Livin' on the Fault Line

Livin' on the Fault Line is the seventh studio album by the American rock band the Doobie Brothers. The album was released on August 19, 1977, by Warner Bros. Records. It is one of the few Doobie Brothers albums of the 1970s which did not produce a Top 40 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 (although "You Belong to Me" was a hit as recorded by co-author Carly Simon). Still, the album received modest critical acclaim. Tom Johnston (guitar, vocals) left the band early in the sessions. He is listed as part of the band (appearing in the inside group photo) but appears on little or none of the actual album: he wrote and sang five songs during the sessions for the album, but they were not included on the final release. The track "Little Darling (I Need You)" is a remake of the Marvin Gaye 1966 hit.

Livin' on the Fault Line
Studio album by the Doobie Brothers
Released	August 19, 1977
Recorded	1977 at Sunset Sound Recorders, Hollywood, CA, Western Recorders, Hollywood, CA and Warner Bros. Recording Studios, North Hollywood, CA
Genre	Pop rock, soft rock, R&B
Length	34:26
Label	Warner Bros.
Producer	Ted Templeman
The Doobie Brothers chronology
Best of The Doobies (1976) Livin' on the Fault Line (1977) Minute by Minute (1978)
Singles from Livin' on the Fault Line
"Little Darling (I Need You)" / "Losin' End" Released: July 1977 "Echoes of Love" / "There's a Light" Released: September 21, 1977 "Nothin' But a Heartache" / "Livin' on the Fault Line" Released: November 9, 1977

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[2]
The Great Rock Discography	5/10[3]
Rolling Stone	(mixed)[4]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[5]

Track listing

Side one

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Vocals	Length
1.	"You're Made That Way"	Michael McDonald, Jeff Baxter, Keith Knudsen	Michael McDonald	3:30
2.	"Echoes of Love"	Patrick Simmons, Willie Mitchell, Earl Randle	Pat Simmons	2:57
3.	"Little Darling (I Need You)"	Holland–Dozier–Holland	McDonald	3:24
4.	"You Belong to Me"	Carly Simon, McDonald	McDonald	3:04
5.	"Livin' on the Fault Line"	Simmons	Simmons, McDonald	4:42

Side two

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Vocals	Length
6.	"Nothin' But a Heartache"	McDonald	McDonald	3:05
7.	"Chinatown"	Simmons	Simmons, McDonald	4:55
8.	"There's a Light"	McDonald	McDonald	4:12
9.	"Need a Lady"	Tiran Porter	Tiran Porter (w/cameos by Simmons, McDonald)	3:21
10.	"Larry the Logger Two-Step"	Simmons	instrumental	1:16

Personnel

The Doobie Brothers:

• Patrick Simmons – electric and acoustic guitars, lead and backing vocals
• Jeff "Skunk" Baxter – electric and acoustic guitars
• Michael McDonald – acoustic and electric pianos, organ, clavinet, synthesizer, lead and backing vocals
• Tiran Porter – bass, backing vocals, lead vocals on "Need a Lady"
• Keith Knudsen – drums, percussion, backing vocals
• John Hartman – drums, percussion
• Tom Johnston – guitar, vocals (listed as band member in credits but does not appear on album)

Additional Players:

• Bobby LaKind – congas, backing vocals
• Dan Armstrong – electric sitar solo on "Need a Lady"
• Norton Buffalo – harmonica on "There's a Light"
• Victor Feldman – vibes on "Livin' on the Fault Line"
• Rosemary Butler – backing vocals on "Little Darling (I Need You)", "You Belong to Me" and "There's a Light"
• Maureen McDonald – backing vocals on "You're Made That Way"
• Ted Templeman – percussion
• David Paich – string and horn arrangements on "You're Made That Way", "Little Darling (I Need You)", "You Belong to Me" and "There's a Light", string arrangement on "Nothin' But a Heartache"

Production

• Producer – Ted Templeman
• Production coordination – Beth Naranjo
• Engineer – Donn Landee
• Second engineer – Kent Nebergall
• Cover photography and album design – Bruce Steinberg
• Inner sleeve photo – Michael Zagaris
• Aerial photo pilot – Roger Glenn
• Hand-tinting – Kristin Sundbom

Charts

Chart (1977)	Peak position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[6]	16
Canada (RPM (magazine))[7]	12
New Zealand (RIANZ)[8]	14
UK (Official Charts)[9]	25
US Top LPs & Tape (Billboard)[10]	10

References

1. Peter Kurtz. "Livin' on the Fault Line - The Doobie Brothers". AllMusic. Retrieved 2018-08-24.
2. Larkin, Colin (2011). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th concise ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-0-85712-595-8.
3. Strong, Martin Charles (2002). "The Doobie Brothers". The Great Rock Discography. The National Academies. ISBN 1-84195-312-1.
4. John Milward (1977-11-03). "The Doobie Brothers: Livin' On The Fault Line". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 2007-12-01. Retrieved 2018-08-24.
5. Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian, eds. (2004). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 253. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
6. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 92. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
7. "RPM Search Engine" (PHP). Library and Archives Canada. March 31, 2004.
8. "The Doobie Brothers" (ASP). New Zealand Charts. Hung Medien. Retrieved June 28, 2011.
9. "Artist Chart History: Doobie Brothers". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 1, 2021.
10. "The Doobie Brothers Chart History: Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved October 1, 2021.