The Doobie Brothers Little Darling

3rd track from Livin On The Fault Line (1977). This is the McDoobie remake of Marvin Gaye s 1966 hit. Livin on the Fault Line contains some of the most challenging and welldeveloped music of the band s career, with Patrick Simmons and Michael McDonald really stepping to the fore. There s a vague mood of melancholia running through the songs, as well as a definite jazz influence. This is most obvious on the title track, which has several instrumental passages that showcase the guitar abilities of Simmons and Jeff Baxter. Similarly, Chinatown is a spooky mood piece not unlike the smooth fusion of lateperiod Steely Dan or Little Feat. But Echoes of Love and Nothin But a Heartache are both intelligent, glistening pop songs that confirm Simmons and McDonald as firstrate excerpt from Review by Peter Kurtz