The most recent Doobie Brothers album, "Southbound," is a real love it or hate it proposition.
I love it, but I do understand how it could be a turn-off for some people.
The concept: strictly a greatest hits re-recorded affair, the draw being a different "currently hot" country guest star on each track.
And while it is the original Tom Johnston / Pat Simmons edition of the band, minus a few players, Michael McDonald DOES make a temporary return to sing his hits from his tenure with the band.
The opening "Black Water" with the Zac Brown Band sets the tone. I really enjoyed seeing Zac perform Sabbath's "War Pigs" with Foo Fighters on David Letterman's show.
You can tell that the performers all grew up with these songs and have a sincere love for them.
Then again, if you hate country music and got tired of songs like "Listen To The Music" and "China Grove," there's no hard sell I could give you that would make you want this one.
BUT...if you are intrigued by the concept as I have described it, I can promise you that you would not be disappointed.
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I always really liked him. 
The other thing is that I listened to some of the old Doobies albums with McDonald on board recently and each album became increasingly "brittle"...synths, electronic drum sounds. I thought the pre-McDonald band was warmer, more "organic" for lack of a better term.
If I were to pick a high-water mark for McDonald, it would have to be Steely Dan's "Katy Lied." I always considered it to be my favorite Dan album and that was in no small measure due to McDonald's contribution, especially on "Bad Sneakers."
Some very close friends of mine just went to see McDonald in Vegas a couple of weeks ago. For them, it was heaven. So like everything else it's just a matter of taste.
Sara Evans was interviewed regarding her participation (a duet with McDonald on "What A Fool Believes"
and said it was a "really hard song to sing" and to my ears, it sounds like she had a really hard time singing it.
But the pre-McDonald stuff is golden. There's no wild improvisation or veering from the norm, just a group of talented musicians re-visiting some timeless songs.
I kind of put them into the Southern rock genre with Lynyrd Skynyrd and others.
...I am religious, but that's never been one of my favorite songs. I've always found it to be more annoying than entertaining.
The "Doobie Brothers experience," for me, was a synergy between the times, the circumstances, the people in my life, and a lot of THC. Same for Journey. I frigging hated Steve Perry when they were on top of the mountain. I hear their stuff today and it puts me back into an era where there was a lot more going on than Journey.
The song's title makes use of the American slang term "all-right", which during the 1960s was used to describe something that was considered 'cool' or very good. The song has been covered by a number of bands and artists over the years, including The Byrds, Underground Sunshine, The Doobie Brothers, Alexis Korner, The Ventures, DC Talk, Stryper, Shelagh McDonald, and Robert Randolph (featuring Eric Clapton).[3]
The first cover version of the song was recorded by the Los Angeles band The Byrds on their 1969 album, Ballad of Easy Rider. The song was later recorded by The Doobie Brothers, who included it on their 1972 album, Toulouse Street. The Doobie Brothers' version of the song was released as a single in November 1972 and it became a hit in the United States, peaking at No. 35 on the Billboard Hot 100. In 1992, the Christian rock and hip hop group, DC Talk, released a version of "Jesus Is Just Alright" on their Free at Last album. Most recently, the song has been covered by Robert Randolph on his Colorblind album, with guest artist Eric Clapton and Stryper's 2013 release, No More Hell to Pay.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesus_Is_Just_Alright
