Walk This Road (2025)

"A new Doobie Brothers album might not be a surprise in itself, since core members Tom Johnston, John McFee and Patrick Simmons have been chugging along merrily this century, releasing four well-crafted albums. What is a surprise is the return of vocalist Michael McDonald, an intermittent guest of late but now a full participant for the first time since 1980’s fractious "One Step Closer". Gritty and blues-tinged, "Here To Stay", "Angels And Mercy" and "New Orleans" are throwbacks to the pre-McDonald era. With McDonald the youngest Doobie at 73 there’s a sense of reflection too, especially on "Lahaina", the closing comfort ballad titled after a town in Hawaii, which features Mick Fleetwood and Hawaiian ukulele wizard Jake Shimabukuru. The languid "Speed Of Pain" is a showcase for McDonald’s ruminating vocals and his stentorian piano, while "Learn To Let Go" could have graced "Minute By Minute." "Walk This Road" is an album as full of joy as it is of craft." (Loudersound.com; 3,5 uit 5 sterren)