Original Album Series

When I saw the price for this "Original Album Series" edition of the first 5 Doobies albums, I was pre-sold as it were. I had about 6 Doobies tracks that tended to get stuck in my head and that I wanted digital versions of, so this looked like a bargain. Little did I know that buying these gems would get me hooked on deeper cuts from these albums. "The Captain and Me" may have been one of the great rock albums of its day, but all I ever heard from it was the hits, "Long Train Running" and "China Grove." Getting this set allowed me to hear sweet remastered versions of "Clear as the Driven Snow," a great acoustic-electric message rocker about substance abuse; "Ukiah," a jazzy-ish tribute to a great Northern California destination; and some great overall singing and songwriting from Tom Johnston and Pat SImmons. Simmons' "South City Midnight Lady," remastered, was a lot more tender and sweet than I remembered. And that's just one of the five. "Toulouse Street" is distinguished by its folky title track, "What Were Once Vices Are Now Habits" is full of uptempo delights, "Stampede" has a bit more of a country-fried flavor then the earlier albums and "Takin' It To The Streets," with Mike McDonald, marks the "new" Doobies sound, more urban and Steely Dan-ish. Some don't care for that phase of the band's career, but it can't be denied that McDonald's a fine musician and singer. In short, spend the 20 bucks. It's a good investment. The sound sparkles and the songs bring back memories for any younger baby boomer.

You get the band's five best albums in one boxed set. Here's a rundown: #5 – STAMPEDE, released in 1975, features the groovy single “Take Me In Your Arms (Rock Me A Little While).” This is a spectacular album and definitely has one of the group’s best album covers. The record opens with the searing “Sweet Maxine” and gets better with the bouncing “Neal's Fandango,” which has a marvelous guitar and piano break. Also, there’s a wonderful slide guitar performance by Ry Cooder on “Rainy Day Crossroad Blues.” #4 – TAKIN' IT TO THE STREETS, from 1976, marked the band’s shift towards a more soulful sound. Michael McDonald sings lead on four songs, including the title track and “It Keeps You Runnin’.” The funky “8th Avenue Shuffle” features delightful percussion performances. Also, we get Tom Johnston and Pat Simmons sharing lead vocals on “Wheels of Fortune.” If you haven’t played this record recently, take another listen. It’s great! #3 – WHAT WERE ONCE VICES ARE NOW HABITS was released in the winter of 1974. The lead single “Another Park, Another Sunday” hit the airwaves in March of '74. That single was followed up with “Eyes of Silver” in June. However, it was the third single entitled “Black Water,” not released until November, that became the band’s first number one song. The success of these three singles helped skyrocket sales of this terrific album. #2 – TOULOUSE STREET, from 1972, features one of the greatest D. B. songs of all time, “Listen To The Music.” The record also includes “Rockin’ Down the Highway” and “Jesus is Just Alright.” With bluesy overtones, the band would earn comparisons to The Allman Brothers. In addition, Michael Hossack joined John Hartman on drums, giving the group its trademark twin-drummer sound. TOULOUSE STREET is a fine example of the Doobies at their very best. #1 - THE CAPTAIN AND ME, from March of 1973, is arguably the band’s finest album. “Long Train Runnin’,” “China Grove” and “Without You” are three of the group's most well-known songs. When you think of old-school Doobie Brothers, you think of these songs. The album also contains classics like “Clear As The Driven Snow” and “South City Midnight Lady.” The title track, clocking in at nearly five minutes, features blazing guitars and dazzling harmonies, soaring ever higher and faster to a triumphant finish. THE CAPTAIN AND ME is an outstanding album.

This is a bargain, 4 great albums for this price, highly recommended!

As a 10 yr old in '72, I remember getting the 45 of 'Listen to the Music', followed a couple years later with the 'Best of The Doobies' record late in high school. Until now -and to my regret- that was the extent of my DB collecting. Let me tell you, I am blown away with this 5 album set: listening to the music as performed and sequenced on these albums was amazing. Gone is the memory of the choppy 'hits' collection, that had a great set of songs, but outside of album context, 'lost a lot in translation'. I listened to the set backward, even expecting a letdown with the MMcDonald infused 'Takin'/Streets', but was pleasantly -and increasingly- surprised with the quality and artistry of ALL the albums. By the time I finished 'Toulouse Street', I wanted to begin the cycle again. All 5 albums are EXCELLENT, sound quality is great, and having all 5 in a 'box' scant thicker than 1 cd jewel case is a bonus. Yes cardboard sleeve reproductions (no gatefolds), yes one needs a magnifying glass to read album credits, yes the lovely artwork coulda been more refined, but for $21 one cannot sincerely complain. Heck, $4 an 'album': I paid more than that in the 70's! To wrap up this winded review: I had been looking for an expanded 'hits' collection, but am ecstatic with this acquisition. Gone are 'single' edits (didn't know my original single was a minute longer on album!), and favorite 'Without You' is a new experience hearing it not on the end of a hits album, but starting side 2 of 'Captain and Me' (and followed by S/S MN Lady. Wow, sequencing really did matter back in the day . . .). Highest recommendations, obviously; and sorry for such a lengthy read! - (and by the way, I am so thankful hard copies are still available. Streaming can save resources and space, but 'It just ain't the same'. Cheers, and happy listening 'TTM' -)

this is an impressive collection of the first 5 albums from a classic southern rock band of the '70s. their first 2 albums were by far their best. the first album, Toulouse Street, was a fantastic disc, featuring the 3 big hits, Listen to the Music, Rocking Down the Highway and Jesus is Just Alright. the group's frontmen, Tom Johnston and Patrick Simmons served up a great mix of rock and pop mixed well with folk and a touch of Calypso (on one tune). Over all, The Doobies did not lean on the blues nearly as much as most other southern rock bands, but this first album offered a decent dose of blues as well. With a few jamming guitar spots and a few moments of inspired, impressive composition, this first album came together as a great '70s rock album. The second album, The Captain and Me, is just as wonderful. This disc gave us the 4 big hits, China Grove, Long Train Runnin', Without You and South City Midnight Lady. they faded away from the blues influence on this disc, but they managed to maintain a great sound with the right amount of attention paid to offering strong composition and worthwhile guitar jams. by the third album, the pressures of the music biz was starting to get to them. this is evidenced by the fact that What Were Once Vises Are Now Habits only gave us one big hit, Black Water. in all fairness, after a few years of record execs keeping you either on tour or in the studio, it's hard to find the time to be creative. this third album had a few great spots (including ending with a sweet short instrumental) and a few good rocking moments, but overall this disc didn't quite measure up to the first two. they bounced back in fine form on the fourth album, Stampede. although it only gave us the one big hit Take Me in Your Arms (Rock Me), this album nearly matched the magic of the first two records. great writing with attention to rock, folk, composition and guitar leads make this a much more worthy disc. they drifted in a different direction on the fifth album, Taking it to the Streets. Tom Johnston's influence can be felt, which is a good thing. however, he left halfway thru the album. Michael McDonald, who'd just left Steely Dan, stepped into the breach. he brought a funkier side to the group, as shown by the title hit and the other big hit, It Keeps You Runnin'. a bit of a jazzier side is displayed in tunes like For Someone Special, which got some radio play, but didn't make huge hit status. this album had some great moments, but was a little more spotty and forced than some of their earlier works. it definitely helped to launch Michael's solo career. and although Michael led them to one or two more big hits on subsequent albums, this collection holds the lion's share of the doobie's big hits and greatest moments. again, there are a few spotty moments but overall this is a fantastic collection of albums that mark an important chapter in the world of classic southern rock. this music screams "The '70s"! it's a great example of what made the early 70s the best era in Rock & Roll!

Great collection of full albums for a great price... Five stars

best selection of Dobbies lps in digipacks.

OK. The Headline says it all. The first box set (this one) has albums 2 through 6 and the second box set has album 1 and then albums 7 through10. One could ask why they would package the albums this way, but why as why? Get both and get over it! Right out of the gate, the Dobbie Brothers started out with excellent musicianship and combined that with excellent production and state of the art recording. As they progressed their music changed to the point where they sounded like whole other group. Again, be thankful for what we have. All 10 albums are spectacular and should be judged on their own merits. For the audiophiles out there (I count myself as one of them) these albums were really well recorded to begin with and this set is really well mastered, so there should be no fear that you are getting bargain basement left overs! When I was growing up I couldn't afford to buy all the music I wanted. As an old man, I can afford to buy both of these box sets, especially as they are priced. The lack of liner notes or cardboard sleeves does not bother me. Just listen to the music because that is what matters!

The Doobie Brothersの5アルバム。音質も問題なく満足です。コロナ禍でオーダーしたため到着遅延の影響がでました。遅れている納品について問合せしましたが返事早く＆丁寧に応対していただけ不安なく待てました。

TUDO OK !!!!!

Des Doobie Brothers, je ne connaissais vraiment que leur titre le plus connu: "L'on s'entraine au running " . Aiguillonné insidieusement par un misanthrope landais sécessionniste, j'ai donc envisagé coupablement l'hypothèse d'acheter ce coffret: 20€ au début, puis 18€ quelques jours plus tard...arrivé à 9,99€ en Prime le morceau, je n'ai plus hésité. Le premier contact fut un peu surprenant: commençant par le troisième album du coffret, qui en fait est le quatrième du groupe ( What Were Once Vices Are Now Habits, le meilleur, dixit shuffle ), vu que le premier ( du groupe, pas du coffret ! ) serait quantité négligeable, je fus un peu surpris par l'arrivée précoce de cuivres et par la voix un brin nasale d'un des chanteurs. Je crus d'abord à l'erreur de casting, mais très vite, reprenant l'écoute du coffret par son début, je fus finalement rassuré par la qualité très acceptable des compos, la grande variété de styles, le niveau très supérieur des arrangements vocaux et des musiciens au son et à la technique largement suffisants ( la basse manquant d'un peu de rondeur , parfois ). Je suis quand même un peu déçu que les frères Doobie n'existent pas, le nom du groupe étant apparemment issu d'un joke un peu potache. A l'instar des Allman Brothers ( eux, c'est leur vrai nom ), le groupe comprend deux batteurs dans son line-up, ce qui est pratique en cas d'arrêt maladie de l'un d'eux, mais qui ne doit pas être facile à gérer au quotidien... Le son est très bon. Comme album, je préfèrerais plutôt The Captain & Me qui me semble plus progressif. Le cinquième ( le sixième du groupe en fait, vous vous rappelez ? ), Takin' It To The Streets semble un peu marquer le pas au niveau style et inspiration. Malgré les notes de pochettes comme d'hab illisibles chez Warner Bros, un bon coffret au rapport qualité-prix inégalable.

Good quality and good value love this series of cds

Estuche que incluye a un muy buen precio los 5 primeros CD's de esta banda. Estos "Original Álbum Series" siempre son buena opción para completar discografías de tus intérpretes favoritos a un precio inmejorable y con una presentación correcta.