Fifty-three years since their first hit single, “Listen to the Music ,” raced up the charts in 1972, the Doobie Brothers are back with their 16th studio album, Walk This Road, and a 20-date tour this summer with the Coral Reefer Band that kicks off on Aug. 4 in Detroit.

The P-Funk progenitor was, unsurprisingly, correct: the Songwriters Hall of Fame does hit different, even for attendees. Without the pressure of delivering ratings for a televised