The Doobie Brothers' 'Walk This Road' - Album Review

Over the past few years, the California-based rockers The Doobie Brothers have risen up the ranks and have become one of my favourite bands. They were a band I was familiar with in name-only for years, and had even picked up a few of their LPs cheaply, but in 2019 I saw a documentary about yacht rock which prompted me to finally give them a go. Given the nature of the documentary it focused on the Michael McDonald era of the band, but I think the first album I heard was 1973's The Captain and Me. I was basically hooked from the off, and the band's third album remains a real favourite - but I love the vast majority of what they have put out over the years, with much of the stuff released since their peak being enjoyable. Sadly, though, in more recent years, the band have not been as focused on releasing new music. They have remained a busy touring act over the years, but they clearly lost interest in writing new material for a while. This all changed in 2021, though, when the band released Liberté (which I reviewed here) - which was their first album of original material in 11 years, following 2010's World Gone Crazy. Given that my love of the band was still quite fresh at that point, Liberté seemed like a real event. It capped off my Doobie Brothers fandom, giving me something new to digest having had my fill of the band's excellent catalogue over the previous couple of years. I listened to Liberté a lot as a result, and I even included it in my Albums of the Year list in 2021. It is still an album which I play quite regularly, even though it is no classic, but I found it to be a feel-good album which dropped just things were getting better following the pandemic - so I associate it with that positive time. I was just happy to have something new from the band - and I hoped that it would not be the last that we heard from them. Thankfully, then, four years on from Liberté, The Doobie Brothers have struck again - having released Walk This Road last month. The key difference between Liberté and Walk This Road is that the latter is the first to feature McDonald as a full-time members of the band since 1980's One Step Closer. He has contributed to a few other albums as a guest, including the country-tinged re-recordings release Southbound from 2014, but Walk This Road is the first album he has contributed to properly in over 40 years. It is the first album that all three of the band's main singer-songwriters: Tom Johnston, Patrick Simmons, and McDonald; have properly contributed to since 1976's Takin' It to the Streets - and even on that album Johnston already had one foot out of the door so his contributions were limited. It is also the first time that all four of the current official members of the band, including instrumentalist John McFee, have made an album together. As such, Walk This Road is quite a historic release - and it seems to have received quite a lot of attention as a result. Format-wise, though, Walk This Road is similar to Liberté. Once again, John Shanks has produced the album - and he contributed to it significantly from both a songwriting and performance perspective. Each song was essentially written by one of the band members with Shanks - with each singer then supported by some of the other band members and a vast cast of notable session players, including names like bassist Pino Palladino, keyboard player Jeff Babko, and drummer Victor Indrizzo.

As such, not all of the band members are featured on every song. McFee, for example, only plays on four songs - but The Doobie Brothers sound is very much intact as was the case on the previous album. Despite Shanks seemingly responsible for the dumbing down of Bon Jovi over the years, he seems to work well with The Doobie Brothers - and my previous concerns over his involvement waned once I heard Liberté. With McDonald back, there is a bit more of the band's yacht rock side on show this time - but each element of their classic sound is very much represented here, with Johnston, Simmons, and McDonald all bringing their unique talents to the album. Of the 10 songs here, each singer essentially leads on three songs - with the opening title track featuring all three sharing the lead vocal duties. A shuffling drum groove and McFee's slide guitar opens up the McDonald-penned piece - and the groovy piece really harks back to the rockier of his previous contributions to the band mixed with the band's earlier drive. His voice might be a bit deeper than it once was, but he remains a strong and soulful singer - and he drives the first verse with his smoky vocals and boogie piano playing. A simple chorus is filled with the band's typical harmonies, horn swells, and more of McFee's excellent slide playing - before Johnston sings the second verse, sounding as strong as ever. McFee may not feature heavily throughout this album, but his slide playing during this song is great - and he throws in a bit of a solo following the second chorus. Strangely, though, gospel singer Mavis Staples also adds her voice to the song, singing the third verse. She sounds great, particularly as a foil to McDonald - but it means that Simmons' role feels diminished and he does not contribute as much as the other two. The song is great overall, though, and I can see it becoming a real hit with the fanbase thanks to its hooks and grooves. If Simmons did not make his mark during the first track, then his fast-paced country rocker Angel & Mercy showcases him at his best. His busy guitar lines and husky voice brings the smooth rocker to life - whilst McDonald adds his trademark backing vocals and Hammond organ throughout. This is another track with a lot of contributions from McFee - from his opening violin melodies, through some bluesy harmonica, to some mandolin additions. His various instruments ensure that the country-esque side of the band is on show - alongside Simmons' bluegrass guitar style which really drives everything. Simmons' later guitar solo is excellent, and packed full of melody, and the closing instrumental section which sees Simmons and McFee trading guitar and violin melodies back and forth is full of organic energy. The first Johnston-penned track here is Call Me - which is a laid back rocker which is typical of his style. Electric and acoustic guitar chords create a big sound, whilst occasional bluesy leads add colour - and the slightly brash vocal style of Johnston adds an edge. Like the opening song, too, there is a horn section employed on this piece - with regular touring saxophone player Marc Russo included this time. Apart from the guitar chug, the horn embellishments, and the occasional organ swell from Babko, there is little to complicate the arrangement - and the song feels like a Johnston classic from the 1970s. It is an organic rocker with a decent energy and a smooth vibe - with a snappy chorus providing a strong hook and Johnston laying down a tasty guitar solo.

Despite writing the title track, Learn to Let Go feels like McDonald really settling into his classic sound. This is very much him at his yacht rock best, with the song based around a tight drum groove which recalls the style of the late Jeff Porcaro and a mix of subtle electric piano drive and swirling synths. Simmons' electric guitar provides a subtle picked melody, but this is very much a keyboard-driven piece - whilst the bass playing of session king Sean Hurley adds a lot of depth. McDonald's voice oozes soul here. He might not be able to reach the highs of the past, but his deeper tones remain - and he still possesses all of the class on which he built his reputation. His vocal melodies are classic McDonald - with the chorus packed full of smooth hooks and harmony vocal counterpoints, embellished by Johnston. Simmons lays down a laid back and melodic guitar solo, too, and the track is very much a reminder of 1978's Minute by Minute in style. State of Grace is Simmons' second contribution, and his love of country music is very much on show here - with the track being an acoustic-based ballad. Gentle acoustic guitars and his distinctive voice drive the track, whilst a shuffling drum groove and plenty of keyboards fill in all the gaps. Melodic nuggets are thrown in by McFee - with his pedal steel getting quite a workout on this track. His playing is not as cutting as it was during the title track, but the pedal steel is used in a more atmospheric manner than his previous slide guitar efforts - gently rising through the warm keyboard and acoustic guitar bed. There are certainly stronger songs here, but a Simmons ballad is to be expected on each Doobie Brothers release - and this is a good example of such, with the atmospheric feel also showcasing the band's late 1970s sound at the same time. Here to Stay shines the spotlight back on Johnston, with the track being pretty similar overall to Call Me - insofar as it is an organic rocker with more of a strong guitar presence, thanks to some harmony guitar leads, and more of a straight ahead harder rock drum beat. The opening vocal harmonies, which see Johnston, Simmons, and McDonald join forces, showcase the remaining vocal power of the band - but this song is Johnston at his best overall, with his powerful voice rising above the more cutting guitars and the organic keyboards which back him up. The greater focus on keyboards and vocal harmonies, though, give this song a more cinematic feel than is often the case with Johnston's songwriting - and the song feels pretty big overall. This works well in my opinion - but Johnston still finds room for a melodic guitar solo. The Kind That Lasts is another McDonald piece - with the track being another slightly more rocking number compared to his more famous yacht rock style. There are shades of pieces like It Keeps You Runnin' throughout the track, but it is more organic and bluesy overall - with Shanks adding some subtle slide guitar and spiky blues riffing this time, whilst McDonald drives everything with his barroom piano playing and organ embellishments. McDonald has sometimes excelled at this type of song, though, and this is another pretty strong effort - with some excellent guitar playing throughout from Shanks and lots of varied keyboard playing from McDonald himself. There are strong rock grooves which keep the song feeling fresh - whilst McDonald's vocals are full of character despite him feeling bluesier than usual here.

New Orleans is Johnston's last contribution, but the track is another classic of his style. All of his contributions to this album are upbeat and pretty rocking - and this track is no different, despite McDonald adding some accordion at times and Babko's prominent piano playing. Johnston's guitar playing still drives the song, though, and he unleashes a few leads throughout - including a couple of pretty incendiary bluesy solos later on. There are moments where it sounds like this song is about to slow down, and turn into something swampier, but these moments are short lived - with the piece overall being another rocker with a strong drum groove and plenty of guitar firepower given the context of the album. Credit also needs to go to Sharlotte Gibson for her soulful counterpoint and harmony vocals during the closing moments of the song - where she backs Johnston nicely and adds plenty of power of her own. McDonald's last contribution to the album is Speed of Pain, another classic yacht rocker which is driven by his keyboard playing and soulful vocals. Whilst this song has grown on me quite a bit, and the chorus is masterful thanks to some organ additions and vocal melodies which are a bit different from the norm, I do not really like the programmed drums here. Indrizzo, who does a great job throughout the album, plays on part of the song - but early on the programmed drums are off-putting as they sound fake and tinny. I just wish real drums had been used throughout - and when the song gets going it sounds much better as a result. There are also some great instrumental moments which feature piano melodies and plenty of other keyboards for depth - so this, plus the emotional chorus, makes the song a strong effort. It just loses a point due to those twee programmed drums. The album then comes to a close with Simmons' Lahaina, a song which has been floating around online since 2023 - as it was released as a single to raise money for the victims of the Hawaii wildfires of the same year. Hawaii resident Mick Fleetwood (John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers; Fleetwood Mac) drums on the song in place of Indrizzo - whilst Hawaii-based musicians Jake Shimabukuro and Henry Kapono add ukulele and backing vocals respectively. Overall, the song is a typical Simmons smoother track - with lots of busy acoustic guitars, a slightly cinematic arrangement thanks to some dense vocal and keyboard layers, and an emotional bent. Simmons sounds great here, his voice perfectly suited to the piece, whilst McDonald adds plenty of backing vocals as well as a keyboard-led instrumental mid-section. McFee adds some resonator guitar melodies towards the end of the piece, too, and the album ends on an emotional and plaintive note - with Simmons' voice and the keyboard playing of McDonald seeing things close out smoothly. Despite its relatively short length, which I generally welcome in an era of overlong albums, Walk This Road is packed with variety thanks to the three songwriting and vocal styles of the core band members. All of the sides of The Doobie Brothers are represented here, from rockier pieces, through country and bluegrass, to the smoother yacht rock vibes of the late 1970s - with the authenticity which the band has always showcased very much on display. I liked Liberté a lot, but this album feels stronger - and it is easily their best album since 1989's Cycles, showcasing that the band have a late-career highlight on their hands with this latest release.

The album was released on 6th June 2025 via Rhino Entertainment Company. Below is the band's promotional video for Angels & Mercy.