•
Rating: I find the rumor that Toto is a group of hired and obsequious studio musicians unbearable. The band's origins date back to their high school days, where drummer Jeff Porcaro, keyboardist David Paich, and original bassist Dave Hungate met and started playing together as teenagers. The myriad of collaborations on others' records is just a detail, the band has always sought and achieved its sound, its style, its evolution.
Of course, like others, they were heavily pressured by the record label to remain accessible and commercial, and thus (since the 1980s made it fashionable) polished and AOR. Now years out of the major scene, their sound is much closer to their live performances, always vigorous and rock-oriented. This 1988 album suffers significantly, on today's re-listen, from the glamorous and aesthetic era in which it was conceived: it doesn't matter, the songwriting in several instances is excellent, the then-singer Joseph Williams more than convincing (much improved from the previous effort on "Fahrenheit"), and more than ever it's easy to go beyond the commerciality of the tracks and savor, among the more complex and expansive ones (one of which is even close to progressive), the exquisite melodic and arrangement ideas.
"Pamela" is the first jewel, right at the opening: on the metronomic groove of the late Jeff Porcaro and his brother Mike on bass, David Paich's genius piano work stands out, cyclically ahead of the beats in the rhythm, creating an "rolling" effect, original and tasteful. After syncopations in the verses, Williams' voice rises high and full to describe a creatively and wide-ranging melodic chorus, while for the instrumental portion, there's a callback to the cliché of the previous and famous "Rosanna," with a festival of synthesizers crossing paths (handled by the third Porcaro brother, Steve, and Paich himself) and then launching Steve Lukather's piercing guitar. "You Got Me" is a busy funky rock track that flows brilliantly, a bit marred by a synthetic bass line, so overused and necessary back then, as much as it is completely "out" nowadays. It's always a pleasure to listen again, even today, to the subsequent "Anna," a splendid and enveloping ballad, well-composed and sung by Lukather, who for the occasion taps into his romantic vein. "Stop Loving You" follows as the misleading single chosen at the time, an episode in my opinion among the less appreciable of the record because it suffers from an overly predictable chorus, which unfortunately diminishes and trivializes the perfect funky-rock groove, to which all the instruments contribute, fitting together in a highly dynamic formula. The fifth track, "Mushanga," is a typical situation for Toto, with multiple possible levels of assimilation: at first glance, it might seem like any easy listening, while a careful and technically aware listen cannot help but surprise at the refined rhythmic intuition upon which it is based, especially the adamantine class with which Porcaro strikes drums and cymbals. "Stay Away" and "Only The Children" are guitar-driven rock tracks of medium/low inspiration. Between them is the sparkling funky pop of "Straight For The Heart," with which Toto pays tribute to both Hall & Oates (the brisk rhythm is exactly that of the noted "Maneater") and Earth Wind & Fire (the rapid and highly dynamic brass breaks, strictly synthesized given the era).
But it is with the concluding trio of songs that the album soars and deserves a place in any good music collection. It begins with "A Thousand Years": the "Jeff Porcaro Shuffle" (a shuffle rhythm on the snare, that was born and died with him, only Jeff could render it with unmatched naturalness, precision, and drive) reaches its highest expressive levels here, everything is of exquisite class, the melody, the arrangements, and Williams who seems born to sing these things, his performance is flawless! It continues with "These Chains," yet another sweet ballad composed and sung by Lukather. Anyone who has seen this musician in action on stage with Toto or handling his side projects makes sure not to judge him solely by his pop works (full of rare class, like this one). In those years, the record label pressed for his more romantic and round side, when, in reality, the man is a rock animal like few others, a concentrate of energy, virtuosity, and heart, an invaluable asset in the global guitar, rock, and good music scene, a wonderful example of the right attitude towards success, colleagues, admirers. A great one. The nearly seven minutes of "Home Of The Brave" conclude the album, a very progressive affair given the changes in rhythm and the various sections composing it. After a suggestive, introductory touch of synthesizer, David Paich's relaxed and warm voice takes charge of singing the verses, to then leave the field to Williams' powerful and heartfelt tone. The intricate and prolonged instrumental interlude includes breathtaking breaks and a wildly entertaining showcase for Lukather, who, instead of taking a solo, invents a violently repeated rhythmic figure of particular originality and effectiveness. Great and inspired ending for an excellent record, among the band's best.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 Pamela (05:11)
Oh, yeah
Side by side
I'll be yours forever
Yes I will
Rain or shine
Any kind of weather
Any kind
There isn't anything
I wouldn't do for you
Let's take what's getting old
And make it new
Oh, eye to eye
It's a blinding confrontation
You and I
We're a deadly combination
So don't start mixing
Truth with jealousy
The road we're on is clear
As far as I can see
Pamela
Don't break this heart of mine
Just remember it may not heal this time
Pamela
There is no second chance
For the one who leaves it all behind
Yeah, yeah
I love you, little girl
Black and white
Always go together
Day and night
You're the precious jewel I treasure
Wanting every part of you
Is not a crime
Could it be that you're the one
Who's wrong this time
Pamela
Don't break this heart of mine
Just remember it may not heal this time
Pamela
There is no second second chance
For the one who leaves it all behind
Leave all
Oh, Pamela, oh
Thousands of miles away
But always in my heart
Pamela
So don't break this heart of mine
Just remember it may not heal this time
Pamela
There is no second chance
For the one who leaves it all behind
Pamela
Don't break this heart of mine
Just remember it may not heal this time
Pamela
There is no second chance
For the one who leaves it all
Leave all behind
Leave all behind
I still love you, little girl
I still love you
And you know it, little Pamela
I still love you, yes I do
And you know it, little Pamela
Come on
Oh, little Pamela
03 Anna (04:55)
Anna please turn around, we'll work it out somehow
Anna don't turn me down, there's still a chance
if we can hold out once more
'Cause we started out with love, that was more than enough
And that's a lot to give up
Chorus:
Even if you turn and walk away, love will bring you back somehow
I will wait forever and a day, 'cause I believe without a doubt
The time will not run out on our love
Anna you gotta stay, it's just a stage we're going through
And Anna this all can change, if we turn the page
then we can start all again
'Cause we almost touched the sky, and it could never again be this right
Anna please change your mind
Chorus:
Even if you turn and walk away, love will bring you back somehow
I will wait forever and a day, 'cause I believe without a doubt
The time will not run out on our love
(Instrumental break)
Chorus:
Even if you turn and walk away, love will bring you back somehow
I will wait forever and a day, 'cause I believe without a doubt
The time will not run out on our love
Chorus:
Even if you turn and walk away, love will bring you back somehow
I will wait forever and a day, 'cause I believe without a doubt
The time will not run out on our love
And I believe without a doubt, the time will not run out
And I believe without a doubt, the time will not run out on our love
04 Stop Loving You (04:30)
Reflections in my mind
Thoughts I can't define
My heart is racing
And the night goes on
I can almost hear a laugh
Coming from your photograph
Funny how a look can share
A thousand meanings
Well-intended lies
Contemplating alibis
Is it really you
Or is it me I'm blaming
A distant memory
Flashes over me
Even though you're gone
I feel you deep inside
Dance beneath the light
With that look in your eyes
I can't stop loving you
Time passes quickly
And chances are few
I won't stop 'till
I'm through loving you, girl
There's a window in the heart
I've tried to look through from the start
You're never really sure
What someone else is thinking
Someone's broken something new
Another altered point of view
Just a certain someone's
Conscience playing
I held it in my hand
I did not understand
What lives inside the wind
That cries her name
Tried to catch a shooting star
What seems so close can't be that far
I'm living in a dream
That's never ending
Dance beneath the light
With that look in your eyes
I can't stop loving you
Time passes quickly
And chances are few
I won't stop 'till
I'm through loving you, girl
Dancin' with that look
That's in your eyes
I can't stop loving you
Time passes quickly
And chances are few
I won't stop 'till
I'm through loving you, girl
I can't stop loving you
Time passes quickly
And chances are few
I won't stop 'till
I'm through loving you, girl
05 Mushanga (05:36)
[Verse 1:]
I can't forget you my little Mushanga
I keep a place in my heart for you
The days of waiting they keep getting longer
And not a thing I can do
I was a poet, a magazine writer
Sent to report on political views
It was by chance through a lens that I met you
A Capetown girl with no shoes
Chorus:
You were runnin' down the road
I was going your way
I stopped and turned around to lent you my hand
You smiled though you were suffering
I didn't understand, then
You broke into my heart
I saw your eyes and then I knew
You broke into my heart
Like the wind and rain that followed you
You broke into my heart
Had the Lord above forgotten you?
You broke in from the start
And all my tears belong to you
Mushanga, oh, Mushanga, oh
[Verse 2:]
I sat and watched as she danced by the fires
Through ancient songs did the tale unfold
They sang of diamonds that came from their mountains
The loss of lives mining white man's gold
I had to leave and go back to Manhattan
Where all my stories are bought and sold
I know the city would surely be saddened
If what I knew could be told
(Chorus)
[Instrumental break]
[Verse 3:]
It's been so long since I last heard your laughter
So many letters and still no news
I hope you find all the things that you're after
You know my heart is with you
You were runnin' down the road
I was going your way
I stopped and turned around to lent you my hand
You smiled though you were suffering
I didn't understand, then
You broke into my heart
I saw your eyes and then I knew
You broke into my heart
Like the wind and rain that followed you
You broke into my heart
Had the Lord above forgotten you?
You broke into my heart
I saw your eyes and then I knew
You broke in from the start
And all my tears belong to you
Mushanga, oh, Mushanga, oh [repeat 3x]
09 A Thousand Years (04:53)
Day after day
I feel myself slowing down
What does it mean?
The air has changed
It's getting harder to breathe
Or so it would seem
Sail me away to a distant shore
Where everything's fine
Chorus:
A thousand years
Lost in the blink of an eye
If the sky keeps fallin'
The world will come tumblin' down
In a thousand years
Tell me my friend
Can you imagine a place
Free of boundaries and lies
There's blood on the wind
And it's come all of the way
From faraway skies
Take me away to a different world
Where everything's fine
(Chorus)
A thousand years
One day for every life
Just keep on going
We'll find you a home underground
In a thousand years
[Instrumental break]
Sail me away to a distant shore
Where everything's fine
(Chorus)
A thousand years
One day for every life
Just keep on going
We'll find you a home underground
In a thousand years
11 Home of the Brave (06:51)
Everything's gonna be alright boys
Help is on the way
Hold your head up high now
There's no need to cry now
We're not running anymore
Leave the politics behind boys
They're not working anymore
There's so much more at stake here
It's make or break here
Haven't we been here before?
(Well come on!)
Tell me what we're waiting for
Chorus:
You gotta remember
You don't have to be afraid
You still have the freedom to learn
And say what you wanna say
You gotta remember
Don't let 'em take away
The land we call the home of the brave
Who sings the song of the people?
You don't hear it anymore
I heard it late last summer
To the beat of a different drummer
It never sounded quite like this before
So you're trying to shake this feeling
That trouble's right outside the door
You lie awake each dark night
Like a time bomb wound up too tight
A storm in waiting, just offshore
(Well, come on!)
Tell me what we're waiting for
Chorus
(Instrumental break)
Chorus repeats 2x
Loading comments slowly
Other reviews
By Capolys
"Home of the Brave is a wonderful song and rightfully enters the band's top 10."
"Jeff Porcaro gives it all: Paradiddles, double Paradiddles, and more, transforming a secondary instrument into something indispensable."
