Yep!! I love me some Funkadelic, Parliament, James Brown etc, but this particular song is soo underrated (practically unknown)... the studio version, on headphones, is just insanely incredible, what with the two separate drummers, one in the left channel and the other in the right channel... the way there’s literally like five or six separate guitars licks and riffs that keep cycling, again and again, each one interlocking with the others... that phased bassline, the horns... and last but not least Skunk Baxter’s ridiculous guitar solo!! It’s long been one of favorite pieces of music, as funky and tight as anything by anyone...
The Doobie Brothers were a BADASS Band, they had their own style, I loved it, their '70's songs still sound Awesome to this day!!! Wheels of Fortune is and still my favorite!!!👍👍😎😎
This was the DBs ultimate lineup that had the rockin kick of the first version, and the soulful R&B jazziness of the second. And most importantly, Tiran Porter was still on bass, a hugely under credited component of the Doobies’ sound.
Really good point- the studio version is soo freaking tight and jazzy with over-the-top musicianship, it’s up there with best Steely ever did (and I’m a huge Steely Dan fan, especially from the more rock in’ stuff w/Skunk and then the next two that had Larry Carlton doing the same sort of thing!
This is one of a few songs that I'd use as an example in the question "what would happen if this (or other) song were broadcast by any of the middle-of-dial FM stations.... replete with that dynamic jam.......??? Would people unravel, turn the dial and never listen to such n such a station ever again.....? It gets to a point where when they say "comin' up we got steve miller....... led zep......... zz top......." Okay..... it's 1:12 PM lemme put my paycheck on a wager it's gonna be "the joker" in 4 ...3 .....2 ......1....... sure enough it's the same exact song at same exact time every other day. Tomorrow it'll be The Doobie Brothers' "Listen to the Music". Same Bat time, same Bat channel......!!! First time ever hearing this song was 1977 in Long Beach, CA in a Greek restaurant, having my first falafel and souvlaki, just dropped some $ in the jukebox and this seriously scorching song came thru :) Jeff Baxter and my ex/late in-laws were good friends..... he'd come to visit twice a year. EVERY time my then-wife and I missed dinner with Jeff and them; we're fishing on barrier island Assateague or in Ocean City MD. We were also musicians, would have loved to have met and jammed with the Skunk :) Sad loss. DID get to see them finally in early 2000's tho at Pier 6 in Baltimore Harbor. The 63 "likes" vs 1 "dislike" is pretty good for a score :) thanks for sharing this seaplala87
Tom Johnston, Pat Simmons AND Michael McDonald. They were together briefly before Tom left in '77. Skunk is a great player even though you can't hear his solo, but I think John McFee is better. Tiran rocks that bass.
