Published on Feb 19, 2004
If you mention the Doobie Brothers to most people, their minds
will immediately race to a series of hits: “What A Fool Believes,”
“China Grove,” “Takin’ It To The Streets,” “Listen To The Music.”
You get the picture.
So
The Doobie Brothers, the 1971 debut effort from Patrick
Simmons and crew, might come as a shock to some people — after
all, it is undoubtedly the least-known album from the Doobies in
their pre-1980 career. It’s also not the easiest to find — at
least it wasn’t when I first bought my vinyl copy some years ago
from my local used record store.
The reason that this first album isn’t well-known isn’t because
the performances are bad. Maybe the problem is that the overall
feel is far too laid-back. When the Doobies were at their peak,
there was a bit of an edge to their music, most notably in the
performances. On this first outing, it almost feels like a warm
summer night — and that doesn’t work to a fledgling band’s
benefit.
Granted, had rock radio picked up on a song from this disc and
bludgeoned us to death with it for decades, we’d probably all
consider it to be manna from heaven. And arguments could easily be
made for songs like “Nobody” and “Travelin’ Man” in an effort to
help boost their status in the collection of well-known songs by
the Doobies.
But for the most part, the band — Simmons, Tom Johnston, Dave
Shogren and John Hartman — is captured as they continue to work on
just what their musical voice was going to be. On many songs, such
as “Greenwood Creek” and “Closer Every Day,” you can hear the
foundation being laid for their future success. But there is one
major thing lacking from these performances — namely, a sense of
urgency. It was almost as if it was enough for the band to have
gotten a chance to record an album, and they were going to do it in
their own style, popularity be damned.
I guess we should be thankful that the Doobies were able to
follow their hearts in that regard, but it doesn’t make the disc
any easier to get through. Again, it’s not that it’s bad, it’s just
that the gentle acoustic-driven rhythms tend to fade into one
another, making
The Doobie Brothers seem like one long adult-contemporary
song. It’s hard to keep focused on the music when it mish-mashes
like that, and that is the fatal flaw in this disc.
The Doobie Brothers would shortly hit the “Pick Six” in terms of
popularity, and their hits prove they were worth the accolades
heaped upon them. But
The Doobie Brothers showcases a band who wasn’t quite there
yet.