Toto appreciation thread

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by steve phillips, Jan 3, 2019.

  1. OptimisticGoat

    OptimisticGoat Everybody's escapegoat....

    Late to this thread. I have never seen these guys live but a big fan. They tipped a high point for me with the Seventh One - even though I love Toto IV. I think the thing with Toto is that the music is undeniably good, the composition is creative, the grooves are timeless but the band has no attitude and no “face”... which is a big negative for many generations. I love it. I don’t love misplaced attitude. Toto fans unite - there is purity in just listening.
     
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  2. carlwm

    carlwm Forum Resident

    Location:
    wales
    Well said! :righton:
     
  3. drum_cas

    drum_cas Forum Resident

    Just last friday I came home to find my wife bought me the 40 tours around the sun blu-ray! So great, I was there when they recorded, just as I was there when they recorded the 25th anniversary. I remember that summer of 88, Stop loving you on the radio and I had heard some coverband doing a great song which turned out to be Hold the Line. One of our camp-group had a tape which both songs appeared on. Coming back to school after that summer, me and some guys lingered in the musicroom after class, one piano, one bass and me behind the drums. This kid on bass asks; do you know this song? And starts playing Hold the line! I've spent a lot of time with this guy in a lot of bands the following years.
    1992 was my first Totoconcert, and indeed, the great Jeff Porcaro passed away that summer, prior to the concert.......... Such a loss.
    Fast forward to 2001. I had been to several concerts in the years between and at my new work we formed a little combo to play at some anniversary of one of the founders. This guy on bass asks; do you know this song? And believe it or not, starts playing Hold the line! He's still my musical friend with whom I've been to many concerts since then, also Toto ofcourse!

    Toto has been a large part of my life since that summer of '88. I have all their CD's, some remastered, LP's up until Mindfields, DVD's and Blurays of concerts and clips. I even have a VHStape somewhere with the concert in Holland in 1992. (Den Bosch though, not Rotterdam)

    I look forward to this RSD, I would love that album! (The box was a bit to steep for me)

    Keep it up for this awesome band!!!!!!
     
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  4. Not a huge fan but I enjoy the first six albums. Kind of,lost interest after that. My favorite is-surprise!-Hydra. They were uncool when I was listening to New Wave but I kept my albums and still enjoyed them.

    ‘I think the Rock Candy remasters improve on the originals even if they are a bit bright (Astley remastered them and, yes, like the remaster Japanese Who albums he’s improved as a mastering engineer. Not,perfect mind you but there’s nice dynamics).
     
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  5. PTgraphics

    PTgraphics Senior Member

    I guess the All In box will not be released digitally. I know some things happened but they lost all momentum they had. I do own the cd version but was hoping for better sounding hi res versions.
     
  6. Vinyl is final

    Vinyl is final Not Insane - I have a sense of humor

    Location:
    South central, KY
    There are some "40 tours around the sun" videos of their live concert. It is simply amazing. It is reminiscent of the last Eagles live concert video in its production quality and style. And the band sounds GREAT.

    I only liked their two hits, but then, I never liked the Eagles until I saw that concert and now I'm a fan. So...
     
  7. MikeVielhaber

    MikeVielhaber Forum Resident

    Location:
    Memphis, TN
    Well they had more than 2 hits. They had 4 top 10 hits (3 in the top 5), another one that just missed at 11 and 5 others in the top 40.
     
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  8. Vinyl is final

    Vinyl is final Not Insane - I have a sense of humor

    Location:
    South central, KY
    I only remembered Rosanne and Africa. They were popular as I reached the age in my life where I was losing interest in the latest pop music. So I only remember the really big hits from some of those groups - or their stuff I really liked.
     
  9. GodShifter

    GodShifter Forum Member

    Location:
    Dallas, TX, USA
    I appreciate their excellent musicianship for sure. They've done some good songs, but I don't really like any of their albums in full. Steve Lukather is a monster guitar player; probably the best pure musician of a group of absolute pros.
     
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  10. MikeVielhaber

    MikeVielhaber Forum Resident

    Location:
    Memphis, TN
    Those are their 2 biggest hits, though I'd put "Hold the Line" right up with them (the aforementioned 3 top 5 hits).
     
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  11. drum_cas

    drum_cas Forum Resident

    Hits are nice. What I like so much is that when I go to a concert there will always be deepcuts. So I never want to see or hear a setlist so that I can be surpised! And there are always nuts like me around that are waiting for those exact deepcuts and we go nuts together!
     
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  12. It was most definitely NOT brilliant. If you enjoy Billy Sherwood (I sometimes do), there are some good cuts. There was maybe one that really sounded like prime Bobby. Many of Sherwood's own solo albums and Circa albums are more interesting.

    I really think the last time Bobby really sounded close to right to me was on the Looking Glass album.
     
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  13. They did some deep cuts in their most recent (Nov. 2020) show:

    Kingdom of Desire
    You Are the Flower
    Stop Loving You (a full version)
    Til the End (a full version)
     
  14. carlwm

    carlwm Forum Resident

    Location:
    wales
    Respectfully disagree here. For me, the Yoso album definitely is excellent. I know Bobby took some flack for struggling in the studio and in their few live shows but the studio performances eventually coaxed out of him were fine. The songwriting and performances are has good as expected from a band featuring Billy Sherwood and the result is a fascinating prog/AOR hybrid. Shame it all fell apart.

    Bobby sounds fine - again, at least to my ears - on what will surely be his final solo album We're Not In Kansas Anymore, from 2016, which is another strong record. It doesn't sound autotuned so I imagine that, once more, a patient producer waited for his good days to capture the takes that ended up on the album. Much as it might have been an aural jigsaw puzzle, the end result was worth it.
     
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  15. drum_cas

    drum_cas Forum Resident

    Yes! I watched it and really liked it!
    Although for The Netherlands Stop Loving You isn't a deepcut, it was released as a single and reached the 2nd position in the Top 40!
     
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  16. walrus

    walrus Staring into nothing

    Location:
    Nashville
    I'm glad they played the real version instead of that lame acoustic version they insisted on doing on so many tours. I saw them 9 times between 2005 and 2019 and have still never heard them play that song electric. :(
     
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  17. Agree that he sounded pretty good (especially relative to contemporaneous live shows) on "We're Not In Kansas . . ." That was a welcome find. His best solo effort, however, remains "All I Ever Needed." The more R&B-flavored material, like "Live the Groove" is always where he sounded most at home . . . rather than on overtly rock tunes.
     
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  18. I spoke to Lukather yesterday and suggested some future "deep cuts" for any tours: the song Fahrenheit (which I think would sound more hip today and for which Searight could really go to town on the verses) plus the tune "Slipped Away" which is the great lost song from Tambu.

    Also thanked him for the really excellent and full length version of "You Are the Flower," one of my favorites from the debut.

    And a little tidbit: the cool triplet thing done on the drums to kind of announce the arrival of the guitar solo on Steve's latest single "Run To Me" was Ringo's idea. Ringo: still a hip drummer even at age 80.
     
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  19. carlwm

    carlwm Forum Resident

    Location:
    wales
    Yeah, strong album. He could certainly nail that R&B style. The one solo album we haven't mentioned yet is Rise Up. Probably the most Toto of the three. In truth, I like them all. :)
     
  20. carlwm

    carlwm Forum Resident

    Location:
    wales
    Could have done without the sax but apart from that, it was fab.
     
  21. I didn't like the production on Rise Up. Too dense and squashed, and the songs didn't really breathe. I remember being excited that it was coming, bought it, and then felt disappointed except one or two songs. He was in good voice for that one, though. His return to Toto was welcomed although I wish they would have made Mindfields shorter and then maybe written 2-3 more songs and done a 2nd album in succession. It was just too long. By Falling In Between, which is a really good album, his voice was noticeably changing though. It was a little bit heard on the album but was very clear on the tour that it was no longer going to work.

    For some of the R&B style vocals, the two albums he did of cover songs with West Coast All-Stars sound great. Also really good in that time is his guest shot with Sons of Champlin's "Hip Lil Dreams."
     
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  22. walrus

    walrus Staring into nothing

    Location:
    Nashville
    Yeah. Wasn't crazy about replacing the synth solo in "Rosanna" with a damn sax either. Unless there's a full horn section involved, just not really into sax on Toto records at all.
     
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  23. One thing I really liked, and fits with Lukather's personality, is that it was really high energy. The new drummer drove the tempos, even audibly catching a slight slowdown in White Sister and pulling the band back to tempo. It's not like they were rushing, but there was just no drag in the show - anywhere. Shocking for what is ostensibly a soft rock band by reputation: the show really rocked hard. I saw them on the last tour, which was excellent, but this was actually a notch up in intensity from that. I have a teen son who watched, and he was immediately taken by that. Now he wants some of those Meinl trash cymbals that he saw Sput Searight using in the show. It made quite an impression.
     
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  24. I kind of liked that. It was a wonderfully-composed moment in the original, so the synth was missed. But I also thought it kind of honored Steve P. by not just replicating it. The rest of Rosanna has a LOT of jamming so adding something more off-the-cuff kind of fit the feel. Thought Warren was used really well overall. Flute on You Are the Flower and his vocal on Home of the Brave were welcomed. Quite frankly, he sang Home of the Brave MUCH better than does David Paich.
     
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  25. walrus

    walrus Staring into nothing

    Location:
    Nashville
    Eh, I can't agree with that. Warren is a super talented dude, but him singing that part just sounded kinda off to me, I don't know why.

    Actually my favorite person who tackled Paich's part on that was actually Phillingaines...love the way he did his part in the second verse.

     

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