AS the hit single Listen To The Music put it, "What the people need is a way to make 'em smile."

And there is much on this compilation to raise a smile, especially if you stick to the early years.

That 1972 single still sounds great today, as too do Jesus Is Just All Right, Long Train Runnin', Take Me In Your Arms (Rock Me) and the stand-out Black Water, from the 1974 album What Were Once Vices Are Now Habits.

The later material, with the exception of Minute By Minute, begins to wander into middle-of-the-road stodge. There have been 14 members of the Doobies, but the most important two still remain Tom Johnston and Patrick Simmons, who drove along all those original songs that seemed to reach out for the sky on a sunny Californian day.

Updated: 09:38 Thursday, August 05, 2004