The Doobie Brothers The Captain and Me Numbered Limited Edition 180g 45rpm 2LP (Use code: FREESHIPPING at Checkout Two Orders or More UK only

Taking off on the commercial success of Toulouse Street, The Captain and Me propelled the Doobie Brothers to superstar status. Having spent an entire year on the charts after its March 1973 release, the band's third record features one classic after another. Not to mention an even-keeled balance between gritty rock fare and mellow balladry that highlights the group's chemistry and songwriting prowess. And a guest turn on pedal steel by Steely Dan alum Jeff "Skunk" Baxter, who'd officially crack the Doobie Brothers' lineup the following year.

Sourced from the original analog master tapes, pressed at Fidelity Record Pressing in California, and housed in a Stoughton gatefold jacket, Mobile Fidelity's numbered-edition 180g 45RPM 2LP presents The Captain and Me in definitive sound. Given the luxurious room of a 45RPM version for the first time and benefiting from the wider grooves, the music unfolds amid large soundstages replete with ultra-quiet backgrounds, vivid dynamics, and sharp imaging. Ted Templeman's excellent production charms like never before.

The organic sonics of The Captain and Medemonstrate why myriad listeners swear allegiance to '70s recordings. Facets that help make the album so welcoming — voices that naturally rise and fall, notes that properly carry and decay, bass lines you can trace from beginning to end, well-placed percussive accents, warm tones, defined separation between the players — come across on this collectible reissue with involving presence, openness, and realism. Everything sounds crisp and clear. Nothing is overdone or out of place, even with the addition of strings and synthesizers in places.

No wonder why The Captain and Me stands as one the feel-good California quintet's signature works. Balanced between Tom Johnston's harder-edged contributions and Patrick Simmons' rustic excursions, the album displays a stunning array of high harmonies and interlocking rhythms. Laidback yet engaged, the stylistic combination belies the Doobies' roots as a Northern California bar band that played at afternoon jam sessions for members of the Hells Angels and parallels its evolution into a more polished, confident collective on par with mainstream peers the Eagles and the Allman Brothers Band.