The Doobie Brothers - Takin’ It to the Streets (MoFi, Limited Edition, 45RPM, 2xLP)

The Doobie Brothers faced a serious predicament as they prepared

to record Takin’ It to the Streets. That the group navigated a

potentially serious personnel problem and scored its fourth straight

Top 10 album — while again expanding its range — speaks to

the collective’s chemistry, broad-mindedness, and songwriting

abilities. Known as the effort on which vocalist-keyboardist

Michael McDonald makes his debut, the 1976 set stands as an

all-encompassing representation of the styles the Doobie Brothers

explored during their heyday. Enriched by the time-signature-shifting

ballad “For Someone Special,” spring-loaded “8th Avenue Shuffle,”

and two huge McDonald-led singles (the title track and “It Keeps

You Runnin’”), Takin’ It to the Streets spun uncertainty into gold.

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

presents Takin’ It to the Streets in definitive sound. Given the

luxurious room of a 45RPM version for the first time and benefiting

from the wider grooves, songs unfold amid large soundstages

replete with ultra-quiet backgrounds, big dynamics, and accurate

imaging. Ted Templeman’s production is brought to light with stellar

clarity and definition. Altered yet unbowed, the Doobie Brothers

once again offered countless listeners “the best kind of remedy”

with feel-good music that holds up amid any era.