Personnel: John McFee (vocals, guitar, dobro, mandolin, violin, harmonica); Patrick Simmons (vocals, guitar, banjo, flute, synthesizer); Cornelius Bumpus (vocals, soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone, organ); Michael McDonald (vocals, keyboards, synthesizer); Bobby LaKind (vocals, percussion); Tiran Porter, Dave Shogren (vocals); Jeff Baxter (guitar); Chet McCracken (vibraphone, marimba, drums); Michael Hossack (drums, congas, timbales, percussion); John Hartman , Keith Knudsen (drums, percussion).

Audio Mixers: Chris Lord-Alge; Elliot Scheiner; Rodney Mills.

Audio Remasterers: Dave Schultz; Andrew Garver; Bill Inglot.

Audio Remixer: Donn Landee.

Liner Note Author: Barry Alfonso.

Recording information: A&R Recorders, New York, NY; Capitol Studios, Hollywood, CA; Curtom Studios, Chicago, IL; Earthwalk Studio, Agoura Hills, CA; Hyperbolic Sound, Maui, HI; Lizard Rock Studio, Solvang, CA; Pacific Recording Studios, San Mateo, CA; Record Plant, Sausalito, CA; The Burbank Studios, Burbank, CA; The Plant Recording Studios, Sausalito, CA; Tom Hall's Melody Line Studios, Maui, HI; United Sound Recorders, Detroit, MI; Warner Bros. Recording Studios, North Hollywood, CA; Western Recorders, Hollywood, CA.

Photographers: Michael Maggid; Michael Putland; Dan Fong; Henry Diltz; Andy Katz.

From their early recipe of country harmony, funk, guitar grit, and gospel power to their morphing into a first-rate adult contemporary R&B band, the Doobie Brothers' arc in the '70s and early '80s mirrors that of early FM radio itself. The band has already documented this period on several greatest-hits collections, all of varying degrees of depth. Stretching out over 33 tracks THE VERY BEST OF THE DOOBIE BROTHERS offers all of the hits, such as "China Grove," "Listen to the Music," "Jesus is Just All Right," and "What A Fool Believes," while there are enough deep cuts such as "Sweet Maxine" and their reunion hit "The Doctor" to keep avid fans happy. Two discs is a whole lot of Doobies, and this collection may overstay the welcome of the undecided with its focus on the comeback era of the mid '80s. Otherwise, this is a solid place to get a broad view of this classic band.

There have been plenty of single-disc Doobie Brothers collections released over the years. There have been two-part vinyl Best of the Doobies, there have been budget-line collections, and there have been OK overviews as well as excellent generous discs with all the big hits. There's even been a comprehensive four-disc box, but what there hasn't been is a double-disc set -- something that falls between the conciseness of 2001's terrific Greatest Hits (the first CD to contain all the big hits on one CD) and 1999's four-disc Long Train Runnin' 1970-2000. That's what 2007's The Very Best of the Doobie Brothers is, a double-disc helping of the Doobies' biggest songs from "Listen to the Music" to "The Doctor." Actually, this Very Best stretches a little further than "The Doctor," which arrives five songs from the end, illustrating the point that for the average listener, this may be just a little too generous at 33 tracks. That's a long running time, providing room for all the hits plus a bunch of album tracks that weren't necessarily on album rock radio, so this may be too much for listeners who just want the hits; they should stick to that 2001 Greatest Hits. But for fans who want a lot of the Doobies' best without investing in either the original albums or the box, this Very Best is welcome. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine