Playlist: The California sound of the Seventies

The Doobie Brothers play two shows in Britain this weekend, and have a couple of numbers in our playlist (Kelly A. Swift)

One of the most enduring of all American rock bands to emerge in the early 1970s music scene, the Doobie Brothers are currently paying a rare visit to these shores with shows in Glasgow tonight (3 November) and Manchester (tomorrow).

Along with the Eagles, no band epitomized the feelgood, radio-friendly music emanating from California during those bell-bottomed denim years more than the Doobie Brothers.

The sun-kissed California rock sound became a genre in itself and the Doobies, along with scores of like-minded bands – some of whom might not have hailed from the Golden State originally, but whose music came to be defined by it – produced uncomplicated, unchallenging, but memorable and timeless songs, perfect for the exciting new sound of FM radio.

Here’s a look back to an era before punk and disco changed the musical landscape with just ten of the California Sound’s finest tunes.

The Byrds – Chestnut Mare (1970)

By the dawn of the 1970s, The Byrds, who, along with the Beach Boys, were the only serious American challengers to the Beatles’ omni-brilliance in the 1960s, were in a state of flux with only Roger McGuinn of the original classic five members left. Their last hit in the UK was this metaphor-filled return to form (it’s about a bloke trying to capture a wild horse) – an evocative, self-conscious piece of myth-making as great as anything from their Sixties heyday.

The Beach Boys – Sail on Sailor (1972)

Like the Byrds, the Beach Boys struggled to find their place in the 1970s music scene, but would periodically remind us of their greatness and Brian Wilson’s genius. This glorious track flopped as a single but has endured and is now, thanks to a fabulously soulful vocal from temporary member Blondie Chaplin and lyrics that could be taken as a metaphor for the trials and tribulations of the group through the years, a certifiable Beach Boys classic.

America – Ventura Highway (1972)

The Kings of Seventies soft (or more accurately, wimp) rock, America were basically a watered-down version of Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young. The critics hated them but they were capable of the odd gem, like the spare, yet resonant “Horse With No Name” and “Ventura Highway”, which had the unquantifiable quality of making the listener wish he was there, cruising in an open top Cadillac – even though Ventura Highway, technically at least, didn’t exist.

Jo Jo Gunne – Run, Run, Run (1972)

A big, dumb, brash rock single from a big, dumb, brash rock band. An offshoot from epochal Sixties psych/rock/jazz pioneers Spirit, Jo Jo Gunne’s one stab at greatness reached number six in the UK charts, but they never troubled the charts or the airwaves again.

The Eagles – Take it Easy (1972)

The very essence of the laidback country rock sound that dominated FM radio in the Seventies. Listening to “Take it Easy” now, with its evocative lyrics and carefree open road message, it’s striking how it recalls simpler times for the Eagles and their fans before the fame, the drugs and the egos overtook them.

The Doobie Brothers – Listen to the Music (1972)

A perennial favourite, the quintessential radio-friendly West Coast anthem, with that laidback, singalong quality that defined the California sound of the era. In amongst the catchy guitar licks and luxuriant harmonies, the theme is the unifying effect of music in the quest for world peace. Well it was the Seventies after all, and a lot of “cigarettes” had been smoked.

The Doobie Brothers – Long Train Runnin’ (1973)

The Doobies could rock a lot harder than “Listen to the Music” and “Long Train Runnin’”, driven by an infectious chunky guitar riff that lodges itself in your brain, is the perfect example. Throw in gospel-inflected harmonies and a mean harmonica solo and you have perfect FM radio fodder which, belatedly, became a top ten hit in the UK for the Doobies in 1993.

Little Feat – Rock & Roll Doctor (1974)

The finest Little Feat music is a heady gumbo of bluesy countrified rock with an irresistibly funky groove, heard to best effect on their early albums featuring their brilliant and charismatic spiritual leader, Lowell George. Quirky lyrics (”Two degrees in be-bop, a PHD in swing”) and dazzling musicianship abound on “Rock & Roll Doctor”, a song that swings with a shambling grace. For a definitive version check out YouTube for an Old Grey Whistle Test appearance boasting peerless slide guitar from George, replete with a spark plug socket rather than the traditional bottle neck.

Fleetwood Mac – Rhiannon (1975)

The breakout song from the eponymous album that signalled Fleetwood Mac’s remarkable change of direction and fortune, as they dramatically transformed themselves from British blues also-rans into the epitome of slick, airbrushed California soft rock. “Rhiannon” is the classic Stevie Nicks Fleetwood Mac song, a live tour de force and showcase for her alluring and siren-like vocals.

Poco – Rose of Cimarron (1976)

Depending on how you view country rock in general and the Eagles in particular, this is the band to blame or celebrate for those particular institutions. Poco’s mellow pedal steel and banjo-driven countrified folk/rock pre-dated the Eagles by several years, but the more savvy Eagles took the template and reached heights that Poco could never hope to achieve. They just didn’t have the body of work or the driving ambition of the Eagles, but when Poco got it right, they could fly just as high as their usurpers, as on “Rose of Cimarron”, a gentle, unhurried UK radio staple, still getting plenty of airplay today.