The last time Michael McDonald played on an album of new songs by THE DOOBIE BROTHERS in 1980, record sales still decided a hit, and artists like the California-based group were allowed to grow over several years without too much fear of being dropped by their record company. With their eighth album, 1978’s Minute by Minute, they finally hit No. 1 on the LP chart and were bestowed with an armful of Grammys.
McDonald made one more album with the band before leaving for a solo career where he continued to pursue the smoky-voiced, blue-eyed soul he brought to the group in 1976, and which helped make them one of music’s most popular acts by the turn of the decade. He temporarily returned in 2014 for a Doobies tribute/covers album and then again for 2021’s 50th anniversary tour.
2025 and with new album ”Walk This Road”, McDonald joins cofounders Tom Johnston and Patrick Simmons and guitarist John McFee, an on-and-off member since 1980, for their most satisfying album since their late-’70s heyday. Some of that credit belongs to McDonald’s return, but as soon as he shares vocals on “Learn to Let Go”‘s chorus with Johnston and Simmons, proof that the band has always been greater than just one person comes into clear focus.
This is classy Doobie Brothers, plenty of melody, rhythm, and timeless classic rock sound.
Tracklist:
Disc 1 (38:51)
1. Walk This Road (feat. Mavis Staples) (03:37)
2. Angels & Mercy (03:48)
3. Call Me (03:38)
4. Learn to Let Go (04:18)
5. State of Grace (04:01)
6. Here to Stay (03:56)
7. The Kind That Lasts (03:47)
8. New Orleans (03:50)
9. Speed of Pain (03:34)
10. Lahaina (feat. Mick Fleetwood, Jake Shimabukuro & Henry Kapono) (04:17)
The Doobie Brothers – Walk This Road (2025), MP3+FLAC
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great many many thks Alex