Mobile Fidelity UDSACD2061 - SACD Hybrid Stereo 

Numbered Limited  Edition - Plays On All CD Players

Mastered on the Mobile Fidelity GAIN 2™ Mastering Technology for Ultradisc Hybrid SACD

Virtuosity-Based 1975 Album Arguably Marks Group's Peak in Studio Maria Muldaur, Curtis Mayfield, Ry Cooder, and Victor Feldman Among Distinguished Guests Soulful Songs Stretch Out, Yet Remain Tethered to Rootsy Base

The Doobie Brothers’ illustrious career is marked by a string of hits, two of which, “Sweet Maxine” and “Take Me In Your Arms (Rock Me),” are included here. But Stampede offers much more. In terms of musical dexterity, the 1975 set stands as the group’s peak studio moment.

With ex-Steely Dan guitarist Jeff “Skunk” Baxter finally a full-time member of the band, the California quintet steps up everything from the arrangements to the songwriting. The group also invited several distinguished guests along for the ride: Vocalist Maria Muldaur, soul legend Curtis Mayfield, slide guitarist Ry Cooder, and jazz hand Victor Feldman among them. The results are as good on record as they appear on paper.

A definitive staple of 1970s rock, Stampede traverses a wellspring of soulful genres while remaining tethered to a rootsy anchor. Western-themed rock, retro blues, all of which stand the test of time and both reference and advance ideas generated by the Byrds, Eagles, and Steve Miller. Connoisseurs of fine-tuned playing need to tune into the stripped-down acoustics of “Slat Key Soquel Rag” and Baxter’s classically styled instrumental “Precis.” As far as virtuosity is concerned, few mid-'70s albums equaled the balance of Stampede.

The record’s highlights are legion, yet the best quality may be the Doobies’ unwillingness to play it safe. Whether it’s Mayfield’s arrangements on the forceful “Music Man,” Cooder's tasty accents on “Rainy Day Crossroad Blues,” or Muldaur’s passionate vocals on “I Cheat the Hangman,” the band brings it all to the table, and then some. If you only know the Doobies by way of radio smashes such as “Listen to the Music,” you are in for a treat.

Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab engineers invested tremendous care into the mastering of Stampede from the original master tapes. Akin to the other five titles in Mobile Fidelity’s Doobie Brothers catalog restoration series, this 1975 classic breathes with new life that’s on par with Keith Richards receiving a blood transfusion. Not only does the instrumental finesse of the guest musicians shine, the Doobies’ rhythms and melodies come on with a tube-like warmth and plentiful airiness that enhance the enjoyment of the record. This is a killer album that no one should be without, particularly now that it sounds absolutely fantastic!

Selections:
1. Sweet Maxine
2. Neal's Fandango
3. Texas Lullaby
4. Music Man
5. Slack Key Soquel Rag
6. Take Me In Your Arms (Rock Me a Little While)
7. I Cheat the Hangman
8. Precis
9. Rainy Day Crossroad Blues
10. I Been Workin' on You
11. Double Dealin' Four Flusher

Mobile Fidelity believes that mastering systems should be neutral and transparent. The essential idea is to unveil all the detailed musical information on the original master recording without adding deterioration, coloration or other sonic artifacts. 

It is worth noting that Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab stands out as one of few record labels that independently invests in research and development of audio technology. With proprietary innovations such as GAIN 2™, general music enthusiasts and audiophiles alike have reaped the benefit of a higher consumer audio standard without investing in costly new hardware. Mobile Fidelity is pleased to work with a variety of engineering legends and companies including Tim de Paravicini, Ed Meitner, Pass Labs, Theta Digital and Sony Electronics. 

Our joint efforts to seek out the ultimate audio experience, has resulted in significant advances for the technology of music reproduction. 

GAIN 2™ Mastering Technology for Ultradisc UHR™ Hybrid SACD and Ultradisc II™ 24kt Gold CDs 

For over twenty years, Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab has continually searched for the ultimate audio experience. During this search MFSL engineers and associates created The GAIN™ System, a proprietary mastering technology which brought warmth and ambience to the compact disc format. A few years ago - with higher resolution formats on the horizon - the vision of GAIN 2™ began. As it stands today, GAIN 2™ is one of the greatest technical advancements in analogue and digital technology in the last ten years. It consists of a series of critical modifications and new components to Mobile Fidelity's proprietary mastering chain. 

We feel that GAIN 2™ has come extremely close to meeting this goal. The key accomplishments of GAIN 2™ System are 1) the ability to extract all the musical information as possible through the Ultra High bandwidth analogue tape playback system with proprietary custom tape playback heads, reproducer electronics and 2) transparently capturing and storing that information with the Direct Stream Digital recording system.