Michael McDonald is possibly the greatest R&B singer never to have made a great album of his own. You may know the voice from his work in the 1970s with the Doobie Brothers and Steely Dan, and from later hits such as I Keep Forgettin’, Yah Mo B There and On My Own. Even your kids may recognise him now from his guest spot on Thundercat’s 2017 single Show You the Way. McDonald also happens to be a brilliant pianist, a top bandleader and, on the evidence of this new memoir, a modest, easygoing, 24-carat Nice Guy. I only wish I could say, hand on heart, that he’s written a great book. Unfortunately its sluggish tempo and hackneyed style has you checking the number of pages to the end and reflecting, in echo of a famous line he once sang, “And I’ve got such a long way to go … ”
