Doobie Brothers The Captain and Me on Numbered-Edition Hybrid SACD from Mobile Fidelity: Mastered from the Original Master Tapes for Phenomenal Sound

Double-Platinum 1973 Album Features Massive Hits "China Grove" and "Long Train Runnin'" 

Taking off on the commercial success of Toulouse Street, the Doobie Brothers' The Captain and Me propelled the group to superstar status. Having spent an entire year on the charts after its March 1973 release, the band's third record features one classic tune after another, including the mega-hits "China Grove" and "Long Train Runnin'."

To many, The Captain and Me remains the feel-good California quintet's best work. Balanced between Tom Johnston's harder-rocking contributions and Patrick Simmons' mellow country-laced ballads, the album satisfies all tastes and displays a stunning array of high harmonies and interlocking rhythms. Laidback yet engaged, the stylistic combination belies the Doobies' roots as a Northern California bar band that played at afternoon jam sessions for members of the Hell's Angels and its evolution into a more polished, confident mainstream band on par with fellow peers the Eagles and the Allman Brothers Band.

Such biker-meets-beach mentality can be heard on the lead-off "Natural Thing," a midtempo tune that feeds of the tension between the acoustic and electric guitars, and on the skyward title track, which builds in energy as it moves towards a climax. And of course, there's "China Grove" and "Long Train Runnin'," each a 70s pop-rock hallmark that conjures the liberating feelings of wind blowing through your hair and three-day weekends. Deceptively simple and thoroughly enjoyable, the Doobies understand that music is supposed to be fun – and that it needs to groove.

Mobile Fidelity realizes that, too. Mastered from the original master tapes and loaded with detail, MoFi's hybrid stereo SACD of The Captain and Me glows with radiant warmth, organic tones, and acoustic presence. You have never heard the familiar chorus of "China Grove" or romance of "South City Midnight Lady" with such clarity, soul, or immediacy. This is 70s rock at its best.

"In a direct listening comparison performed on the highly respected Ayre CX-5eMP player, the MoFi disc gave no quarter to the DVD-A, with the hybrid SACD having a warmer and more inviting midrange and the DVD-A disc a wider soundstage. I could live happily with either edition. Surprisingly, playing the CD layer on my reference Naim CD555 player provided the best overall tonality and most bass slam. So yes, there's still a lot to be said for well-executed 16/44 playback."
– Jeff Dorgay, TONEAudio