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Steve Lukather eventually threw in the towel, putting an end to the Toto last year: "What's the point in going on without David (Paich, the keyboardist and main composer who left a few years ago) and without any of the Porcaro brothers? (the last one, bassist Mike, had given in to his serious physical ailments some time ago). Words of wisdom from the guitarist, and thus maximum respect to people who, despite the superficial labels of a bunch of hirelings and Californian posers cyclically received over their career, showed all their honorable ethics until the end, after giving it their all for thirty years through good times and bad and proving themselves at every concert (those who have seen them perform know it, on stage they have always been a war machine, with an incredible groove).
This, which is the sixth album of the band (year 1986), is certainly also one of the less visible in their repertoire... this is also shown by the fact of being their only work not yet covered on this age-old site.
The band is here dealing with a new singer, the third in the series. The iconic one, Bobby Kimball, had been kicked out after the tour following the best-selling fourth album "IV": success had gone to his head, he drank and snorted too much, and he had started to sing poorly. He would return in 1998, with success, drunkenness, and highness behind him, to share the last portion of the group's history.
After the brief stint with Fergie Frederiksen on the microphone, which lasted the space of an album and a tour since, apparently, even without chemically altering himself, the man turned out to be even more unreliable than Kimball, Toto undoubtedly chose Joseph Williams, a musician destined to wrestle all his life with the twenty-one Grammys and various other achievements put together by his father John, the man behind the music of "Star Wars," "Indiana Jones," "Harry Potter," "Munich," "Jaws," and many others.
After Kimball’s soul voice and Frederiksen’s hard rock tone, here comes the AOR timbre, high and melodic, of the talented Williams, who sings quite well on this record, but will do much better in the next one, "The Seventh" (much more substantial in terms of songwriting and for many, including myself, the group's best). Nevertheless, this album sees as many as four lead voices alternate, as the dull "Without Your Love" is sung by Paich, the acoustic and delicate "Lea" belongs to its composer the synthesizer Steve Porcaro, and finally the timely chart-topping ballad, this time titled " I'll Be Over You", is typically the guitarist’s business, who sings and plays it superbly, with a heart-wrenching, piercing solo.
Speaking of Lukather, there is something wrong with his usually supreme work on the instrument, which these recordings capture stubbornly experimenting on a particularly washed-out and wiry timbre, really nothing special (he himself would somehow disavow it in posthumous interviews). However, the rhythmic machine of the great and late Jeff Porcaro, a drummer of immense class, remains impeccable, capable in some cases of "making" a song on his own, leading the listener's ears to pay attention to his cymbals and drums above all else.
If you have nothing by Toto (shame on you!), then primarily head towards the first, self-titled album, the second "Hydra," the famous "IV," or the seventh "The Seventh One". For the group’s enthusiasts, this is, in any case, an excellent album: there's a wealth of class and ideas, only lacking that pair of monumental songs necessary to make it indispensable for those who appreciate elegant and superbly played rock.Tracklist Lyrics and Samples
01 Till the End (05:27)
I know what's on your mind
Let's lay it on the line
All the things were missin'
Look I just came back to town
Drink that green dragon down
It's time for me talk and you to listen
I know my heart, I know it well
Bet your analyst forgot to ask that question
We're at the start and time will tell
Chorus:
Till the end
Your name will touch my lips like prayin'
Till the end
I'll be the keeper of the words your heart is sayin'
Till the end
You and I will learn a language new and unspoken
Till the end
We'll be the ones who hold the key to a lock that's open
Girl not so long ago
A boy that didn't know
That he was hurtin'
Pushed somebody down
They fell and hit the gound
But i never meant for you to be that person
You know my heart, you know me well
It's never been my style to take advantage
We're at the start and time will tell
04 Can't Stand It Any Longer (04:40)
Standin' on thin ice
Walkin' on a fine line
Never seem to buy, enough for you
If you're lookin' for a way out
Then you're headed for the right place
Givin' up is something I can't do
Ooh you got sharp claws
Always got your back up
Venom in your eyes, and blood so blue
Hangin' on a black tie
Sippin' on a half shell
Holdin' all the cards, and a joker too
Bridge:
You should have told me sooner
I would have let you go
Now you're driving me crazy
Chorus:
I can't stand it any longer
When you pay the price for freedom
It ain't wrong girl
I can't stand it any longer
Dancin' on hot coals
Playin' with a live wire
Sneakin' out the back door, you're so cool
If you really wanna move on
Then there's nothing left to say
Here's a ticket for the bus stop
I'm no fool
Bridge
Chorus
06 Fahrenheit (04:40)
Feel the heat - in the street
Find out what your people are sayin'
Feel the heat - in the street
Find out what the people are sayin'
'Bout you! Yeh you
Friends you keep - lie and cheat
Makin' rules for games that they're playin'
When you meet - on the street
You find out all along they're playin'
Me against you
Bridge:
I don't care what they say about me
I've heard that all before
Just make this one exception
Give me your affection
Listen to your heart for what you need
Feel the heat - in the street
You're the one that keeps the boys dreamin'
If you feel the need - come to me
Or you may find what's on your mind
May come true
07 Somewhere Tonight (03:46)
When you meet a special person
and it feels good passing time
you tell yourself it's casual
but they have something else in mind
you try to make some reason
a voice calls out from across the room
but she runs away without an answer
she runs away too soon
chorus
Somewhere tonight, someone's crying
Somewhere tonight, someone's crying
Somewhere tonight, someone's crying
Somewhere tonight, someone's crying
We all belong to someone
but sometimes they're so far away
you write down words in letters
not quite sure what they say
and you know that she needs you
and you miss her in your heart
but a certain feeling lingers
that keeps us miles apart
chorus (repeat and fade)
09 Lea (04:31)
Here's to the few who fared - my love
Only for you - I cared - my love
I've given it hope, and I know it's only you
Encased in silence
Here's to the you who saved - my love
Only to you - I gave - my love
I've given it thought, and it's not all that appears
Chorus:
Lea, how long will you still want me to want you
In and around you
Lea, my concertina
Will you still want me to want you
Here's to the you - who dared - my love
Only with you - I shared - my love
I've given it thought, and it's not all that appears
Chorus
Bridge:
Who cares - what the cynics say
I care - if only you're on your way
Lea - don't let the same be true
Lea - do you still want me to want you
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