Michael Jackson's "Thriller" - It was Toto Album...

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by gener8tr, Feb 7, 2014.

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  1. PaulKTF

    PaulKTF Senior Member

    Location:
    USA
    I didn't know, but I also don't particularly care either way.

    They're just session musicians for the album like anyone else would be to me.

    No more and no less.

    I don't think I could name any of Toto's songs off the top of my head with the exception of Africa.

    This thread does have me interested in getting one of their compilations though, I'll say that.
     
  2. pbuzby

    pbuzby Senior Member

    Location:
    Chicago, IL, US
    David Paich cowrote several songs from Silk Degrees including the hits "Lowdown" and "Lido Shuffle."
     
  3. ianfaith1

    ianfaith1 Forum Resident

    Location:
    SLC, UT
    And Lukather co-wrote The Tubes' "She's a Beauty" with Fee Waybill and David Foster. That song, much like "Beat It", has his sonic signature stamped all over it.
     
  4. JDeanB

    JDeanB Senior Member

    Location:
    Newton, NC USA
    Toto should have given Timothy B. Schmit credit on the 45 label for "I Won't Hold You Back". Tim's vocals are so prominent on the chorus, I wondered if Toto might be a permanent gig for him after the Eagles.
     
  5. JDeanB

    JDeanB Senior Member

    Location:
    Newton, NC USA
    If Thriller is a Toto album, Melanie's brilliant Photograph from 1976 could also be considered a Toto album. She wrote the songs and did some of her finest singing, but the band really provided a great musical ground for her. I guess because her album wasn't the big hoped for comeback, no one really wants credit.
     
  6. pbuzby

    pbuzby Senior Member

    Location:
    Chicago, IL, US
    The Seals and Crofts albums Unborn Child and Get Closer also have half of Toto (David Paich, Jeff Porcaro and David Hungate) playing and on Get Closer they're even pictured on the inner sleeve.

    I guess if Jeff Porcaro were around to ask, he'd want to claim Steely Dan's Katy Lied as a Toto album.
     
    Doug Sclar and JDeanB like this.
  7. rodentdog

    rodentdog Senior Member

    Paul Jackson, Jr. and Dean Parks are both world class guitar players. Look up Paul Jackson, Jr. on allmusic. The man has been busy!!
     
  8. PTgraphics

    PTgraphics Senior Member

    I really enjoy the music of Toto. Have all there CD's. I think Luke's guitar playing is awesome. Dude can sing a great ballad also - puts lots of feeling and emotion into it. Looking forward to the new album.

    Human Nature sounds like it should have been on a proper Toto album.

    Pat
     
    bru87tr likes this.
  9. krock2009

    krock2009 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Philadelphia, PA
    The nickname given to Toto after the success of "IV" was "David Paich and The New Crusty Nostrils".
     
  10. krock2009

    krock2009 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Philadelphia, PA
    So that's why Lukather is pissed, he was TRICKED into playing on it. ;)
     
  11. Depends a bit on which track. I certainly feel that way about Wanna Be Startin' Something, P.Y.T., and Thriller. But Beat It, Human Nature, The Girl Is Mine . . . pure Toto. Billie Jean sounds like it may be rawer, and closer to a Michael Jackson original idea. There's some of Toto's feel there, but not so much as on the other tracks.
     
  12. He's not b*tching about Michael or Quincy. He's a little upset that so many respected critics and journalists write off Toto as mere hacks. The reality is that they are both successful and very good musicians, and they were arguably THE most important act of pop music in the 80s if one factors in ALL the work they did. I know that's a big leap for most people, but I think it stands up as a claim.
     
  13. murphywmm

    murphywmm Senior Member

    For what it's worth, I've always preferred Millie Jackson's version of "Hold The Line"....
     
    Rosskolnikov likes this.
  14. marke

    marke Forum Resident

    I'm a fan of Toto and Lukather's work but seriously, he's been bitching and moaning for decades about how Toto haven't been given their due. He makes Van Morrison look like Mr Happy.
     
    Purple likes this.
  15. Go to a few of the deep cuts to get a better idea. Try:

    You Are the Flower
    Mama
    Gift With a Golden Gun
    It's a Feeling
    Mr. Friendly
    Til the End
    Home of the Brave
    Jake To the Bone
    Slipped Away
    Better World
    Taint My Love

    You'll be shocked by the variety and yet should find those tunes pretty accessible.
     
    theMess likes this.
  16. driverdrummer

    driverdrummer Forum Resident

    Location:
    Irmo, SC
    There was no Steve Perry , Robert Plant, or David Lee Roth in Toto. Their heyday had several different singers. The casual radio listener could have mistaken Toto for Jefferson Starship, Survivor, or Richard Marx during their hit singles era. Still, Toto IV was a huge album that influenced many bands(Work of Art and State Cows come to mind).
     
  17. driverdrummer

    driverdrummer Forum Resident

    Location:
    Irmo, SC
    Different subject, but Daft Punk-Random Access Memories is a "studio musician" album to me. When I hear Game of Love or Within, it just reminds me of great 80s adult contemporary. Many of the musicians on Random Access Memories played on those albums.
     
    Burning Tires likes this.
  18. I think that's true. Kimball was a wonderful singer, but he was not a charismatic frontman, and his drug arrests led to an ouster. Fergie Frederiksen (R.I.P.) had wonderful range but was too stiff-sounding to do the R&B flavored material that Paich preferred. Joseph Williams didn't have a great look, but he did write well. Unfortunately, he got let go due to drug issues as well. That inconsistency in presentation of a lead voice combined with the fact that they wrote wonderful music with fairly banal lyrics hurt a little. But let's be honest: are the lyrics to Rosanna really any worse than those to Beat It or Like a Virgin?
     
  19. That's one reason why it sounds so good.
     
  20. Vidiot

    Vidiot Now in 4K HDR!

    Location:
    Hollywood, USA
    And here's Steve Porcaro's "Human Nature" demo for Toto which I seem to recall the group rejected, which is one reason why the song found its way into producer Quincy Jones' hands and then to Michael Jackson:



    Note that Porcaro is still very active in the music business and does scoring and recording for TV. I believe his current show is Justified, which does very well. Very talented guy.
     
  21. Apollo C. Vermouth

    Apollo C. Vermouth Forum Resident

    I didn't know it was them. Only person that ever got press for being on the album as a musician was Eddie Van Halen. Being that I used my original copy of Thriller as a frisbee about 20 years ago I have never looked at the info on the album liner notes. Now I gotta go and find a used LP of Thriller.
     
    theMess likes this.
  22. The interviewer should've challenged Lukather and said that he knows for a FACT that it was Journey who really played on Thriller.
     
    Ted Dinard and Synthfreek like this.
  23. Rfreeman

    Rfreeman Senior Member

    Location:
    Lawrenceville, NJ
    Jon Anderson's abysmal City of Angels was a Toto album and unfortunately sounds like one.
     
    Jerquee and spindly like this.
  24. pbuzby

    pbuzby Senior Member

    Location:
    Chicago, IL, US
    In addition to that some of the hits were sung by Paich (parts of "Rosanna" and "Africa") and Lukather ("Georgie Peorgie").
     
    theMess likes this.
  25. theMess

    theMess Forum Resident

    Location:
    Kent, UK
    Yes, it almost seems like they had too much vocal talent. Oddly the Beatles, Beach Boys and Fleetwood Mac thrived with many different singers, I wonder why Toto struggled for an identity but those groups didn't?
     
    PhoffiFozz likes this.
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