The Doobie Brothers Create Lasting Feel-Good Vibes on Southern-Leaning Toulouse Street: Breakthrough Includes “Listen to the Music,” “Jesus Is Just Alright,” and “Rockin’ Down the Highway”

Experience the 1972 Album in Definitive Sound: Mobile Fidelity’s Numbered-Edition 180g 45RPM 2LP Set Features Extraordinary Soundstages, Vivid Dynamics, and Natural, Airy Openness 

1/4” / 15 IPS Dolby A analog master to DSD 256 to analog console to lathe

For all intents and purposes, Toulouse Street functions as the Doobie Brothers’ debut. Though it released a self-titled effort in 1971, the band admitted the latter album was rushed and reflected the results of a group that had barely spent any time together. Toulouse Street unfolded amid far more favorable circumstances. Overflowing with feel-good vibes, it also touted key lineup changes that proved crucial to the band’s success. And it’s how most listeners discovered Tom Johnston and Co., setting the stage for a dominant run during the Seventies that ultimately led to the Doobie Brothers’ induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. 

Sourced from the original analog master tapes, pressed at Fidelity Record Pressing in California, and housed in a Stoughton gatefold jacket, Mobile Fidelity’s numbered-edition 180g 45RPM 2LP of Toulouse Street offers the 1972 set in definitive sound. Given the luxurious room of a 45RPM version for the first time and benefiting from the wider grooves, the music benefits from extraordinary soundstages, ultra-quiet backgrounds, vivid dynamics, and incredible imaging. Ted Templeman’s excellent production shines like never before. 

Open, airy, and organic: Toulouse Street epitomizes why countless music lovers swear allegiance to 70s recordings. Facets that help make the album so welcoming — voices that naturally rise and fall, notes that properly carry and decay, bass lines you can trace from beginning to end, well-placed percussive accents, warm tones, well-defined separation between the players — come across on this collectible reissue with involving presence, balance, and realism. Everything sounds crisp and clear. Nothing is overdone or out of place. No wonder Templeman’s work earned him a promotion to staff producer at Warner Bros. 

With all due respect to Templeton’s contributions, the Doobie Brothers are really who make Toulouse Street cook. They deserve the highest praise for performing a batch of songs that more than five decades since their debut have lost none of their charm. The arrival of bassist Tiran Porter and second drummer Michael Hossack gave the band a formidable rhythm section (and two-drummer configuration) whose innate chemistry, groove, and flow are evident throughout Toulouse Street — and which would form the backbone of the Doobie Brothers for subsequent years. 

Fresh from ironing out the kinks on the group’s debut, vocalist-guitarists Patrick Simmons and Tom Johnston showcase a songwriting depth that elevated the Doobie Brothers into the upper echelon of their era’s crowded Southern rock/country-rock field. Two massive singles and platinum certification served as proof, as did rave reviews by the likes of tastemakers such as Rolling Stone. Unimaginative comparisons to Eagles, Little Feat, and Three Dogs Night aside, the Doobie Brothers firmly establish their own distinctive style on Toulouse Street. 

Drawing on folk, R&B, and gospel disciplines, and marrying them as needed with a foundation of catchy Southern-reared blues, rock, and country, the collective turns in 10 tunes that grab you and refuse to let go. The energetic, wind-in-your-hair, top-down highway ride of the two tracks that open Toulouse Street — “Listen to the Music” and “Rockin’ Down the Highway” — set both the musical and narrative tone that carries throughout the album. Acoustically strummed guitars; back-porch vocals; jangling chords; purring bass lines; a bit of bar-band riffing; high harmonies: They invite you to sink into the grooves as if they were a comfortable sofa.

The Doobie Brothers further showcase their knack for hybrid combinations on the soft island reggae of “Mamaloi,” mystical balladry of the title track, dual-lead jam “Disciple,” and earthy bite of “Snake Man.” And they absolutely nail the three smart covers. “Jesus Is Just Alright” hit the Top 40, but a swampy take of Seals & Croft’s “Cotton Mouth” and peppy rendition of Sonny Boy Williamson II’s classic blues “Don’t Start Me to Talkin’” warrant equal attention despite being deep cuts. They also demonstrate the judicious use of auxiliary instruments such as piano, organ, and horns, all arranged with uncanny symmetry. 

It’s like the man says: Listen to the music. All the time.