The Doobies’ third album was fuller-bodied and more energetic than the works that came before it. With the auxiliary support of Steely Dan’s guitarist Jeff Baxter and Little Feat’s keyboardist Bill Payne, The Captain and Me is the product of a highly accomplished and animated musical ensemble. The heavy songs got heavier (“Evil Woman,” “Without You”), the groovy songs got groovier (“Long Train Runnin’”), and gentle songs got gentler (“South City Midnight”). The Doobies’ specialty was combining several different threads of music — hard rock, folk, funk and jazz — but even more impressive was their ability to make pop singles out of such complex mixtures. Amazingly, the catchiest songs on The Captain and Me are the ones that have the most ingredients. “Natural Thing,” “China Grove” and “The Captain and Me” feature cyclical, enthralling rhythms and complex instrumental parts, but they also work as snappy radio singalongs. Such is the creative genius of the Doobies — they delivered to the listener a musical education in the guise of a Top 40 thrill.