Hearing new music by the Doobie Brothers is like getting a letter from an old friend. Through all the changes this band has endured over the past 40+ years, the new music sounds great to me. This time around the boys are reunited with producer Ted Templeman, who I've always thought never got enough credit for his production skills.
World Gone Crazy opens with a Tom Johnston number, "A Brighter Day," which I think gets the album off to a solid start. It's not a rocker, but it is a very good mid-tempo tune that the Doobies were always great at pulling off. "Chateau" follows next, and while it would've been a great opener, it sounds great in the two-hole. It's a Pat Simmons rocker, with Ted Templeman picking up a co-writer credit.
Curiously, an early Doobie track gets remade on this set. "Nobody" goes back to the first Doobie Brothers album. Maybe they figured that it was time to give this one some new life.I liked this tune back in the 70's, and it sounds great here on World Gone Crazy.
Next up is the title tune, another Johnston-penned tune. Johnston is in fine form on this album, with songs that are the bread and butter for this band. Pat Simmons writes fine songs, but Johnston's tunes seem to be more street-wise. Both are versatile songwriters, but their styles are unique enough that you rarely see a shared writing credit among them.
Another example of this is in the next track, a mellow Simmons tune called "Far From Home." It's as much a Doobie Brothers track as any, but it so different from the tunes that Johnston write for this record. "Young Man's Game" is next up, and is a great reply to critics who think the band is too old to be rockin.
Michael McDonald reunites with his former mates to lend his vocal support to "Don't Say Goodbye." It's a nice number with a groove that wouldn't have sounded out of place on the group's albums released following Johnston's departure in the late 70's.
Johnston wrote the next two tunes, "My Baby" and "Old Juarez." Both tunes highlight the great vocal sound that has always been a trademark of the Doobie Brothers.
The lone bum track on the album is the next to last tune, a Simmons collaboration with Willie Nelson called "I Know We Won." Maybe it's Willie Nelson's presence or maybe it's just a bad song. Either way, this one's a loser.
"Law Dogs" closes out World Gone Crazy. This one's a Johnston tune, and it's got a bluesy feel to it, with some great slide guitar from John McFee. It's a curious closer, but I'm not sure what other song I would've put into that slot.
It is so good hearing the Doobie Brothers making quality new music. It looks like two new tunes and "Nobody" are featured in the band's current live shows, so that's a good thing. With only one bum track, World Gone Crazy is a winner in my book.
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