The Doobie Brothers Are Still Runnin’ Strong

The Doobie Brothers are back with new music. After having listened to Liberté a few times, I find there is much to like about the band’s 15th studio album, their first with all new original tunes since World Gone Crazy from September 2010. Their most recent studio release Southbound, which appeared in November 2014, featured remakes of their biggest hits and some other songs recorded in collaboration with artists like Zac Brown Band, Toby Keith and Huey Lewis and Brad Paisley.

Released on October 1, Liberté was produced by John Shanks who has worked with a broad array of artists, such as Bonnie Raitt, Sheryl Crow, Stevie Nicks, Bon Jovi and Melissa Etheridge. Shanks also co-wrote all of the 12 tunes with either Tom Johnston (guitar, harmonica, vocals) or Patrick Simmons (guitar, banjo, flute, vocals), who co-founded the Doobies in San Jose, Calif. in 1970, together with Dave Shogren (bass, keyboards, guitar, backing vocals) and John Hartman (drums, percussion, backing vocals).

The Doobie Brothers (from left): Michael McDonald, Patrick Simmons, Tom Johnston and John McFee

The Doobie Brothers’ other core members are John McFee (guitar, pedal steel, violin, harmonica, banjo, mandolin, backing vocals), who has been part of the line-up since 1979, and Michael McDonald (keyboards, synthesizers, vocals), who has been and off since he first joined in 1975. McDonald was not involved in recording Liberté. He rejoined the Doobies in November 2019 ahead of their planned 50th anniversary tour in 2020. It was postponed due to the COVID pandemic and finally kicked off on August 22 in Des Moines, Iowa.

When the Doobies first announced Liberté in early August, they released the first four tracks of the album as a self-titled EP. Previously, I included one of these tunes, Don’t Ya Mess With Me, in a Best of What’s New installment. As such, I will skip the rocker here. Let’s get to some of the album’s other music.

Here’s the opener Oh Mexico. Co-written by Shanks and Johnston, the rock tune has a vibe of early Doobies. Johnston sounds great on vocals. I also dig the tune’s neat slide guitar work.

Cannonball is an acoustic-oriented song co-written by Shanks and Simmons. While this doesn’t sound like classic Doobies, I still like it.

The American Dream, a nostalgic tune reminiscing of the top down and the radio on, and dancin’ in the streets, is another co-write by Shanks and Johnston.

One of my early favorites is the soulful Shine Your Light. The tune was co-written by Shanks and Johnston as well.

The last tune I’d like to call out is Just Can’t Do This Alone. Co-written by Shanks and Johnston, this tune reminds me a bit of Listen to the Music, the first hit the Doobies scored in 1972, a single off their sophomore album Toulouse Street.

I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from Liberté. While it’s fair to say it’s no Toulouse Street or The Captain and Me, I find the album an enjoyable listening experience.

“How does any band know?,” Johnston said during a recent interview with The San Diego Union-Tribune. “You’re just trying to get it together and move forward. At the start of this band, we hadn’t done anything yet and we were playing bars like everyone else. Luckily, we did a demo tape that got us a record deal with Warner Bros. Our first album didn’t sell, but the second did. And the rest is history.” Indeed, 51 years and counting; or, if you exclude the band’s five-year hiatus between 1982 and 1987, it’s 46 years – still a mighty long time!

Sources: Wikipedia; Doobie Brothers website; San Diego Union-Tribune; YouTube

Best of What’s New

Is it really Saturday again? Yep, according to my calendar it is! And, if you’re in the U.S., we’re two weeks out from Labor Day weekend – that’s just crazy! Though I’d quickly like to add it’s a widely held misconception the holiday marks the end of summer. The good news is summer officially lasts until September 22, so we still have about a month left! On to newly released music that caught my attention!

Maggie Rose/What Are We Fighting For

Maggie Rose is a Nashville-based country and rock singer-songwriter. According to her Apple Music profile, Cut from the same cloth as fiery crooners Jana Kramer, Miranda Lambert, and Carrie Underwood, country singer Maggie Rose was born Margaret Rose Durante in 1988 in Potomac, Maryland. Durante took to the stage at the age of 16, performing frequently with the B Street Band, a Bruce Springsteen cover group, before heading off to Clemson University. She left school in her sophomore year to focus on music, eventually relocating to Nashville, Tennessee on the advice of industry icon Tommy Mottola. Mottola helped her ink a deal with Universal Republic, which released her debut single, a 2009 cover of Kings of Leon’s “Use Somebody.” She left the label the following year and signed with Emrose Records, releasing a pair of singles and an EP under her birth name before assuming the moniker Maggie Rose for the 2012 single “I Ain’t Your Mama.” A debut full-length album, Cut to Impress, produced by Blake Chancey, Stephony Smith, and James Stroud, appeared from RPM Records in the spring of 2013. Here’s What Are We Fighting For, the soulful opener of Rose’s third album Have a Seat that dropped yesterday (August 20). Rose wrote this great tune together with guitarist Alex Haddad and Larry Florman (background vocals, percussion), who according to her website are longtime band members/collaborators.

The Joy Formidable/Into the Blue

The Joy Formidable are a UK alternative rock band from Wales. They were formed in 2007 by childhood friends Ritzy Bryan (guitar, vocals) and Rhydian Davies (bass), who had previously played together in Manchester group Tricky Nixon, and Justin Stahley (drums). In 2009, following the band’s debut EP, current drummer Matthew James Thomas replaced Stahley. The following year, The Joy Formidable signed with Atlantic subsidiary Canvasback Records. Their debut album The Big Roar from January 2011 led to immediate chart success in the UK, climbing to no. 31 on the Official Albums Chart. Charting in the U.S. didn’t occur until the group’s sophomore album Wolf’s Law, which reached no. 51 and 11 on the Billboard 200 and Alternative Albums charts, respectively. Into the Blue is the title track of The Joy Formidable’s fifth and new album released yesterday. Like all other tracks on it, the song was co-written by Bryan and Davies.

Andrea von Kampen/That Spell

Andrea von Kampen is a Lincoln, Neb.-based f0lk singer-songwriter. From her website: With the successful release of two EP’s, Another Day (2015) and Desdemona (2016), a Christmas EP (2016), an Audiotree Live album (2017), and her debut full-length album Old Country (2019), Andrea has quickly established herself in the recording studio and on the road. She has shared the stage with artists such as Tall Heights, Ira Wolf, Dead Man Winter, The Brother Brothers, Dead Horses, Darling West and many more…Inspiration for Andrea’s songs often come from literature, art, and nature; in particular the literature and nature of Nebraska and the Midwest… Andrea von Kampen first appeared in the public eye with her submission of Let Me Down Easy into the 2016 Tiny Desk Contest. Within 24 hours of submission, NPR Music, All Songs Considered tweeted her video as the featured artist of the day, saying “we were completely blown away.” Ultimately, Andrea finished the competition as a top ten finalist, which lead to increased popularity of her EP, Another Day, specifically her song Trainsong. Since then, her EPs have amassed millions of streams on Spotify and continue to grow. On August 6, van Kampen released her sophomore album That Spell. Here’s the title track that had first appeared on July 23 as the lead single – nice music to sit down to listen.

The Doobie Brothers/Don’t Ya Mess With Me

I trust The Doobie Brothers need no introduction. It’s great to see a band that has been active for more than 45 years (with a 5-year hiatus between 1982 to 1987) is still releasing new music. Their official current line-up includes original members Tom Johnston (guitar, harmonica, piano, lead and backing vocals) and Patrick Simmons (guitar, banjo, flute, lead and backing vocals), along with longtime on-and-off member John McFee (guitar, pedal steel guitar, violin, harmonica, banjo, mandolin, backing vocals). Michael McDonald (keyboards, synthesizers, lead and backing vocals), another on-and-off member over the decades, will join the Doobies on their upcoming tour. On October 1, they are scheduled to release their 15th studio album Liberté. The album, which doesn’t include McDonald, is the group’s first new studio release in seven years since Southbound from November 2014, and their first of new original material since 2010’s World Gone Crazy. Here’s lead single Don’t Ya Mess With Me, one of four tracks released upfront as a self-titled EP on August 6 when the band announced Liberté. Johnston penned the rocker with co-producer John Shanks. It may be no China Grove, Rockin’ Down the Highway or Long Train Runnin’, but it still makes me a happy camper!

Sources: Wikipedia; Apple Music; Maggie Rose website; Andrea van Kampen website; YouTube