Customer Reviews

Doobie Brothers - Rockin' Down The Highway: The Wildlife Concert

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

No one will love every song, but overall on a first listen this is a really fun Surround Sound concert DVD. The harmonies are very good and the guys can play and the band can rock - albeit I'm not a "slow-song" fan, so I always find too many of those.
But I'm comparing the recording surround sound quality to the Eagles concert DVDs recorded in the same era if I'm not mistaken, or Concert for George (Eric Clapton), and this just isn't as good. The surround channels are mainly hall-noise - okay, that's a valid artistic choice - but the percussion and bass seem largely absent, compared to other material I've heard.
Pity.
Very well worth owning, notwithstanding.

I picked up the farewell show from 82 on DVD last month and was impressed but not blown away. The band was super tight and the songs sounded great but the spark was missing from some of the performances. It also focused more on the Michael MacDonald period of the band. With only one song with Tom Johnston. This recorded almost 15 years later has all the energy of a band at the beginning of their career. How the Doobie's pull that off I don't know but they do. The songs again here are tight but with a fire in them still. Great set list and excellent sound (but no DTS mix just Dolby Digital). It was shot in studio so the picture is amazing. I have not checked out the third Doobie Brother's DVD that is out yet but out of the two I own this is the one to get. The Michael MacDonald years are represented with a mini set in the middle whith MacDonald joining the band for that periods hits. I am not knocking MacDonald it just comes down to taste and I tend to favor the early years. But love tracks like Takin' It To The Streets.
If you are a fan of the Doobie's and want a DVD of them or you are like me and new to the party I think you will be happy you picked this up!

Loved this concert. They are really down to earth folks. The sound and performances are crystal clear. I'm glad they had Michael McDonald sing with them on the songs he leads. Their cause for wildlife conservation is great too! I didn't know before buying this DVD that they were involved. I admire them for their cause and generosity to this. Worth buying if you love the Doobies!

I picked up this DVD last week and it has quickly become one of my all time favourites. Right from the start the Doobies are into their thing. The venue is done in front of a small audience and its obvious the band enjoyed a more intimate setup. I personally liked the original Doobies so I was thrilled to see that Johnson and Simmons do most of the singing. The live versions of South City Midnight Lady and Jesus
is Just Alright are electrifying and you will find yourself wanting more. So kick the kids outta the house and crank it...and
let the good times roll!!

Considering I have bought some bad DVD's and some Great DVD's, I am going to have to buy two of these, since I will probably wear this one out rather quickly. I had been waiting for a Doobie DVD for quite some time, getting little snippets along the way with their appearance on Michael McDonald and Friend's DVD, and the on the Farm Aid DVD. But this is classic 'kick butt' Doobie music! A well designed set list for the DVD, stating off with Dangerous, just so you'll get geared up with your foot tappin' to a super song. All of the guys do an excellent, no, make that out freakin standing job, playing some of the best music of their's from the 70's and 80's. I will agree with the other reviewer, John McFee does a fantastic pickin job on the dobro, his electric, and also the pedal steel. A song that he and Pat does 'Soquel Rag' demonstrates just how talented these two guys are. Pat, well Pat is Pat, he just another piece of the stropng Backbone of a super Doobie Brother, what can I say? Let's not throw any dirt on Tom either, he picks up and plays the old Doobie licks like when I was standing right near the stage back in the 70's. Fade to several songs with Michael McDonald sitting in with the band and you have the complete bunch! Couple this with the dual drummers, Keith and Mike, and dual saxophones, Skylark plunkin the bass and fillin' in with his vocals, and you have what we have always had, the best dang Doobie music in a long time. These guys are timeless! In closing, you better go buy this DVD, it's one of those like the Eagle's 'Hell Freezes Over' or Fleetwood Mac's 'The Dance' that won't last on the shelves long when everyone finds out just how great the sound is on this album.

This is an amazing look at one of the best bands of the 70's and 80's. All their hits are here and brillantly done. This DVD focuses totally on the band. The sound is outstanding and so is the clear, crisp picture. Michael McDonald joins them at another venue{escapes me now}for four songs. All mostly his vocal hits.By the way, most of the show is filmed in New York. I wasn't a big fan of
the McDonald "era" but his songs are done very well. If you are a fan of this group buy it now. If you

are not, buy it anyway. I have alot of the best looking and sounding DVD's like the Eagles,
Led Zep, James Taylor etc. This one goes right to the top of the
shelf. The other review gives the setlist, so I won't go into
that.This gives a great view of this wonderful band. GO GET IT
NOW!!!

Amazing bass player, this guy is an animal on bass, plays with such ease, accuracy and style, I wish the camera spent more time on him
so I can learn some of the riffs. Isn't it true that bass players get ignored the most in every music DVD? Why is that? I'll tell you - because
most people do not understand the instrument. Show me one band in the world without a bass! Not one!!! But there are many bands without guitars,
keyboards, singers, even drums - not one without bass guitar. Yet bass players are rarely in the camera focus, and when they are it is for a fraction
of a second. Shame. Cameraman focus so much time on guitar players and singers it is painfull to watch sometimes (not this DVD I must say).
This DVD is better than most in that regard, and sound is good too. If you already like the band you'll like them more after watching.

Just picked up this DVD this evening, not even knowing that it just came out and it was a great investment. The sound mix is mostly great (except on one Pat Simmons solo that just wasn't given the punch it deserved from the mixer). Otherwise, this is a great show, many of the best tunes, original vocals, great rhythm section as usual for the Doobies and they still sound as tight and professional as ever. They look like they're having a good time and the venue being small and built for sound brings this show to life on the home screen. If you were ever a Doobies fan, this is a must have DVD.

Great! Great! Great! Finally, they released this fantastic concert on DVD. This is a Wildlife Preservation Society benefit concert originally recorded for a television broadcast in 1996. The Doobies have had many different lineups through the years. But with Tom Johnson, Pat Simmons, and Michael McDonald appearing together in this concert - all the songs are sung by the original recording vocalists! The one exception to this is that Tiran Porter is not there to sing the "Jesus, he's my friend" break in Jesus is Just Alright. However, Corneius Bumpus does an excellent job filling in for him.

There is a menu option to bypass the musician interviews that occur between some of the songs. When played this way the transition from one song to the next is a bit abrupt. But that's just a minor annoyance, I'm really glad they included this option. And when played with interview segments included, they don't actually cut into the middle of songs like I've seen happen on other concert videos (Allman Brothers at Great Woods, for instance).

Sound quality is excellent and video quality is excellent too.

Doobie Brothers lineup: Tom Johnson, Pat Simmons, Micheal McDonald, Keith Knudsen, Mike Hossack, John McFee, Skylark, Dale Ockerman, Danny Hill.
Additional musicians: Corneius Bumpus, Carlos Guaico, Buck Johnson, Guy Allison.

Tracklist:
Dangerous
Jesus Is Just Alright
Rockin' Down The Highway
Slack Key Soquel Rag
South City Midnight Lady
Clear As The Driven Snow
Excited
Takin' It To The Streets
Minute By Minute
What A Fool Believes
Black Water
Neal's Fandango
Wild Ride
The Doctor
Slow Burn
Take Me In Your Arms
Without You
Long Train Runnin'
China Grove
Listen To The Music

I first bought the CD then the video of this concert. Here are some of the finest, most polished musicians you will ever see, playing their signature blend of rock, country, jazz and blues. The CD was great, but it is awesome to actually watch the skill of these guys with their instruments. With all due respect to my favorite band members and Doobie originators Pat Simmons (the heart and spokesperson for the band), and Tom Johnston (the voice and hard edge rocker) and the rest of these talented guys -- the real treat is watching the absolute precision of the quietly reserved John McFee (who fronts with Simmons and Johnston)on electric, classical and steel guitars, as well as violin. He is incredible, and Simmons and Johnston allow McFee plenty of showcasing. Also, the Doobie's tradition of dual drummers provides the driving beat of the music, adding to their reputation as masters of clean sound. The CD has about 5 more songs than the VHS, and the songs are in a slightly different order, but the trade off is the visuals. On the VHS, the 3 Michael McDonald tunes come half way thru in a cutaway to another, larger concert. The tunes are excellent, but the McDonald-period of the Doobies has never been for me. Give me the soul of 'Toulouse Street' over the falsetto 'What a Fool Believes' any day. Now the drawbacks, but DON'T let them hamper you from buying the VHS. You can live with it, folks: The Doobies are a California band, and this show was taped live in front of a super Elmer Fuddy-Duddy "Noo Yawk" audience at Sony Studios in Manhatten, who would obviously be much more at home watching Billy Joel croon "Don't go changing..." for the umpteenth time. Many look like they just stopped in after a long day on Wall Street, and appear to have trouble letting their hair down for an evening of Doobie-style rock and roll. For this I fault the producers, who probably papered the audience for this performance with upper-scale Yuppie types -- God only knows why. A truly embarrassing moment for the band occurs when Simmons introduces a number "from an album we made called 'The Captain and Me.'" He is met with a gigantic wall of deafening dead silence, to which he finally replys, "And .... I guess you don't remember that one." Later, we're subjected to a pair of vintage Easty-Coasty Rosanne Roseanna-Danna look-alikes who get up and dance directly in front of the band and will not sit down (while the rest of the audience just sits there). EEeeewwww! Thankfully, the camera operator stays away from them pretty much. Sorry, but a California audience would have been much more appreciative and deserving as witnesses of this historic taping of one of America's finest and most talented rock and roll bands. (Let the Manhattanites bathe in Sinatra and Jerry Vale. The Doobies belong to California, baby.) Overall: a truly first-class performance that you will cherish and watch time and time again. Well worth owning, especially at the excellent price on the CD and the VHS offered through Amazon.com. Highly recommend you get both, like I did! And to the Doobies I say, "Rock and Roll, dudes!"