It was somewhere around 1973 when I got my first FM radio. Suddenly, I had a dozen other stations to listen to — and the stuff they were playing was so much cooler than what you could hear on AM. The sound quality was better, the music was better, life was better! Later on of course, The Doobie Brothers would have a string of hits you could hear on AM, but in 1973, their sound hadn’t quite settled into the formula that would make them so familiar, and so accessible to the AM audience. But, those days were coming.
There have been a lot of Doobie Brothers over the years, at least 28 and counting, and of course, the changing personnel resulted in the sound of the band changing over time. This recording, with Tom Johnston and Patrick Simmons, is probably the truest representation of the founding band members and their respective talents and influences. It rocks out (yes, The Doobies DO rock out now and then), has folk influences, and solid songwriting sensibility.
At the innocent age of 12, I really had no idea what a “doobie” was, but I knew that I had an instant love for the music of The Doobie Brothers. This group that originated out of the post hippie movement — and a group that is still touring after 50 years — had an energy and enthusiasm that filled my ears with a sound I still enjoy to this day. Seriously, listen to “China Grove” and tell me your foot isn’t tapping about 30 seconds in, ya can’t do it.
“The Captain and Me” was the third release from The Doobies, and featured many radio-friendly tunes, some genuinely lovely orchestration on a few tracks, and some forgettable folk and druggie post-hippie infused songs that reflect the many influences the band had to meld to create the “Doobie Sound." With Ted Templeman as producer, there was never any question about the quality of the sound of the songs, the arrangements or the talent brought in to make these 11 tracks, most of which work very well.
There is some jamming electric guitar playing, but also some really charming finger picking — usually right after one another. If I had one thing I could change about “The Captain and Me” it’s the song order. It would have worked so much better if they would have done a “Dog & Butterfly” order (see the band Heart) but as is, you get a lot of variety for your 11 songs.
Of course, the hits “China Grove” and “Long Train Runnin” are always great to hear. My personal favorite “South City Midnight Lady” starts out slow, and gracefully builds to a really melodic finish, and is a real space to breathe after the guitar fest that is “Without You” (see, there’s that track order bugaboo again). The title track to “The Captain and Me” is a nice closer to the set, kind of CSNY, but also most definitely not — as I said, this group of songs really put a stamp on what made The Doobie Brothers sound at this point in their career.
Fans of The Doobie Brothers have no doubt debated whether “The Captain and Me” is “the best” record the group ever made. Of course that’s a matter of personal opinion, and is highly subjective to say the least. I would simply submit that many of the tracks here stand the test of time, and after 50 years they are still classic Doobie, and that’s reason enough to give it a spin. Go ahead, listen to the music (oh wait, that’s a different record!).