What Were Once Vices Are Now Habits

by The Doobie Brothers

Overview

The Doobies team up with the Memphis Horns for an even more Southern-flavored album than usual, although also a more uneven one. By this time, Tom Johnston, Patrick Simmons, and company had pretty well inherited the mantle and the core (and then some) of the audience left behind by Creedence Clearwater Revival and John Fogerty, with Johnston songs like "Pursuit on 53rd Street," "Down in the Track," and "Road Angel" recalling pieces like "Travelin' Band," while Simmons' "Black Water" (their first number one hit) evoked the softer side of the "swamp rock" popularized by CCR. Actually, in some respects, given the range of instruments employed here, including an autoharp (courtesy of Arlo Guthrie) and viola, the songs on the original LP's first side suffer somewhat from a sameness that makes What Were Once Vices Are Now Habits a little less interesting than the albums that preceded it. The original side two had a lot more variety, which is as good as any full album the band ever recorded: Simmons' "Tell Me What You Want (And I'll Give You What You Need)" and Johnston's "Another Park, Another Sunday," which both outdo the Eagles and Poco at their respective country-rock games (and keep a certain soulful edge, too), Simmons' lyrical, ethereal, slightly spacy "Daughters of the Sea," and the very spacy, shimmering instrumental "Flying Cloud" (written by bassist Tiran Porter). In all, despite the weakness of its original first side, it's got a lot more to offer than the single hit, and has at least six numbers (out of 12) that rate with the better album tracks the group has ever done. ~ Bruce Eder

Product Details

Release Date:	04/14/2023
Label:	Wea
UPC:	4943674371808
Rank:	82035

Album Credits

Performance Credits

The Doobie Brothers   Primary Artist
Wayne Jackson   Trumpet,Horn
Andrew Love   Saxophone,Horn,Sax (Tenor)
The Memphis Horns   Guest Artist,Horn
Arlo Guthrie   Guest Artist,Autoharp,Harmonica,Harp
Novi Novog   Viola
Eddie Guzman   Congas,Timbales,Percussion
Novi Novag   Viola
Novi   Viola,Viola
Keith Knudsen   Vocals,Drums
Bill Payne   Organ,Piano,Clavinet,Keyboards
Patrick Simmons   Guitar,Vocals
Ted Templeman   Percussion
James Booker   Piano
Jack Hale   Trombone
James Mitchell   Horn,Sax (Baritone)
John Hartman   Drums
Tiran Porter   Bass,Vocals,Vocals (Background)
Tom Johnston   Guitar,Vocals
Jeff Baxter   Guitar,Pedal Steel,Guitar (Steel)
Michael Hossack   Drums
Milt Holland   Tabla,Marimba,Pandeiro,Percussion,Vibraphone

Technical Credits

Ted Templeman   Audio Production,Producer
Donn Landee   Audio Engineer,Engineer
Dan Fong   Photography
Chas Barbour   Design,Cover Design,Art Direction
Benita Brazier   Production Coordination
Patrick Simmons   Composer
Andrew Love   Arranger,Horn Arrangements
John Hartman   Composer
Wayne Jackson   Arranger,Horn Arrangements
The Memphis Horns   Horn Arrangements
Tiran Porter   Composer
Tom Johnston   Composer
Lee Herschberg   Engineer,Mastering
Michael Hossack   Composer