Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Finally a worthy edition of this milestone record. You should have this!, July 1, 2008
The best West Coast sound ever, if you ask me.
I think I know about every note on this album. I went through three lp copies before cd's came out. Then I bought the first Warner cd. Flat!
But now it is here, the cover beautifully reproduced, just as it came out (well, smaller..), the embossed cover sleeve, the color photography inside, it's all there.
But what of course hit me most: the music. Fabulously remastered like it should have been done right from the start. Snares cutting, bass humming and popping, guitars sliding and picking, vocals soothing and yearning, keys oooh
The band? Needs no explaining I think.
But here we go anyhow. The Doobie Brothers were a great band from the start, their West Coast Rock and Roll sound unique in its own way. Their biggest hit Listen to the Music is probably in everybody's mind.
But with the addition of Michael McDonald on keys on their previous album Takin' it to the Streets the group got jazzier, and the r&b influences got stronger.
Here, again produced by Ted Templeman, the band grows into perfection. The Doobie Brothers had created their own special blend: genious!
The playing is so tight (with two drummers), the song writing top notch, with every single member hitting his peak. Michael's voice fits perfectly to the new sound. But of course Pat Simmons is fantastic too, as are the others. Guitars? Check out 'Skunk' Baxter!
The Band:
Pat Simmons guitars and vocals
Michael McDonald keys and vocals
Jeff Baxter guitars
Tom Johnston guitars and vocals
Tiran Porter bass and vocals
Keith Knudson drums and vocals
John Hartman drums
Guests:
Bobby LaKind congas and vocals
Dan Armstrong electric guitar
Norton Buffalo harmonica
Victor Feldman vibes
Rosemary Butler and Maureen McDonald backing vocals
The songs:
You're Made That Way
Echoes of Love
Little Darling (I Need You)
You Belong to Me
Livin' on the Fault Line
Nothin' But a Heartache
Chinatown
There's a Light
Need a Lady
Larry the Logger Two Step
As you probably know they went to super stardom with their next album Minute by Minute which had What a Fool Believes. It is of course a marvel in its own right. But if you ask me, I'll stick to this one as a first choice (after which you should get them all...). Its marvelous blend of Jazz, R&B, Rock and Roll and more never shone brighter under the Californian sun.
One more thing: take a look at the great cover photography and the marvelous idea behind creating a different image through the music
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15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Completely Underrated!, October 25, 2004
Critics seem to always be a little lukewarm about this album. I really don't understand why. It stood head and shoulders above many other albums coming out of the late 70s. This album has a jazzy, laidback r&b feel to it. Just about all of the songs are flawless. "Larry the Logger" & "Need A Lady" are probably the only flawed songs on the album & they aren't that bad.
The title track is a very jazzy sounding song. The breezy "Echoes of Love" was a single that should have been a major hit. Their remake of Marvin Gaye's "Little Darling I Need You" surpasses the original. Even back then, Michael McDonald knew his Motown.
The music on this album has a nice, tight feel to it with great harmonies popping up all over the place. No offense to the Bee Gees or KC & the Sunshine Band, but I feel like the Doobie Bros. with this album and "Minute by Minute" really had the blue eyed soul thing down pat - way beyond what those other groups had ( & the other groups did do some good songs).
If you like smooth jazz, this album will fit very well in your collection. In a way, this album was probably Smooth Jazz before there was even the term.
One caution - to some the album may appear to be just a little too rich & creamy, but you may still want to give it a try, especially if you are a Steely Dan fan.
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9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A GREAT LITE ROCK ALBUM, February 15, 2005
LIVIN' ON THE FAULT WAS RELEASED BY THE DOOBIE BROTHERS IN 1977 AND WAS ONE OF THE BEST LITE ROCK ALBUMS OF THAT YEAR. I'VE OWNED THIS OVER THE YEARS ON 8 TRACK,CASSETTE,AND NOW CD. THIS WAS THERE SECOND ALBUM WITH MICHAEL MCDONALD. I LOVE THE HIT SINGLES "ECHOES OF LOVE" AND "LITTLE DARLING(I NEED YOU)" AND "YOU BELONG TO ME" WHICH BECAME A BIG HIT FOR CARLY SIMON IN 1978. THE MUSIC IS KEYBOARD DRIVEN AND SMOOTH AND SOLID,WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THE SHORT COUNTRY ACOUSTIC INSTRUMENTAL SONG "LARRY THE LOGGER TWO STEP" WHICH SEEMS TO BE AN ALBUM FILLER SONG AT THE END OF THE CD.
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album Livin' on the Fault Line 
