The Doobie Brothers – One Step Closer [SACD ISO 百度云]

简介：
This album shows the difference between highly competent musicianship and true inspiration, and what each can deliver. The group’s weakest album to date, One Step Closer is only a failure in relative terms. At the outset of the group’s shift toward a more soulful sound, it might have gotten by in much the same way that, say,
the Bee Gees
‘
Mr. Natural
failed commercially but was given a &pass& by critics, their record label, and, perhaps most importantly, the band itself. But coming off of the multi-Grammy winning
Minute by Minute
, One Step Closer was a serious letdown, despite the presence of a modest hit in &Real Love& and platinum record award-level sales. The band seemed to lack sufficient new inspiration for a whole album, a fact emphasized by the near-complete withdrawal of
Patrick Simmons
as a songwriter — his &No Stoppin’ Us Now,& co-authored with
Michael McDonald
and
Christopher Thompson
, is one of the better tracks and it’s not remotely as strong as the output on earlier records. The title song, co-authored by
Keith Knudsen
and
John McFee
, is similarly a relatively uninspired successor to earlier compositions.
McDonald
is able to pick up some of the slack, along with saxman (and new member)
Cornelius Bumpus
, but overall the songs and the performances just don’t measure up. It’s more the quality of a set of demos in progress, and it was clear to all concerned that they were out of ideas. The Doobies spent the next two years touring and capitalizing on a decade’s brilliant music-making before announcing their split.
曲目：
1. Dedicate This Heart 04:11
2. Real Love 04:23
3. No Stoppin’ Us Now 04:42
4. Thank You Love 06:26
5. One Step Closer 04:13
6. Keep This Train A-Rollin’ 03:32
7. Just in Time 02:46
8. South Bay Strut 04:08
9. One by One 03:49