There was a time when Michael McDonald was sort of the soft-rock equivalent of the chemical company BASF, whose ads proclaimed, "We don't make a lot of the products you buy. We make a lot of the products you buy better." From the mid-'70s through the late '80s, McDonald lent his R&B-speckled rasp to songs by Steely Dan, Kenny Loggins, and many others. His long career, of course, also includes a stint fronting the Doobie Brothers during their peak commercial years. Plus, he racked up a string of light-rock duets that were practically inescapable during most of the '80s: "Yah Mo B There" with James Ingram, "On My Own" with Patti LaBelle, etc. McDonald is likely to revisit these and other souvenirs from his long march through the trenches of blue-eyed soft-rock soul at his show this week. Also expect to hear some holiday favorites from his 2005 CD, Through the Many Winters.