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- Artist: The Doobie Brothers
- Rating:
- Release Date: 1977 08
- Total Time: 34:26
- Genre: Rock
Review
Livin' on the Fault Line fell between two of the Doobie Brothers' biggest-selling records. The album had no hit singles, and one-time leader Tom Johnston kept a markedly low profile (this would be his last record with the group, not including a later reunion). Despite this, Livin' on the Fault Line contains some of the most challenging and well-developed music of the band's career, with Patrick Simmons and Michael McDonald really stepping to the fore. There's a vague mood of melancholia running through the songs, as well as a definite jazz influence. This is most obvious on the title track, which has several instrumental passages that showcase the guitar abilities of Simmons and Jeff Baxter. Similarly, "Chinatown" is a spooky mood piece not unlike the smooth fusion of late-period Steely Dan or Little Feat. But "Echoes of Love" and "Nothin' But a Heartache" are both intelligent, glistening pop songs that confirm Simmons and McDonald as first-rate tunesmiths. The record slips a little at the end, with a plodding R&B song and a Piedmont guitar instrumental thrown in as filler. Overall, though, this is a chapter in the Doobie Brothers' history that deserves a second look. ~ Peter Kurtz, All Music GuideTracks
| Track Title | Composers | Performers | Time |
| You're Made That Way | Michael McDonald, Jeff Baxter, |
The Doobie Brothers | (3:30) |
| Echoes of Love | Willie Mitchell, Patrick Simmons, |
The Doobie Brothers | (2:57) |
| Little Darling (I Need You) | Lamont Dozier, Eddie Holland, Brian Holland | The Doobie Brothers | (3:24) |
| You Belong to Me | Michael McDonald, Carly Simon | The Doobie Brothers | (3:04) |
| Livin' on the Fault Line | Patrick Simmons | The Doobie Brothers | (4:42) |
| Nothin' But a Heartache | Michael McDonald | The Doobie Brothers | (3:05) |
| Chinatown | Patrick Simmons | The Doobie Brothers | (4:55) |
| There's a Light | Michael McDonald | The Doobie Brothers | (4:12) |
| Need a Lady | Tiran Porter | The Doobie Brothers | (3:21) |
| Larry the Logger Two-Step | Patrick Simmons | The Doobie Brothers | (1:16) |
