When it came to cohesiveness of full albums, The Doobie Brothers were practitioners of the slow boil. Their first album, while not bad, was hardly noteworthy; the follow-up, Toulouse Street, had their first radio hits, but as a whole was only a slight step in the right direction.

Then, we come to The Captain And Me, the third effort from Patrick Simmons and crew. If you look at radio success, it was a step down, featuring only two hits in "Long Train Runnin'" and "China Grove". But, as an album, it was their most solid effort to that point that featured many other songs that coulda, woulda, shoulda been hits had they been given the chance.

Let's get the hits out of the way first. There is no denying the charms of both "Long Train Runnin'" and "China Grove," both of which helped to cement the Doobies' popularity. Even now, over 50 years after they were recorded, they still have a fresh sound to them that, even after hearing them ad infinitum, you can't help but look forward to hearing them. Well-written songs backed by solid performances? More, please.

This is where The Captain And Me succeeds. You might not know tracks like "Natural Thing," "Clear As The Driven Snow" or "Without You" unless you dig into this album - and these prove to be unearthed treasures well worth your time to listen to. Musically, the Doobies had turned into a tight unit that merged twinges of country rock into solid AOR tracks (even working a bit of blues into "Dark Eyed Cajun Woman"). And, while the title track doesn't immediately grab the listener's attention, it ends up being worth the investment of time.

The only true mis-step on this disc is "Evil Woman," featuring a pseudo hard rock sound that just didn't fit with the Doobie Brothers persona. Is it a bad track? No... but it also sticks out like a sore thumb. Perhaps if it had been taken in a different musical direction, it would have been salvageable. As it is, it's nearly an afterthought.

What sets The Captain And Me apart from the previous two albums is the solid musicianship contained therein. Which, if you know the story behind the album, is surprising, as much of the album was recorded under pressure to get new product out - a story quite common with many bands in the '70s, if we're completely honest. They make everything sound so natural throughout this disc that one would almost assume it was effortless. And that is the sign of a solid band.

The Captain And Me continued the forward progress of The Doobie Brothers, and is well worth a deep listen if all you know from this one are the two radio hits. There's lots more gold to be mined therein; all you have to do is listen.

Rating: B

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