Album Review

The Doobie Brothers reunion feature Rockin' Down the Highway: The Wildlife Concert has been available on videotape since 1996, but only showed up on DVD in early 2004. The producers have done a great job with the programming and mastering of the DVD, setting the audio levels so extremely high that the sound is bold and loud even at a low setting. The concert video was always state-of-the-art and has translated very well between formats -- this looks so clean and sharp that it seems like a digital video original, and the playback is flawless. The disc is designed so that the full 110-minute program can be played, complete with the interviews with Cornelius Bumpus, Keith Knudsen, and John McFee between the concert material, or to simply play the concert material. The interviews are fascinating for the balance that is achieved, between Patrick Simmons and Tom Johnston, who created the early -- but huge-selling -- hits by the band, and Michael McDonald (who, in effect, appears as a featured guest), who became the voice of the band in its even more successful later incarnation. The songs and interviews have been given individual chapter markers, and all of the features are easily accessible through a simple menu that opens automatically on start-up. ~ Bruce Eder, Rovi