The CD version of course...back cover not a faithful reproduction of the original LP back cover. Typical!

The Doobie Brothers/ Record Lable .(The Best Of The Doobie Brothers )

Lots-o-Grooves ...No one woke up in the morning and said to themselves “I wanna play some Doobie Brothers today.” The event just happened with your fingers stumbling across your record collection, ending in one of those ah-ha moments, with the record nearly finding its own way into your hands. Or perhaps more appropriately, as featured on the cover, they were a jukebox selection while waiting on a slice of pizza, or endlessly played on 8-track by the friend of a friend in a Steve Miller muscle shirt during a beer run.Regardless of when I heard The Doobie Brothers, they always brought a smile to my face, and never more so than with this compilation, as it’s far more solid, relentless, and delivers one great song after another than any of their stand alone albums. Even today no one pays much attention to the Doobies, even though they were a solid band of knowledgeable musicians with the likes of Jeff ‘Skunk’ Baxter rising out of Steely Dan, and then there’s singer Michael McDonald who also laid down great vocals for Steely Dan, while the rest of the band had a superb musical foundation riding under their belts as well. That being said, there’s nearly no one who can even hear the name Doobie Brothers without cracking-up, as the band’s name was a flat-out reference to marijuana, with the band and any of the songs from this release being perfectly suited for a Bambu Rolling Paper commercial run on late night UHF television. It wasn’t that the Doobies were silly, they were simply in and of their time, complete with super long hair, short leather jackets, wide bottom bellbottom pants [with the joke being, “these are your pants, and those are your pants on drugs”], and that all shouted good times, with The Doobies epitomizing the hazy joy of being a stoner and alive in the 1970’s.The 70’s were an era where the music wasn’t taken so seriously, it had become a commodity with the rise of malls, and each containing no less than four record stores, music was no longer revered or held with spiritual value, it was mostly about second and third tier bands who would never have seen the light of day during the heady ’60’s, but were now everywhere … BTO, Grand Funk, REO, Dr. Hook, and on and on. Regardless tracks such as “China Grove,” “Takin’ It To The Streets,” “Black Water,” and “Take Me In Your Arms” were defining moments for any warm summer night as hot seeds popped from joints burning holes in the back seats of cars and couches all across America.There are those, and rightly so, who divide the career of The Doobies into two sections, though with that being said, it’s easy to draw good material from across the board to fill a delightful compilation. Though all and all, at the end of the day perhaps The Doobie Brothers were too eclectic for their own good, perhaps they sought to embrace too much in an attempt to create an all encompassing defining sound. Nevertheless, to that end, their sound is instantly recognizable, washed with stunningly tight guitar work, super harmonies, and an attitude that came at listeners head on … yes, The Doobies were a meat and potatoes band, no vegetables, and nothing fancy for dessert, perhaps just jello slurped straight from the bowl, no spoon needed.So yeah, if you think I’m not gonna drop this album onto my turntable, pops, crackles and all, you’re surely mistaken, because even forty years out, there’s nothing that brings summer around the corner faster than a hit of The Doobie Brothers.

A greatest hits, with all great hits. Very rare indeed!