The Doobie Brothers - One Step Closer
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Patrick Simmons – guitars, lead and backing vocals
John McFee – guitars, backing vocals
Michael McDonald – keyboards, synthesizers, lead and backing vocals
Cornelius Bumpus – tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone, organ, lead and backing vocals
Tiran Porter – bass
Keith Knudsen – drums, backing vocals
Chet McCracken – drums, vibraphone, marimbas
Bobby LaKind – congas, bongos, backing vocals
Nicolette Larson – backing vocals on "Real Love", "Dedicate This Heart", and "Just In Time"
Patrick Henderson – keyboards on "Real Love", "One By One", and "Keep This Train A-Rollin'"
Lee Thornburg – trumpet on "South Bay Strut" and "Keep This Train A-Rollin'", flugelhorn for "Dedicate This Heart"
Chris Thompson – backing vocals on "No Stoppin' Us Now"
Ted Templeman – tambourine, cowbell, maracas, backing vocals on "One Step Closer"[7]
Jerome Jumonville – tenor saxophone, horn arrangements on "Keep This Train A-Rollin'"
Joel Peskin – baritone saxophone on "Keep This Train A-Rollin'"
Bill Armstrong – trumpet on "Keep This Train A-Rollin'"
Jimmie Haskell – string arrangements on "Real Love" and "South Bay Strut"
1 LP, Gatefold Jacket
Original analog Master tape : YES
Heavy Press : 180g
Record color : black
Speed : 33 RPM
Size : 12'’
Stereo
Studio
Record Press : unspecified
Label : Friday Music
Original Label : Warner Bros Records
Recorded in 1980 at Sunset Sound Recorders, Hollywood ; Warner Bros. Recording Studios, North Hollywood ; United Sound Recorders, Detroit and A&R Recorders, New York
Engineered & mixed by Jim Isaacson
Produced by Ted Templeman
Remastered by Joe Reagoso
Originally released in 1980
Reissued in 2016
Tracks:
Side A:
- Dedicate This Heart
- Real Love
- No Stopping Us Now
- Thank You Love
Side B:
- One Step Closer
- Keep This Train A-Rollin'
- Just In Time
- South Bay Strut
- One By One
Reviews:
“This album shows the difference between highly competent musicianship and true inspiration, and what each can deliver. The group's weakest album to date, One Step Closer is only a failure in relative terms. At the outset of the group's shift toward a more soulful sound, it might have gotten by in much the same way that, say, the Bee Gees' Mr. Natural failed commercially but was given a "pass" by critics, their record label, and, perhaps most importantly, the band itself. But coming off of the multi-Grammy winning Minute by Minute, One Step Closer was a serious letdown, despite the presence of a modest hit in "Real Love" and platinum record award-level sales. The band seemed to lack sufficient new inspiration for a whole album, a fact emphasized by the near-complete withdrawal of Patrick Simmons as a songwriter -- his "No Stoppin' Us Now," co-authored with Michael McDonald and Christopher Thompson, is one of the better tracks and it's not remotely as strong as the output on earlier records. The title song, co-authored by Keith Knudsen and John McFee, is similarly a relatively uninspired successor to earlier compositions. McDonald is able to pick up some of the slack, along with saxman (and new member) Cornelius Bumpus, but overall the songs and the performances just don't measure up. It's more the quality of a set of demos in progress, and it was clear to all concerned that they were out of ideas. The Doobies spent the next two years touring and capitalizing on a decade's brilliant music-making before announcing their split.” AllMusic Review by Bruce Eder
Ratings :
Discogs : 3,54 / 5