The Doobie Brothers Minute by Minute Hybrid Stereo SACD

Numbered, Limited Edition Hybrid SACD from Mobile Fidelity!
Grammy-Winning Smash Features "What a Fool Believes"!
1980 Grammy Award Winner:
• Record of the Year: "What a Fool Believes"
• Song of the Year: "What a Fool Believes"
• Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Duo, Group or Chorus: Minute by Minute
• Best Arrangement Accompanying Vocals: "What a Fool Believes"
1980 Grammy Award Nominee:
• Album of the Year: Minute by Minute
"Minute By Minute" saved the Doobie Brothers, who were just about to break apart. The album, released on December 1, 1978, was created in a phase in which the sextet – consisting of Patrick Simmons (guitar, vocals), Michael McDonald (keyboards, vocals), Jeffrey "Skunk" Baxter (guitar), Tiran Porter (bass, vocals); John Hartman and Keith Knudsen (drums) – was in a creative crisis. But the recording of the band's eighth album, produced by Ted Templeman at Warner Bros. Recording Studios (North Hollywood, California), was to change everything: "Minute By Minute" stayed on the Billboard 200 for 87 weeks and was certified platinum 3 times by the RIAA. The single "What A Fool Believes" became a smash hit and reached number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. "Minute By Minute made the Doobie Brothers one of the big winners of the 22nd Grammy Awards: The album received the award for Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group and was nominated for Album of the Year. The single "What A Fool Believes" earned them three Grammys, including the one for Best Song and Recording of the Year.
"Minute By Minute" is still considered a milestone in pop music - all the more impressive because initially only a few believed in the potential of the album, which signaled a clear change of direction: It moved away from the boogie-heavy, country-influenced rock that had characterized the successful album series from the early to mid-70s. As on the band's previous studio album, McDonald is once again the center of attention. The musician involved with Steely Dan used his versatile baritone voice, his perfectionist arrangements and his penchant for unusual chord structures to give many songs a soulful and jazzy foundation. Nowhere is this more evident than in "What A Fool Believes," which Rolling Stone ranked number 343 of the best songs of all time. The recording process in the studio was natural, partly because the Doobie Brothers wanted to bounce back from the somewhat disappointing response to their previous album – they just trusted their instincts. The rest, as they say, is history.
Minute by Minute saved the Doobie Brothers even as it nearly broke the band. Created when the group felt uncertain of its place in the music world, the album catapulted the sextet to new commercial heights and signaled a distinct change in direction that the mainstream wholeheartedly embraced. Having sold more than three million copies and stayed on the charts for more than a year, the four-time Grammy-winning Minute by Minute remains a pop landmark — all the more impressive given few initially believed in its potential.
Sourced from the original master tapes and housed in mini-LP-style gatefold sleeve packaging, Mobile Fidelity's numbered-edition hybrid SACD presents the 1978 effort on what is the definitive-sounding digital version of the Rock & Roll Hall of Famers' biggest-selling record. Produced by Ted Templeman the same year he helmed Van Halen's breakthrough debut, Minute by Minute features non-congested openness, snappy rhythms, wonderful tonal balance, exceptionally clear vocals, and the right equilibrium of fine polish and bluesy grit.
All those facets emerge with previously unrealized definition, transparency, smoothness, and solidity on this audiophile reissue. The levels of separation, dynamics, and imaging help bring the Doobie Brothers onto a wide, depth, multi-dimensional soundstage located feet away from your listening position. Templeton's knack for capturing the full frequency spectrum in a vibrant, realistic manner pays dividends throughout this collectible version, which also benefits from the extra groove space and dead-quiet vinyl surfaces. As for chief architect Michael McDonald's elastic, sky-high falsetto? Experience its range like never before.
When the Doobie Brothers laid down the tracks at Warner Bros. Record Studios in Hollywood, CA, it was apparent they would continue to shift from the boogie-infused, country-referencing rock that helped define their successful run of albums from the early to the mid '70s. As he does on the ensemble's prior studio outing, McDonald — still the newest recruit — again takes center stage. The Steely Dan collaborator uses his versatile baritone, perfectionist-oriented arrangement skills, and penchant for unusual chord stylings to give many songs rich, soulful, jazz-tinted foundations.
Nowhere is that strategy more apparent than on "What a Fool Believes," the easygoing No. 1 smash that won the Grammy Awards for Song of the Year and Record of the Year — and which Rolling Stone named the 343rd Greatest Song of All Time. Perhaps the Doobie Brothers didn't invent "yacht rock" with the warm, hook-laden favorite and the other similarly minded cuts on the radio-friendly Minute by Minute — look to the Top 20 title track, relaxed "Open Your Eyes," and horn-accompanied "Dependin' on You" for further evidence — but the band essentially created the template many others would follow.
Save for the pickin' instrumental "Steamer Lane Breakdown," they're practically everywhere. Rising and falling above the twilight organ melody on "You Never Change." Interwoven amid the catchy piano riffs and bass-guided rhythms of the opening "Here to Love You," which establishes a romantic, mellow albeit adult-oriented mood that never lets up. Breezing through the feel-good emotions of "Sweet Feelin'," a comforting collaboration with Nicolette Larson.
Everything happens naturally, and as a result of the Doobie Brothers wanting to rebound from the slightly disappointing reception of their preceding LP. Credit the band for trusting its instincts. Early feedback on the laid-back, R&B-laced fare from friends and record executives wasn't positive, and even a few band members liked the pop sound but wondered about the album and how it would be received.
Lovingly remastered in MoFi's California studio, the reissue of "Minute By Minute" presents this classic in captivating audiophile quality and with a sonic balance and depth that previous editions lack. The strictly numbered hybrid SACD – packaged in a high-quality mini-LP-style clamshell sleeve – makes the work of Ted Templeman, who also produced Van Halen's groundbreaking debut album, shine: the sound is now open and crisp – with exceptionally clear vocals and the right mix of fine sophistication and bluesy roughness.

Features:

• Numbered, Limited Edition
• Super Audio CD
• SACD Stereo SACD Layer
• This Hybrid SACD contains a 'Red Book' Stereo CD Layer which is playable on most conventional CD Players!
• Sourced from the Original Master Tapes
• Mastered by Rob LoVerde at Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab, Sebastopol, CA on the GAIN HD SYSTEM
• Mini-LP-Style Gatefold Sleeve Packaging

Selections:

1. Here To Love You
2. What A Fool Believes
3. Minute By Minute
4. Dependin' On You
5. Don't Stop To Watch The Wheels
6. Open Your Eyes
7. Sweet Feelin'
8. Steamer Lane Breakdown
9. You Never Change
10. How Do The Fools Survive?