The Doobie Brothers Album: “Long Train Runnin' [Box]”

All albums are not created equal, and this collection unfortunately reduces a four-star career to a two-star box set. "One Step Closer", "Cycles" and "Brotherhood" are gamely treated as the equals of franchise albums like "The Captain and Me" and "Takin' it to the Streets", which they clearly weren't. And no, four songs from "Takin' it to the Streets" are not enough. The choice of album cuts from "Living on the Fault Line" is especially bizarre ("You're Made That Way" and "Living on the Fault Line" are omitted in favour of "Chinatown" and "There's a Light"?). And, as I fast-forward through the filler (bad engineering as well as dubious songwriting) which makes up most of the last two albums, I wonder what happened to tracks like "Without You", "Ukiah/The Captain and Me", "Rio", "Carry Me Away", "You Never Change" and, HEY!, what about the tracks on the Farewell Tour album? The live versions of "Takin" it to the Streets" and "Don't Stop Me to Talkin'" are surely deserving of inclusion. Too bad; I was looking forward to this one. I enjoyed the rawness of Disc 4, though. Ted Templeman, take a bow. What an under-rated producer.

Although they never garnered the critical praise of The Band, Mott the Hopple, CCR there were few bands that could hold a candle to the hit making strength of The Doobie Brothers. This collection gathers up a healthy sampling of their singles, best album tracks and rarities in a four disc set. While I would have paired back the selections from the band's weakest albums (including the awful "One Step Closer") (hence 4 stars), this collection doesn't skimp on the band's worthwhile output from their peak years.

Sound quality is exceptional with a crisp detailed sound not heard before. Since fans will probably be familair with the bulk of the tracks here I'm only going to focus on the fourth disc with the bonus tracks. We get a number of good demos including Pat Simmons' "Daughters of the Sea","Four Days Gone", "Pat's Song"; Tom Johnston's "Osborne" (an early version of "Long Train Runnin'), "Lovin' My Way Back Home", "Peace in the Valley" all of which are strong tunes. "Bluejay" is also quite good and with "Peace in the Valley" one of the highlights here. It's a pity these songs never showed up on an album before now. "Armadillo Death Chang" is interesting as well--Johnston appears to have had a problem with song titles much like George Harrison in many cases as the title has absolutely nothing to do with this rockin' tune.

"Outside of Barstow" is a demo with just Johnston and his guitar and, again, is a terrific little song that should have been revisited. "Spiel" is a John Hartman composition (the only solo composing credit the drummer received)that's really more of a joke track. I haven't listened to "Olana" in a while but this studio version of the Michael McDonald track is better than the live version from the 1983 final tour recording.

The rest of the material was released in one form or another and these are either demos or alternate versions of the final tracks. We also get demos for "Sweet Maxine", "Shuffle" two demos from Michael McDonald "Takin' It To The Streets", "We Would Sail Away" both of which are strong demos. A Live version of "Jesus is Just Alright" from the live album sessions in 1982.

The booklet has lots of rare photos, interviews and features the band discussing the changes over the years. If you purchased the most recent greatest hits release (2001)the text and photos from the booklet are the same. I was disappointed that there wasn't a DVD (much like the recent Pretenders set) as these guys in their prime were a powerhouse on stage. The four stars reflects the fact that the there could have been more previously unreleased material. I was hoping that the four tracks that Tom Johnston completed for "Livin' On The Fault Line" but withdrawn from the album would have been included but no such luck.

Talk about your overblown and poorly paced boxed sets! This boxed set is bloated with way too many album tracks. Seven from Stampede, six cuts from the weak One Step Closer yet only four from the superior Takin' It To The Streets.

You would think that cutting corners or dropping selections would be an impossible task given the number of discs. Not so here. "Without You" from The Captain and Me is curiously absent.

Also missing are solo tracks from Michael McDonald. Tom Johnston and Patrick Simmons' solo ventures are here. But the missing Doobie had the best solo career. What gives??

A particular gripe is the single edits of "Listen to the Music," (3:26 edit)"Here To Love You," among others.

A gripe because on the Rhino website where the track notes, liner notes, track listings and photos are reproduced allegedly from this box, they list these songs as full-length!

It appears that these songs are cut to allow room for the sixth or seventh album track from a particular album.

Five stars for sound quality and packaging, one star for its execution and poor sequencing, so three stars are about what it deserves.

Option: get the Very Best of the Doobie Brothers import (the sound quality is an improvement over the domestic Best of) which has hits from "Listen To The Music" (the 3:49 version) up to "Real Love." Or The Best of The Doobies on DCC Gold which is remastered directly from the studio masters and features "Listen To The Music" (the 4:45 album cut) and the full length "Takin' It To The Streets" (at 3:58)

Avoid this at all costs!!

As a LONG time fan of the Doobies, I would have to say that I was just a little disappointed in their box set. Don't get me wrong, it's a great collection for die-hard fans, but there are some missing pieces to this puzzle. I can't believe that cuts like "Without You", "How Do the Fools Survive (with it's great instrumental part), "Carry Me Away", and my personal favorite, "Road Angel" (great guitar riff) were left out. Oh well, I guess you can't get it all. (Personally, I would trade "Black Water" for any of the above.) Enough of the whining. This album really does give the listener a great history of the Doobies eclectic style and the changes that they have undergone over the years. With over 14 personnel changes since the band's inception in the late 60's, the Doobies have been an evolutionary marvel. They have keep their fans rockin' for many years and as of this date, show no signs of slowing down. (Just wish Michael McDonald was still part of the crew.) The "history book" that is included in the box set is a great addition to this album. Lots of pictures of the band as they changed throughout the years. I highly recommend this box set for fans of the band and anyone who would just like to "Listen to the Music".

This set includes pretty much everything you need from the DOOBIES. A minor flaw is that it doesn't include "WITHOUT YOU", but if you own "Best Of", you already have it. The set includes a full disc of demos and rarities, as well as a nice, thick booklet. As any decent box set should, this one contains all of the band's Top 100 BILLBOARD hits. If you're A DOOBIES fan, you can't go wrong here!