I Can Tell By That Look in Your Eye: Toto reviewed 1978-2015

Anteater · 05-29-2015, 09:43 PM

The Album
Unknown Soldier: Mindfields would be Toto's third album of the decade and also their most all-encompassing and strongest without a doubt.

Anteater: Third time's the charm, as the saying goes eh? :P

Anteater: I like Kingdom Of Desire and Tambu, but Mindfields from an objective sense is an improvement over both of those albums IMO.

Unknown Soldier: ........ and with Bobby Kimball back it was like a breath of fresh air as well.

Anteater: Right, Kimball had finally come back and has a nearly even split with Lukather on lead vocals throughout.

Anteater: I've seen many complaints about Kimball's inconsistencies as a live performer, but put him in a studio like on Mindfields and he seems to sound just fine.

Unknown Soldier: I'd say it was around a 70/30 split in Bobby's favor and that's one of the reasons why the album is stronger than the previous two. Well Bobby was well known for using certain substances that would probably affect his live performances.

Unknown Soldier: Even David Paich makes a very rare vocal lead on the final song (I thionk it's a bonus track)

Anteater: Yeah, Spanish Steps Of Rome. He sounds pretty gravely on it too. It suits him, but I think his voice has changed quite a bit since the early 80's.

Unknown Soldier: Well I didn't even recognize him and if he sounds this gravely better not to sing.

Unknown Soldier: Also the album has some interesting contributions from Timothy B.Schmidt and Richard Page to name just two and even Joseph Williams is on the writing credits for one track.

Anteater: Yeah, there's some diverse credentials here, maybe moreso than any other Toto album.

Anteater: And speaking of which, the collaboration that's most interesting is opening track 'After You're Gone', which Lukather wrote with ex-Ozzy Osbourne bassist Phil Soussan.

Anteater: He was on The Ultimate Sin

Unknown Soldier: Yes I noticed that and that shared credit stands out.

Anteater: But the whole album is like that in a way: there's lots of contributions between all kinds of people outside of the core Toto lineup, and as a result you get a surprising amount of diversity in terms of style between many of these songs.

Unknown Soldier: surprisingly the album was poorly received by critics that called it a 'contrived plodder' admittedly it's an album that took me a while to get into but in general for me there are no really poor tracks. I'd split the tracks into a split of being strong to a number of others being somewhat meh.

Anteater: It would look a bit like a horizontal zigzag on a chart I guess

Anteater: Some songs are really strong, others not. Kingdom Of Desire had a more unified aesthetic so you could forgive the weaker material, but I don't know if that excuse can apply to more traditional recordings.

Anteater: There's quite a few songs here that kick ass though

Unknown Soldier: Well I think the majority of the weaker tracks here are the Steve Lukather lead tracks and the weaker material sits around the middle section of the album.

Unknown Soldier: Well for me three really stick out

Unknown Soldier: with five other really solid tracks.

Anteater: I can try to guess those three...but I'll just go down the ones I like and why

Unknown Soldier: ok

Anteater: Opener 'After You're Gone' is an early highlight for me, and yet another new kind of entrance for the group. It has a weird Beatles/Led Zeppelin chord progression and a laidback Californian kind of psychedelic melody.

Anteater: Very smooth stuff though, and Toto on top of their game!

Unknown Soldier: I like it despite not being one of the three, but it is a drifter with a laidback californian style.

Anteater: So its one of the other five for you

Unknown Soldier: Yes

Anteater: In my case, I divide Mindfields into great and average

Anteater: Thankfully, it doesn't have an overabundance of ballads like Tambu and KoD had

Unknown Soldier: As said 3 great for me, 5 solid and 6 average.

Anteater: The first half of the album is interesting, because from 'After You're Gone' we move into a cross between Santana and power-pop in 'Mysterious Ways' and the intriguing title track.

Anteater: The title track is actually another highlight for me despite an odd reggae-like shuffle going on in the keyboards all throughout. Great, great chorus.

Unknown Soldier: "Mysterious Ways" for me it's the song that announces that Bobby's back, it's also very upbeat and the shortest track on the album.

Unknown Soldier: "Mindfields" is one of the great tracks for me especially with the incorporation of that reggae beat and it's a great 6 min track.

Anteater: It ended up on one of their greatest hits compilations that came out after this album

Anteater: And for me it's Kimball's first big shining moment on the album (though 'Mysterious Ways' ain't bad).

Unknown Soldier: "High Price of Hate" straight after it, is the second great track for me and it's whopping 9 mins of quality.

Anteater: The "Lukather does slow-burning blues rock" done right eh?

Anteater: Brings us back to Kingdom Of Desire a bit, and I agree that it's very good.

Unknown Soldier: Oh yer these guys have done their homework with that early 1970s bluesy sound.

Unknown Soldier: I think it's better than anything on Kingdom of Desire, largely because Bobby Kimball knows how to sing this type of thing.

Anteater: As much as I love Kingdom Of Desire, I definitely wouldn't have minded Kimball coming back on that album.

Unknown Soldier: It would have been perfect for him

Unknown Soldier: I might as well mention here the third great track in my trilogy and that has to be "Caught in the Balance" perfectly suited for Bobby's voice.

Anteater: By this point, anyone listening to Mindfields has probably noticed that the immense mixing and production quality we heard on Tambu has carried over to this one.

Unknown Soldier: Same production team.

Anteater: I believe so, though I can't remember if Elliot Scheiner (Steely Dan, amongst others) was involved in Tambu too.

Unknown Soldier: yes he was.

Anteater: I think my big four "highlights" as far as Mindfields go are 'After You're Gone', the title track, 'Mad About You' and 'Better World'.

Anteater: ...though all the longer songs here, including High Price Of Hate and Caught In The Balance (as you mentioned) are right up there too.

Unknown Soldier: 'Mad About You' for me is quite average and a Better World one of the most ambitious.

Anteater: 'Mad About You' takes us right back to early 80's Toto though...that melody could have been on IV.

Anteater: A welcome throwback in some ways.

Unknown Soldier: Maybe I should listen to it again, even though I know the album pretty well, obviously not like the first seven but much better than Kingdom of Desire and Tambu.

Anteater: You were tuned out of Toto by the late 90's for the most part though right?

Anteater: This came out right on the verge of the 2000's.

Unknown Soldier: Exactly right.

Anteater: Anyway, 'Better World' is pretty awesome and it comes right at the end of the album.

Unknown Soldier: I don't think it's as awesome as you do but it is an ambitious closer.

Anteater: It's their 3rd or maybe 4th time they've put out something like a suite / progressive rock piece, and it has that great keyboard/guitar interplay we've gotten a taste of on songs like Jake To The Bone or even 'Home Of The Brave' from The Seventh One

Unknown Soldier: Home of the Brave will always be my pick from those three.

Unknown Soldier: Mindfields also links up well with the Livefields album that came out the following year and worth mentioning here.

Anteater: I saw some live footage that corresponded with that album too awhile back: they were on fire in a good way.

Anteater: In any case, most of the weaker material on Mindfields isn't even bad. Stuff like 'No Love' or 'Last Love' just don't bring anything interesting to the table unless you want more blues-rock lite.

Unknown Soldier: What I like about Livefields is the interesting choices of tracks, for example there is no "Africa" or "Hold the Line" and they have some really strong Bobby (only) tracks on there like "Mama" and "You Are the Flower"

Unknown Soldier: Those two are among the weakest for me and I'm not mad on "Cruel" either.

Unknown Soldier: What's your opinion on the single "Melanie"?

Anteater: 'Cruel' atleast has some jazziness going for it. The horns are a nice change of pace. 'Melanie' isn't a terrible song, but its not as good as a "pop" single as Mad About You or the title track are.

Unknown Soldier: It had to be the single I guess 1) It's a woman's name 2) It's sung by Steve. L

Anteater: Don't get me wrong though: I do like it. But in this case, the pop song with Kimball wins out

Anteater: Critics really like Steve Lukather. I remember reading one guy from either Kerrang! or somewhere else saying him becoming permanent lead vocalist made the band "listenable" for him.

Anteater: ...and AllMusic reviewers say something similar on their reviews of KoD and Tambu

Anteater: so take that for what you will.

Unknown Soldier: Yes I know and I can't believe those reviews concerning Steve.L as the main vocalist and their love for those albums.

Anteater: Meanwhile, the guy who reviewed Mindfields on AMG says the following on his 1 and a half star review: "Overlong, overwrought, and devoid of personality, this incredibly dull world-view update of Toto's crassly professional sound manages to pillage several cultures at once without contributing a single song worth remembering. The playing is tight -- as you would expect from a bunch of studio session musicians -- but all the skills in the world can't liven these 14 plodding tracks."

Anteater: Pompous scrub

Anteater: Makes me wonder if there's some deep seated dislike of Bobby Kimball by "professional" reviewers in the industry :

Unknown Soldier: I guess somebody could reach this conclusion on the album if 1) they don't have much knowledge of the band or 2) Just had a quick listen

Unknown Soldier: The album cover is also one of the best and as it's your avatar you think highly of it as well.

Anteater: Yeah, there was a time where I was really excited over Mindfields after spending more time with it and I did some cropping of the cover for my MB avatar

Anteater: Maybe I should buy some memorabilia when I see Toto live in a few months.

Unknown Soldier: they're in Texas soon then?

Anteater: Yeah! They're touring with Yes.

Unknown Soldier: wow interesting combo right there.

Anteater: Anyway, I would say that AMG reviewer is off base in his assessment of Mindfields, especially since there are plenty of songs on the album that aren't long or "overwrought"

Anteater: Just typical lazy journalism.

Anteater: It would have been 3 1/2 stars if I had been the reviewer.

Unknown Soldier: If out of 5 I'd go for 3.5 or 4.0 there.

Anteater: The 90's Toto period ranks like this for me: KoD - 4 stars, Tambu - 3 stars, Mindfields 3.5 stars.

Anteater: Stuff like The Seventh One or the first album are 5 stars.

Unknown Soldier: KoD 3.5 Tambu 3.0 Mindfields 4.0 but if I put Mindfields 3.5 the other two albums would be .5 less

Anteater: That's a fair ranking.

Unknown Soldier: So with ten studio albums Toto ended the decade.

Unknown Soldier · 06-05-2015, 05:49 AM

Toto Through the Looking Glass 2002 (Capitol)

The band pay tribute to those that inspired them.

The Lowdown
The eleventh album from Toto Through the Looking Glass named after the Lewis Carroll novel, would be a pure covers album and a cover album that would stay true by and large to the originals. Whilst the songs are accomplished covers of the originals as you’d expect from a band of Toto’s standing, the album has often been criticized as being a simple copy of these songs, rather than any attempt in reworking the originals in some interesting way.

The album is largely with material that you’d could expect to find with artists like Bob Marley, Steely Dan, Cream and George Harrison providing the expected. Other artists such as Stevie Wonder and Elton John are not overly surprising either, as these are artists that had formed part of the Toto inspiration. But the unexpected comes in the form of Elvis Costello here and Anteater in the chat explains that odd addition and surprisingly it’ one of the best covers. Vocalists Bobby Kimball and Steve Lukather do a competent job over these songs and long forgotten vocalist by this time on studio albums David Paich takes in a cover as well.

Like with any album of this style it’s really an album for any Toto completists out there and is really just an attempt by the band to show some of the artists that had inspired them in the first place. The general music listener might well find it more enjoyable though to dig out the well-known originals instead.

Unknown Soldier · 06-05-2015, 06:04 AM

The Album
Unknown Soldier: Are you surprised at the choice of covers here or are they more or less what you'd expect from the band?
Anteater: Mostly yes, but like any Toto outing there's a few curveballs.
Anteater: Anyone who has followed these guys awhile would probably be expecting Beatles, Hendrix or Bob Dylan covers, and you get a bit of that. But to also see Elvis Costello and Bob Marley among the covers is leaning towards left-field.
Unknown Soldier: For some strange reason, whenever I think of this album I always think that there is a Hendrix song somewhere on the album, but of course there isn't as he was covered elsewhere as you just mentioned.
Unknown Soldier: I don’t think that Bob Marley is surprising as bands like Led Zeppelin were really into him but Elvis Costello is a real surprise here.
Anteater: Lukather actually had something to say about that cover during an interview I saw awhile back. "The Elvis thing was a piss-take, because we knew he hated us. We thought it would be fun — he writes great songs. But yeah, we did it on purpose. Willfully baiting them. F— you guys! We’ll do whatever the f— we wanna do. But still, it was an interim record, and a lot of that stuff was very tongue-in-cheek, and I don’t think a lot of people got the sarcasm."
Anteater: I think those feelings in general fuel this album to one extent or another: the guys in Toto want to show off their influences and also have some fun at the expense of the critics.

Unknown Soldier: Most people liking Elvis Costello would probably dislike Toto anyway but personally I think the Costello cover here is one of the best on the album "Watching the Detectives"
Unknown Soldier: I also think that the George Harrison penned "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" one of the strongest as well, but it's such a fantastic song anyway and it seems like a million artists have covered it.
Anteater: That's an understatement, but Lukather makes a really good go of it.

Anteater: My favorite cover here is probably Herbie Hancock's Maiden Voyage, but Toto are good with jazz-oriented material in general, so it’s in their arena.
Unknown Soldier: That's the seven minute instrumental and of course the jazz orientated material would be right up their street.

Unknown Soldier: The Steely Dan cover of "Bodhisattva" is one of the obvious covers here and the one I always remember from the album.
Anteater: That's one of my picks too, and I would have found it funny if we hadn't gotten at least one Steely Dan song here lol
Anteater: On the whole though, I don't know how to rank this album overall compared to other Toto albums. It's like trying to compare Queensryche's Take Cover or insert other long standing rock/metal act cover album to their classic original works. Not sure if it’s fair or not.
Unknown Soldier: Well I prefer it over Tambu and Kingdom of Desire

and it has the decency to be a decent length.
Anteater: Haha, I almost think Toto could have cherry-picked the best material from KoD, Tambu and Mindfields and did a new greatest hits.
Anteater: In any case, this is a good covers album and different songs will appeal to different people.
Unknown Soldier: That would have been an awesome album, by taking the cream of those three albums.

Unknown Soldier: Now talking of Cream "Sunshine Of Your Love" is probably the heaviest cover on the album along with "House of the Rising Sun".
Anteater: Enjoyed both of those as well.
Unknown Soldier: I actually think the cover of the Cream song is actually quite poor, I don't think Lukather vocally pulls it off for some reason.
Anteater: If I'm not mistaken, you’re not the biggest fan of Lukather as a vocalist from KoD onwards
Unknown Soldier: Well strangely enough I think minus that song he does a good job on this album and no I didn't like him as the sole vocalist of the band, but with Bobby back on the last album proper I kind of liked him again.
Unknown Soldier: But he does a superb job on the Elvis Costello song and sounds like Elvis himself.
Anteater: The irony is telling lol
Unknown Soldier: Hahaha
Anteater: 'Through The Looking Glass' on the whole does a good job at demonstrating Toto's diversity as a group. The only thing really missing was maybe a Yes cover or some of their AOR contemporaries.
Unknown Soldier: I think the big hole here, is a really heavy cover rather than a 60s bluesy one.
Anteater: I could see Toto covering Black Sabbath or the like
Unknown Soldier: I had Deep Purple more in mind here actually, with Kimball covering a Gillan vocal for example.
Anteater: That would have actually been a perfect fit.
Unknown Soldier: Finally we get David Paich turning up for the final song which is a Dylan cover and I guess his now rough voice suits it, but hell did his voice go downhill.
Anteater: Makes sense he would do a Dylan cover then

Unknown Soldier: Well, Dylan's a pretty crap vocalist, which is why when everybody else covers his material it always sounds great.
Anteater: For novelty's sake, I would have found it hilarious if they had thrown in a Backstreet Boys cover or Britney Spears.
Unknown Soldier: Luckily they didn't. but what would you say was the poorest cover here?
Anteater: Probably either the Dylan one or the Stevie Wonder cover, simply because they're just too by the numbers.
Anteater: Nothing interesting from a production or performance standpoint: they're just true to the originals and that's it.
Unknown Soldier: I'd agree with the fact that they're very true to the originals or try to be, rather than pulling the songs apart like some bands would do here.
Anteater: There's nothing really that "weak" here though, since all the songs themselves are fine compositionally.
Unknown Soldier: The album cover is related in style to both Mindfields and Livefields as well.
Anteater: Yeah, it's got a painted postmodernism thingy going on
Unknown Soldier: Finally of note the Bob Marley track "Could This Be Love" was the chosen single from the album, which kind of made sense as it's a track that everybody knows.
Anteater: I like it well enough, but who can out-Marley the Marley?
Anteater: I know I can't....
Unknown Soldier: A good point there and straight after this, out came the Toto live release Live in Amsterdam the 25th anniversary thingy.
Anteater: Oh right
Unknown Soldier: This album would of course bring the band into the current century.

Anteater · 06-12-2015, 08:35 PM

Toto - Falling In Between (2006, Frontiers Records)

...I was the man of the hour / I would claw and scratch my way up / To the very top of the tower...

The Lowdown
After three albums of varying strengths and weaknesses since Jeff Porcaro's demise in 1992, everything came together for Toto in the middle of the new millennium: not only was Bobby Kimball back in action and doing pretty well, but even Joseph Williams was back on board and at the top of his game. Taking advantage of a creative momentum that had been building since the late 90's, Toto signed with international AOR superlabel Frontiers Records and recorded Falling In Between with the intention of creating an album that hit every cylinder and walked the line between experimental and accessible without excess bloat. And accomplish their goal they did, resulting in arguably their best album since 1988's The Seventh One. Unfortunately (and despite how good the album was), ongoing health issues and other complications for a variety of band members afterwards convinced Toto to call it a day for the next couple of years after one last big tour in late 2006/early 2007. That is, until a contract obligation with Frontiers Records convinced everyone to give things a go for one last time as a unit...

Anteater · 06-12-2015, 08:58 PM

The Album
Anteater: Interesting enough, Toto's first album with Italian AOR label Frontiers Records also happens to be my favorite album in their whole discography
Unknown Soldier: For me it's their best album since The Seventh One.
Anteater: Most of the lineup from 1999's Mindfields remains intact too, which is a plus
Unknown Soldier: Gregory Phillinganes but we'll call him Phil for short ok?
Anteater: Sounds good to me: Phil is another well seasoned session player from the L.A. scene since the 70's, so he's a natural fit.
Unknown Soldier: worked a lot with Michael Jackson and Eric Clapton
Unknown Soldier: and was brought in to replace David Paich for touring.
Anteater: Phil was on Thriller too if I recall
Unknown Soldier: yes and bunch of others as well.
Anteater: But anyway, just to lay it out there: this is a very strong album. Lots of interesting ideas, and it has a way more focused feel than Mindfields but without any of the weaknesses of Kingdom Of Desire or Tambu.
Unknown Soldier: Now what strikes me about this album, is that it's such a breath of fresh air as an album goes and I think having a newbie like Phil helped give the band a boost and maybe took some of the touring pressures off David Paich.
Unknown Soldier: Also the album reinstalled my faith vin Steve Lukather as I think this is easily one of his best for Toto with his choice of vocals.
Anteater: Well, at this point Lukather isn't having to be the leader in every aspect like he had to be in the early to mid 90's
Anteater: From Mindfields onwards you get the impression that the band dynamic opened up again and the music benefits
Unknown Soldier: It feels like a real band effort which in principal is what Toto started out as being in the early days, before Steve Lukather started calling all the shots.
Anteater: Jeff Porcaro's death was a huge hit against the songwriting dynamic
Anteater: that the band had spent over a decade working with
Anteater: But by Mindfields most of the damage had been mitigated.
Unknown Soldier: sure and a very good point in that respect and the credits are really shared out here.
Unknown Soldier: what's also great is that the album is a refreshing 50 mins and not a 70 mins borefest.
Anteater: Yeah, and it starts off with the odd yet simultaneously heavy and melodic title track
Unknown Soldier: Normally the band don't start off with title tracks and yes it is something of an oddball.
Anteater: The first thing I thought when I listened to it was "Is someone in the group a Dream Theater fan?"

Anteater: Toto can do proggy stuff, but this thing is a different beast entirely.
Unknown Soldier: Yes there is some Dream Theater love there, but of course Toto are one of the inspirations for Dream Theater anyway
Anteater: Indeed indeed. The thing I like most about the title track is that it has a very unconventional structure that culminates in one of Lukather's heaviest guitar performances ever.
Unknown Soldier: It's a pretty stodgy sounding guitar lead but vocally the song really takes on a great dimension with Kimball providing the power and Phil the vocal sounding oddity, it's a great track especially with the spiraling musical blasts.
Anteater: It sounds so unique in Toto's vast canon of material that I'm sure it surprised a lot of fans
Anteater: And it leads in nicely to the very layered 'Dying On My Feet'
Unknown Soldier: me included, in fact I love every track on this album minus 2/3 songs and "Dying on My Feet" is one unfortunately
Unknown Soldier: I think it's big problem is that it's overly long.
Anteater: It has some nice harmonies and a cool Chicago-esque horn breakdown in the second half though!

Anteater: It's pretty much a jazz-fusion jam though, and like a lot of Lukather led material it has a bluesy vibe in places.
Unknown Soldier: A number of Chicago band members played on this album.
Anteater: You are correct, so no wonder then lol
Anteater: This might be the first time since the late 70's that we've heard a horn section in any Toto material
Unknown Soldier: Now I love "Bottom of Your Soul" one of the best Steve L. tracks ever and breezes through its 7 mins.

Anteater: Yeah, and Joseph Williams makes a surprise appearance too: he sounds as good as he did back in his heyday too!
Unknown Soldier: yes it was a good guest vocal and what do you think of "King of the World" which features three of Toto's vocalists minus Phil?
Anteater: It's one of the two or three songs on the album that I'd say has "single" written all over it
Anteater: Very catchy chorus and an interesting staccato-like riff running through it
Anteater: Paich's vocals fit very well on the main verse!

Unknown Soldier: When I said there were 2/3 songs that I didn't like, this was the one that I wasn't sure about and even now I'm not certain what i really think about it.
Anteater: It's a very interesting blend of ideas - like a much jazzier take on The Seventh One's material.
Anteater: Lots of big wooshing synth lines going on behind the main instrumentation which is kinda cool too…
Unknown Soldier: it's very multi-dimensional song.
Anteater: Kimball is even fronting it, and i know he's your favorite of the Toto vocalists
Anteater: That being said, Hooked is next and this one is the only song on the album I'm not completely sold on today.
Unknown Soldier: Now I love that song and one of Kimball's best ever written tracks, even if the song sounds a lot like Jethro Tull in places.

Anteater: Ian Anderson is on flute in the second part of it
Anteater: so I think the Tull-ness is intentional in this case

Anteater: That being said, even my least favorite song on the album still sounds like a million bucks, and I like a lot of things about it.
Unknown Soldier: Should've mentioned earlier that "Bottom of Your Soul" reminded me of a Peter Gabriel song and now we have Jethro Tull here.
Anteater: I'd say that's a big compliment in some ways.
Anteater: What's funny is that we get a Lukather ballad in the form of 'Simple Life' after this. Very short!
Unknown Soldier: "Simple Life" is another great Steve L. song and a surprise at just over 2 mins…
Anteater: Yeah it is surprising...he could have actually made this one longer and it would have been one of the best songs he'd ever written.
Anteater: The chorus and production sound great
Unknown Soldier: The song could've been developed more, but would it have achieved the same magic with a few more minutes added onto it?
Anteater: In this case, probably yeah. Lukather's ballads don't work when the chorus or general progression is too tame...but for this one it might've been fine.
Anteater: In contrast, 'Taint Your World' is a raucous rocker throwing us back into Kingdom Of Desire territory
Unknown Soldier: This is one of the fastest tracks on the album and again shows that Bobby Kimball really was on form for this album.

Anteater: I keep expecting him to belt out "Riddddde, Ride That Gypsy TRAINNNN" somewhere in the song, but it never happens

Anteater: In any case, fun song.
Unknown Soldier: hahaha and then we have the first Phil solo effort "Let it Go" another great song and he's a very good vocalist as well. Kind of makes us realize what the band had been missing since David Paich had taken a back step in the vocal department.

Anteater: 'Let It Go' is fantastic, and I think its the only song on the album where Phil takes lead.
Unknown Soldier: Correct
Anteater: Makes me wish he had gotten more chances to show off…
Anteater: It has the typical L.A. fusion groove sound we've heard, but the arrangement and funkiness of it takes us back a little closer to Toto's prime years.
Unknown Soldier: I agree with that, especially considering that "Spiritual Man" follows it up and imo this is the worst track on the album and could've been substituted for another Phil effort.
Anteater: Features three-part lead vocal work though and a snazzy sax solo though :P
Unknown Soldier: I knew you'd like it musically
Unknown Soldier: and vocally it seems as well
Anteater: Oddly enough, it reminds me a lot of the sound Tears For Fears were going for on The Seeds Of Love back in 1989
Anteater: the gospel backdrop partly, but the feel of the production in general also
Unknown Soldier: well that's a good reason to put me off it, I'm joking here as I think Tears For Fears were quite good based on what I've heard.
Unknown Soldier: "No End in Sight" is the album closer and a great closer!

Unknown Soldier: but there is a short bonus track on some of the versions of the album.
Anteater: Yeah, its a short jazz fusion instrumental called The Reeferman.
Anteater: Features trumpet soloing, which I like, but I see why it didn't make it onto the main U.S. edition :P
Unknown Soldier: Well it's an oddity for sure
Unknown Soldier: The album considering how well we liked it gets a pretty bad rap from critics
Unknown Soldier: Who kind of dismiss it at Toto trying to imitate other artists, apart from the Jethro Tull, Dream Theater and Peter Gabriel comparisons I don't see too many obvious comparisons here.
Unknown Soldier: If there are they do a good job at hiding them, but personally I see no problem when a band does this anyway
Anteater: I've seen some reviews that praise it highly, so i dunno…
Unknown Soldier: maybe I need to read those reviews
Anteater: And on Rate Your Music its one of their top five highest rated albums
Anteater: Along with The Seventh One and the first album
Anteater: So the masses have spoken!
Unknown Soldier: But the album cover is also one of the band's best and that colour scheme works so well.
Anteater: Yeah it’s a striking tiled look
Unknown Soldier: Strangely enough I don't enter in RYM that much maybe I should more.
Unknown Soldier: The band capitalized on this album by putting out a live album the following year as well
Unknown Soldier: that featured that ZZ Top looking hippie with the Nordic name

Anteater: Leland Sklar, yeah
Anteater: that guy's played with everyone lol
Unknown Soldier: I bet his beard's been everywhere as well.
Anteater: Anyway, Falling In Between remains my overall favorite Toto album musically. It has a little bit of everything I enjoy from the band. It's not a perfect album, but its a powerful statement of intent.
Unknown Soldier: It's not in my top three but certainly top 5, for the simple reason that my first love with Toto will be with those earlier albums. But it's without doubt the best of the modern Toto albums I've heard (minus the latest here).

Unknown Soldier · 06-27-2015, 03:50 PM

Toto XIV 2015 (Frontier Records)

A tight tide on the shores we navigate.

The Lowdown
]Nine long years after their previous studio album the acclaimed Falling in Between (at least by us two) the veteran band went into the studio to produce their thirteenth/fourteenth and possibly final studio release. With Toto release since their heydays back in the 1980s being few and far between, it was yet again another change of band members, but luckily this time the and welcomed back a couple of old boys in both Joseph Williams and Steve Porcaro for Bobby Kimball and Greg Phillinganes. Also added was session drummer Keith Carlock for Simon Phillips, it was also good to see original band member David Hungate featuring on the album as well. In fact bassist David Hungate was among a number of bassist to feature on the album along with Tal Wilkenfeld, Tim Lefebvre and Leland Sklar who had already previously worked with the band, these bass additions of course were largely to supplant the gravely ill Mike Porcaro who sadly passed away at the time of the album’s release this year, the whole episode is kind of reminiscent of his brother’s death Jeff Porcaro and the releasing of the Kingdom of Desire album way back in 1992.

The album has that self-indulgent feel about it and will probably go down as one of the great Toto releases, largely because it’s an album that grows more and more on you after each listen, which of course is always the sign of an album with great depth. Toto XIV also offers an album that is probably the most group orientated since their first four albums, as most the band’s vocalists get a good share of the vocals and writing credits with a couple of outside additions are well shared out.

The album cover is highlighted by that special door at the end of an alley, which has a magical light shining through. All this is set within an urban environment and this urban environment kind of gets me thinking, that the band had felt that they had lost their way throughout the 1990s and 2000s with a number of dubious musical decisions and line-up changes, but had now finally found their place once again in the big city and when a band like Toto achieves that, it’s always going to be a special place.

Unknown Soldier · 06-27-2015, 04:21 PM

The Album
Anteater: So ladies and gents, XIV is the final Toto album in a long and turbulent career. According to Lukather and Paich, its going to be the swansong too....but they said the same thing about Falling In Between too, so who knows?
Unknown Soldier: Well there did seem a lot of publicity surrounding the album, in how they were going to recreate something along the lines of Toto IV and pull out all the stops.
Anteater: At first they were simply fullfilling a last-bit obligation to Frontiers, but I think at some point they decided to get real serious with it and just make something they wanted to.
Anteater: Mike Porcaro's ALS being a major reason why XIV was almost never made at all...
Unknown Soldier: well Steve Porcaro is back and gets a vocal as well and David Hungate back as an extra, with Keith Carlock on drums.
Unknown Soldier: Yes the situation with Mike was pretty bad
Anteater: That being said, the guys pulled together pretty well
Anteater: New line-up as you mentioned
Anteater: But the result is definitely not a return to IV
Anteater: It’s a heavy, textured record with a lot of different ideas
Unknown Soldier: That's true, I think that was just a publicity stunt, as it's their most famous album.
Anteater: Yeah, it’s the only album the general public "kinda" remembers by them
Anteater: so the marketing makes sense
Anteater: In any case, as we are 'Running Out Of Time', I'll jump in and say it’s an auspicious beginning.

Unknown Soldier: Well it sounds like an updated version of the Miami Vice theme at the beginning.
Anteater: Yeah, it’s a bit disarming. The groove is kinda staggered and irregular, but Joseph Williams return to the microphone sounds like he never left.
Unknown Soldier: sounds gruffer which comes with age but yer fits right back in
Unknown Soldier: Now "Burn" I really love, a powerful and epic song. Lovely piano intro and its quiet and loud sections kind of remind me of "Angela" one of my all-time fav songs from the band.

Anteater: It also reminds me of some of the stuff from Tambu
Anteater: The production on XIV sounds very different from the last couple of albums we've reviewed, but you can hear all kinds of echoes back to past material
Unknown Soldier: Well I think that's a lot to do with then exploring some of their past.
Unknown Soldier: Now "Holy War" the next song is pretty average I think.
Anteater: I like 'Holy War' a bit, but I think its average at times
Unknown Soldier: well we agree on that
Anteater: It sounds like they were trying to do a modern pop/rock song, but its growing on me
Anteater: It’s got a nice melody and lyrical "message"
Unknown Soldier: and what do you think of "21 st Century Blues"?
Anteater: I like it, but I wouldn't doubt it if someone told me it was something that had been left behind from the Falling In Between sessions
Anteater: The vaguely jazzy blues-shuffle is something Toto have gotten pretty good at since the early 90's lol
Unknown Soldier: Yes it does sound like a leftover from a previous album.
Unknown Soldier: Now "Orphan" is one of my favs because it harks back to the sound they really had with Joseph Williams when he was previously with the band.

Anteater: Yeah, it sounds like a modern upgrade of the sound they had back in '88
Anteater: it’s not really an AOR song though: it’s more of a feel-good 90's pop song with a fresh coat of paint.
Unknown Soldier: Well said but it's the kind of song that can lift an album and perfectly suited to JW.
Anteater: It was the lead single too, for whatever that's worth these days
Anteater: Next up though should be your favorite song on the album
Anteater: though it’s not about youuu……

Unknown Soldier: Hahaha and agree as it kind of returns to the epic feel of a song like "Burn" and is also a reference I guess to Jeff Porcaro as well.
Anteater: This is a song that could have been on 'Hydra'
Anteater: it’s kind of mysterious and, as you said, fairly epic
Unknown Soldier: In fact it's the only other album that it could've been on really.
Unknown Soldier: If the truth be told, this is only the third time that I've heard the album and I like it more and more with each listen.
Anteater: Yeah, it does grow on you. The variety is refreshing from song to song here.
Anteater: Steve Porcaro's up next on 'The Little Things', and we are back in feel-good pop territory
Unknown Soldier: Saying this though "The Little Things" is the kind of soppy song that I really don't like that much but because it's Steve Porcaro I don't kind of mind it.
Anteater: Steve Porcaro has a very light touch, but everything he's lead on from a compositional POV is pretty listenable.
Anteater: 'Chinatown' on the other hand is the real star of the show on this album

Unknown Soldier: Oh yer he's very hand's on vocally and it's a surprise he never sang more often.
Unknown Soldier: This is the multi-vocal track on the album.
Anteater: 'Georgy Porgy's proggy, weird long lost cousin
Unknown Soldier: I was about to say that it wouldn't have been out of place on the debut
Anteater: It has a shuffle Jeff Porcaro would have been proud of, and it’s definitely my favorite song on the record.
Anteater: The different members playing off each other vocally, not just instrumentally, is something that was lost after IV.
Unknown Soldier: A song like this I would never pick as being the best, but I appreciate its quality a lot.
Unknown Soldier: Well the whole dynamics changed after IV and they never really got back to that style and really said goodbye when Steve L took over the vocals completely.
Anteater: Very true. Its only when he lessened the reins a bit on Mindfields onwards that the dynamics really returned.
Anteater: Speaking of which, Paich gets his turn at lead on 'All The Tears That Shine'
Anteater: This song is the closest to IV compositionally, but his voice has aged so much that it seems almost strange to hear him on something low key and poppy like this.
Unknown Soldier: It's a pity he sings now though!
Anteater: Joseph Williams backing vocals on it are very nice
Unknown Soldier: They probably save the song in some ways.
Anteater: It grows on you, like a lot of other songs on XIV
Unknown Soldier: But I'm not that mad on the song, but as you say it might grow on me.
Anteater: 'Fortune' and the epic 'Great Expectations' close out the experience, and I like both for different reasons

Unknown Soldier: The first completely written by JW
Unknown Soldier: and the second sounds like a 'the very final song' by the band
Anteater: 'Fortune' is pretty laidback, harkening back to his past as a smooth yacht-rocker before joining the band.
Unknown Soldier: I think you know more of his past than I do.
Anteater: And agreed about 'Great Expectations', it feels like a big farewell.

Anteater: The chorus is magnificent
Unknown Soldier: It's the third epic on the album
Unknown Soldier: and done in segments, I think in the old days they called this multi-suite

Anteater: It’s a great song, maybe in their top ten of all time
Anteater: It rivals 'Hydra' and 'Girl Goodbye' in sheer tenacity
Unknown Soldier: each time I listen to it, it makes me realize that they should've done more prog style epics like this and your mention of "Hydra" and "Girl Goodbye" are perfect reference points here.
Anteater: "I've got great expectations for now and forever...." Great final words, assuming they're the last we'll hear from 'em.
Unknown Soldier: These days you can never tell, but I kind of hope it's the last, as I'm not a fan of my favourite bands going on and on anyway.
Unknown Soldier: My final wish though, would be a re-recording of the "Turn Back" album as the songs on that album are great.
Anteater: I have the Rock Candy remaster of that one and it sounds fantastic
Anteater: Anyway, considering we've reached the end of the road after many weeks with Toto
Anteater: any final thoughts on the band and the music we reviewed?
Anteater: Only a small stringent of people have followed them through all their ups and downs
Anteater: But when you look at the "big picture" of it all, it’s pretty impressive how hard they worked to keep the name alive.
Unknown Soldier: They've always been in my favourite top three bands and even after so many dubious musical decisions, sackings and other mishaps they've remained here. This though is largely down to their first five albums for me and the memories that go with them, I'll never hear an album for example like Isolation again and I've fully accepted that.
Anteater: The sound of those first seven albums is hard to recreate
Anteater: Only a few, like Work Of Art and Time Gallery from Sweden, have managed to pull it off.
Unknown Soldier: Six I don't dig that much but seven yes.
Unknown Soldier: I need to listen to those albums btw.
Unknown Soldier: Anyway our Toto project has come to an end and it's been a pleasure chatting about them.

Unknown Soldier · 06-27-2015, 04:27 PM

Additional listening

Dune: A 1984 release that was the instrumental soundtrack to the film of the same name and features one composition by Brian Eno.

Toto XX: The most important compilation album by the band that was released in 1998 to celebrate the band’s 20th anniversary and it includes mostly non-released material especially their debut album period. Like most albums of this type the material is weaker than those on the studio albums, but did contain the excellent track “Goin’ Home”