The Doobie Brothers What Were Once Vices Are Now Habits MFSL 180g 45RPM 2LP (Use code: FREESHIPPING at Checkout Two Orders or More UK Only)

And I ain't got no worries / 'Cause I ain't in no hurry at all." The capstone to the chorus of the Doobie Brothers' No. 1 hit "Black Water" sums up the feel-good emotions and Southern-styled charm of What Were Once Vices Are Now Habits. As the group's most diverse and ambitious effort upon its release in 1974, the album finds the sextet expanding its stylistic parameters while holding firm on its signature blend of rock, country, and R&B. More than five decades later, it stands along with the band's other early and mid-'70s records as an indispensable staple of a Hall of Fame career.

And now, it plays with reference-grade sonics. 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 of What Were Once Vices Are Now Habits affords the work the luxurious room of a 45RPM version for the first time. Because of the wider grooves, the music benefits from extraordinary soundstages, ultra-quiet backgrounds, big dynamics, and spot-on imaging. Everything sounds crisp and clear.

From the decision to run acoustic guitars through Leslie speakers on "Another Park, Another Sunday" to the naturalism of the shaded vocal harmonies that grace the memorable refrains to the famous a capella parts of "Black Water," the brilliance of Ted Templeman's production shines. Akin to Toulouse Street and The Captain and Me, nothing is overdone.

Aspects that make the songs welcoming and digestible — voices that naturally rise and fall, notes that carry and decay, bass lines you can follow from beginning to end, strategically placed percussive details, warm tones, well-defined separation between the players — come across on this collectible reissue with effortless presence, balance, and realism. As for the spaciousness? Listen to a few bars of the opening "Song to See You Through" and try not to shake your head in disbelief at what you hear.