives. I like all phases of the doobies
and although change can be tough sometimes, the doobs have never
let me down yet. If you question this new cd now, wait a week and
then you will begin question yourself! A special thanks to the Brothers
for another solid performer in wonderful world of music. We will
never forget you and you obviously never forgot us! Glenn
