Number of Discs1
Additional informationThe Doobie Brothers includes: Patrick Simmons (vocals, guitar, banjo, flute, synthesizer); Tom Johnston (vocals, guitar, harmonica, piano, synthesizer); Michael McDonald (vocals, keyboards, synthesizer); John McFee (guitar, background vocals); Jeff "Skunk" Baxter (guitar); Cornelius Bumpus (soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone, organ, background vocals); Chet McCracken (vibraphone, marimba, drums); Tiren Porter (bass, background vocals); Michael Hossack (drums, congas, timbales, percussion); Keith Knudsen (drums, percussion, background vocals); John Hartman (drums, percussion); Bobby LaKind (percussion, background vocals). Additional personnel includes: Arlo Guthrie (autoharp); The Memphis Horns (horns); Victor Feldman (marimba, percussion). Producers include: Ted Templeman, Lenny Waronker, Rodney Mills. Compilation producers: The Doobie Brothers, Gary Peterson, David McLees. Includes liner notes by Barry Alfonso. All tracks have been digitally remastered. Apart from the four-disc Rhino box and an import collection, there was no comprehensive Doobie Brothers collection spanning the Tom Johnston and Michael McDonald eras alike until Rhino's 2001 collection, Greatest Hits. This, needless to say, is a welcome development, since it does have all the big songs, from "Listen to the Music" and "China Grove" through "Takin' It to the Streets" and "What a Fool Believes" to their reunion single, "The Doctor," providing an excellent introduction-cum-summary of one of the most popular singles-oriented pop/rock bands of the '70s. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine