Walk This Road, the Doobie Brothers' first album of original material with Michael McDonald since 1980, is out now. It's named after a song called "Walk This Road," a track about unity and coexistence that features Mavis Staples. McDonald explains why the song's theme made it the right album title.
"With titles for records, we were always looking for ... something that encapsulates the idea of the whole project, or at least an idea of where you are as an artist at that moment," he tells ABC Audio. "And I think for us, it checked a few boxes: A. That we're back together in a form that we haven't been [before] and kind of trudging this road together once again."
McDonald, the voice behind Doobie hits like "What a Fool Believes" and "Minute by Minute," adds that the title "seemed to, in the immediate sense, speak to us as a band, as individuals getting back together to do a record again." In addition, it represents "where we're at in the big picture, as a people."
The Walk This Road lineup also features founding members Tom Johnston and Patrick Simmons, plus John McFee, who joined in 1979. McDonald and Johnston previously overlapped for one album — 1976's Taking It to the Streets — so Simmons says Walk This Road was "an opportunity for those two to connect musically."
"They're both real R&B freaks. So being able to employ that on this record really made a difference in terms of just the enjoyment factor," he says.
And Simmons also appreciates having McDonald back in the mix.
"A lot of people often, rightly so, talk about what a wonderful voice Mike has, and that's kind of been what gets spotlighted a lot in his music," says Simmons. "But he is a heck of a keyboard player."