John Hartman - drums; Keith Knudsen - drums; Michael McDonald - keyboards, vocals; Tiran Porter - bass, vocals; Patrick Simmons - guitar, vocals; Jeff "Skunk" Baxter - guitar; The Memphis Horns
The Doobie Brothers were riding high on the pop charts when this show was captured in Alabama in the fall of 1975. The show was recorded shortly after the departure of founding member and singer/guitarist Tom Johnston, who was forced to leave the band and was replaced by the then-unknown Michael McDonald. Although this is a condensed set, all but one of the eight songs featured here had been a radio hit for the Bay Area-based rock band. Opening with their hit version of the little-known Byrds song, "Jesus Is Just Alright," and then launching into the energetic "Rockin' Down The Highway," this show is a tour de force for a band that had already re-invented itself a handful of times before their widely acclaimed hit song, "Listen To The Music" in 1972.
The group performs a couple of unplugged songs, including the dream-like, "South City Midnight Lady" and "Eyes Of Silver." From that point on, the show never slows down. "Black Water," the band's novelty Cajun-rock song, is followed by an eight-plus minute take on the electrifying "Long Train Runnin."
The Doobie Brothers went through major upheaval when they asked Johnston (one of their prolific songwriters and singers) to step down due to health reasons. But in the end, it all worked out because they found Michael McDonald. McDonald took the group to the top of the charts and picked up numerous Grammys along the way with his smooth brand of gospel flavored R&B.