Side 2
Anteater: On
'Endless' is where things get interesting
Unknown Soldier: This is Fergie's side of the album where he mixes in his sounds from both Trillion and LeRoux.
Unknown Soldier: Endless is an amazing song and it also has a funky beat to it which I really love
Unknown Soldier: .... but this is not funky in the traditional Toto style at all.
Anteater: Yeah, it's actually kind of funk oriented in a fresh way, which makes it stand out. The AOR vibe is still here of course (especially that chorus), but it feels inventive.
Unknown Soldier: It's AOR funk with so much energy and sets up the title track
"Isolation" and it's kind of like the "Lion" of side 2.
Anteater: It's my favorite song on the album and one of the best uptempo songs they ever did
Anteater: But as
Turn Back showed us, when Toto decide to put the title track on side B, that means its going to be exceptional.
Unknown Soldier: I have two words for the song 'sheer energy'' and I love the lyrics from the song.
Anteater: Yeah, it's a love song of course, but it captures the emptiness of separation really well
Unknown Soldier: The whole album has a nostalgic love appeal to my ears, in a highly energetic way.
Unknown Soldier: All these songs here have Fergie letting fly vocally as well.
Anteater: Toto have always been really good with melody, but one of
Isolation's defining features is how on the nose they were in that department this time.
Anteater:Even
IV wasn't quite this consistent and that trend also continues into Mr. Friendly and Change Of Heart
Unknown Soldier: Which leads into
"Mr. Friendly" my favourite track on the whole album.
Anteater: Another uptempo winner pretty much, though Paich ends up incorporating some prominent piano which is interesting.
Unknown Soldier: It's the most progressive track on the album as well and covers so much Toto musical territory.
Anteater: Yeah, there's a counterpoint going on under the main rhythm in the main verses, but Toto have always been good at keeping thing subtly progressive.
Anteater: They'll pick a melody line and then dance all over it like there's no tomorrow.
Unknown Soldier: This progression is also evident in places on
"Change of Heart" which in some ways is the most rock orientated track on the album.
Anteater: I don't have a lot to say about that one, but only because it's pretty competent. Paich goes into a really juicy baroque-inspired keyboard breakdown in the second half though.
Anteater: It's like something Queen would do.
Unknown Soldier: Admittedly its the lesser of the Fergie sung tracks on the album. Which leads us to the low-key closer in
"Holyanna" which feels like a wind down song anyway.
Anteater: 'Holyanna' is decently toe tappin'. Tom Scott on sax returns and its a nice touch, but it has a slightly disjointed feel on the melody that makes me wonder why they chose it as the closer.
Anteater: It's not a bad song of course though
Unknown Soldier: It also has a jangly country feel as well, but I was always peeved that it was chosen as a single over a Fergie song.
Anteater: Yeah, because it's not a clear representation of Toto's sound. Toto don't normally do bluesy, jangly jigs with a sax counterpoint
Anteater: I like it well enough though, and on that point Isolation comes to an end.
Unknown Soldier: But as you say it's not a bad song and I do think it works as a closer. The b-side of the album is kind of like a manic night out and "Holyanna" is the mug of tea or coffee you have just before bedtime.
The Conclusion
Unknown Soldier: So your overall opinion on the album?
Anteater: It's my third favorite Toto album and probably right at the top of their AOR era in quality
Anteater: It feels like
Turn Back done right in some respects
Anteater: 75% of the album is pure uptempo jams, and all of them are memorable
Unknown Soldier: As you know it's my all time favourite album, which of course makes it my favourite Toto album. Admittedly my love for the album is based on a lot of nostalgia, as it was the Toto album that I had waited almost two years for after getting into the band on
Toto IV. I was pissed off when I got it of course and there was no Bobby Kimball. But I was totally devastated two years later on Fahrenheit when I found Fergie was no longer in the band.
Anteater: Yeah, he didn't stay long. Apparently he didn't gel that well into the overall group dynamic the way Bobby originally did or Joseph would after this.
Anteater: I guess if I were going to rate the Toto albums up to this point, Isolation and the self-titled are A+, IV is an A, Turn Back is a C+ and Hydra is a B.
Unknown Soldier: I've read different reasons why he was fired 1) Given the blame for the poor sales of Isolation. 2)Tracks took him ages to nail down in the studio and the others lost patience. 3) He couldn't hack it live and would make himself ill before going on stage.
Unknown Soldier: I'd agree with that, despite the fact that I would listen to both
Isolation and
Hydra more often than the others.
Unknown Soldier: Finally Bobby Kimball v Fergie Frederiksen as lead vocalist?
Anteater: I like Fergie more, that being said, he's not my favorite Toto singer :P
Anteater: He was the right guy at the right time for
Isolation, but I don't know how well he'd fare on Toto's later material if he had stayed.
Anteater: Its hard to tell
Anteater: He's better than that Byron whats-his-face dude the band got stuck with around 1990-91 though
Unknown Soldier: I like them both the same Bobby for his vocal richness and Fergie for sheer power. I'm guessing your favourite is Joseph Williams another great vocalist as well, few bands have been blessed with three of rocks greatest vocalists.
Unknown Soldier: That Byron with a French name was what I ended up seeing as lead vocalist when I first saw Toto live. I was expecting to see Joseph Williams and got him instead. ;(
Anteater: Lol that sucks for you
Anteater: ....and yeah, I think Joseph Williams was the best singer they ever had, we'll be getting to him after this now that I think about it.
Unknown Soldier: Well more on him next time.