Toto (album)

Totois the debutstudio albumby AmericanrockbandToto, released in October 1978byColumbia Records. It includes the hit singles "Hold the Line", "I'll Supply the Love" and "Georgy Porgy", all three of which made it into the top 50 in the US."Hold the Line" spent six weeks in the top 10, and reached number 14 in the UK as well.
Although not initially very well received by critics, the band quickly gained a following,and the album gained a reputation for its characteristic sound, mixing soft pop with both synth and hard-rock elements. The band would venture deeper into hard rock territory on their next album.
During the first half of the 1970's, the future members ofTotoworked as session musicians inLos Angeles,California, for artists such asThe Pointer Sisters,Foreigner,Boz Scaggs,Barbra Streisand,Leo Sayer,Alice Cooper,Steely Dan, among others.In 1976, high school friendsDavid Paich(keyboardist, songwriter, and vocalist),David Hungate(bassist) andJeff Porcaro(drummer), played and worked onBoz Scaggs's albumSilk Degrees.The trio were joined by other longtime friends, guitaristSteve Lukatherand keyboardistSteve Porcaro(Jeff's younger brother), on Scaggs's touring band.In 1977, the group auditioned vocalistBobby Kimball(formerly of S.S. Fools) and officially formed Toto under the direction of Paich and Jeff Porcaro.Through different family and business connections, the band secured a recording withColumbia Records, and started work on their debut album.
The band spent nine months in the recording studio.Aside from "You Are the Flower", written byBobby Kimballabout his 9-month daughter,and "Takin' It Back", written bySteve Porcaro,all the songs onTotowere written byDavid Paich. He composed the album's opening instrumental track, "Child's Anthem", while studying classical music at theUniversity of Southern California.The track "Manuela Run" served as inspiration for both the album's cover art and the band's logo.
Though the band's sound was rooted in heavy and progressive rock, the album's ten tracks span a variety of genres that would later define Toto's style, including rock, pop, jazz, progressive rock, R&B, and soul.Paich would later say that the band did not "want to be the Eagles," but "lovedQueen,Zeppelin,Yes,ELP."The album also showcased vocal performances from four of the six members of Toto, includingBobby Kimball, who served as the band’sfrontman.
Totowas released in 1978 and promoted with four singles, three of which were commercial hits. "Hold the Line" spent six weeks on the USBillboardHot 100chart, peaking at number 5."I’ll Supply the Love" and "Georgy Porgy" both charted within the top 50 of the Hot 100.In 2019, the album was reissued as part of theAll InCD box set, and was remastered by the band andElliot Scheiner.
DrummerJeff Porcaroexplained that Philip Garris, known for painting manyGrateful Deadalbum covers, created the album's emblem inspired by lyrics from the fourth track, "Manuela Run", which referenced theSword of Damocles: "Don't look now, you better watch that sword that's hanging over you".The sword symbolized the band's powerful, hard-edged sound, with its double-edged design reflecting their versatility across music genres.The iron ring represented the construction of the record itself, while the ribbons tied into theYear of the Childtheme.
Upon its release,Totoreceived generally positive reviews.Billboardwrote on 7 October 1978 thatTotooffers a "rock twist" with its instrumental opening track, Child's Anthem", and that the harmonies and instrumentals stood out.On the same day,Cashboxdescribed the album as a "a collection of accessible, sophisticated pop-rock confections," adding that while the band boasted "clean, crisp instrumental work," it also possessed "several capable lead vocalists."Earlier, on September 30,Billboardhad also considered that "Hold the Line" boasted a "scorching mix and a solid hook", highlighted by Kimball's "exciting" vocals and the "scorching" instrumentals.Meanwhile,Cashboxwrote that the single offered "simple emphatic piano part [sic], heavy surging guitars, pleasant turns, fine singing and strong chorus."
By December 1978, reviews from various newspapers echoed similar sentiments. On December 1, John Laycock ofThe Windsor Star, wrote that Toto sounded like a real working band that understood "what's out there beyond the transistors," stating that the album was not one for "virtuosos" but rather one for hits.On the same day, Timothy Yagle ofThe Michigan Dailynoted that the album's music was reminiscent of the bands Toto's members had worked with as session musicians.He described the album as easy to listen to "good conversation music" and described it as a "pleasant combination of soft rock", with a "good beat" and "danceable" songs.He predicted that with "great tunes" like "Hold the Line", which Yagle thought sounded likeWalter Egan's "Magnet and Steel", "Toto should see a promising future."On December 3, Pete Bishop ofThe Pittsburgh Presssaid that while "Child's Anthem", the part "material, part Baroque and part rock" opening track, set the stage for the "quality of musicianship to follow", the music was somewhat wasted as the lyrics did not "measure up".On December 16, Michael Lawson wrote inThe Star-PhoenixthatTotois "slick, melodic and highly listenable," noting that although the majority of the songs were written byDavid Paich, the album avoided the tendency to "follow any one format."
In contrast, by January 1979,Rolling Stone's Don Shewey delivered a more critical review, callingTotoa "dull debut" expected from a group of session musicians.He argued that the band lacked the two essential elements for "good rock": a singer and a writer.Shewey critiqued Paich's songs as "excuses for back-to-back instrumental solos," and considered that only three members sang "passably", while the fourth, lead vocalist Bobby Kimball, was "terrible."He concluded by describing Toto as a band of "pros, but no poetry."
Retrospective reviews have been positive.AllMusic's William Ruhlmann observed that the band's "rock-studio chops" allowed them to play a variety of pop styles, which implied that "music-making took craft rather than inspiration and that the musical barriers critics like to erect were arbitrary."He suggested that this might explain why radio listeners appreciated the band more than critics.Johan Wippsson ofMelodicdeemedTotoone of the most important and unique albums in the AOR genre, highlighting its playful and unpolished nature compared toToto IV.For the album's 45th anniversary, Al Merchor fromAmerican Songwriterwrote that Toto's debut is a paradox between "solid consistency" and a "collection of tracks written and performed in various styles."He argued that the album demonstrates how Toto was not just a "mere hodgepodge of in-demand studio musicians," but rather a "real band with a real sound and identity" that arrived fully-formed."Merchor concluded by emphasizing how each member's contribution, blending rock with jazz, R&B, and classical influences, was key to creating something "unique and unmistakably Toto."
All tracks are written byDavid Paich, except where noted.
Adapted from the album's liner notes andAllMusic.
Toto
Additional musicians
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