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Rating: The fourth LP of the Los Angeles band arrived in 1982 and marks a decisive turning point for the group, bringing them back to worldwide success after the transitional album of the previous year "Turn Back" and overshadowing the group's earlier productions, including the very famous "Hold The Line".
The album immediately kicks off with great hits like "Rosanna" and "Make Believe", catchy melodies that showcase Bobby Kimball's exceptional vocal ability, making the tracks even more engaging, and the rest of the band, five men capable of playing the instruments very well. The string of hits doesn’t stop, as the third track is "I Won't Hold You Back", the classic rock ballad that stirs emotions: a melody that follows the piano played by David Paich, accompanied by strings and drums featuring a solo electric guitar by Steve Lukather. "Good For You" and "It's A Feeling" aren’t standout songs; they follow in the line of the first two tracks but fail to reach the same beauty.
In "Afraid Of Love" the rock sounds that characterized the group in their early albums return, dominated by electric guitar and keyboards, resulting in one of the most beautiful tracks in Toto's entire history. In "Lovers In The Night" and "We Made It", the sounds of the previous track are maintained; moreover, the sound of the drums is significantly emphasized. In "Waiting For Your Love", Kimball returns to sing a more than catchy song. The task of closing the album is entrusted to the great success "Africa", who doesn’t remember it? A melody where keyboards and drums accompany David Paich's deep voice, with great choruses by Kimball, Lukather, and Paich in the refrains.
This is the most famous album by Toto, but not the most beautiful overall, given the quality of some tracks that turn out to be lackluster and disappointing.
Tracklist Lyrics Samples and Videos
01 Rosanna (05:33)
All I wanna do when I wake up in the morning is see your eyes
Rosanna, Rosanna
I never thought that a girl like you could ever care for me, Rosanna
All I wanna do in the middle of the evening is hold you tight
Rosanna, Rosanna
I didn't know you were looking for more than I could ever be
Not quite a year since you went away, Rosanna
Now she's gone and I have to say
[Chorus:]
Meet you all the way
Meet you all the way, Rosanna yeah
Meet you all the way
Meet you all the way, Rosanna yeah
I can see your face still shining through the window on the other side
Rosanna, Rosanna
I didn't know that a girl like you could make me feel so sad, Rosanna
All I wanna tell you is now you'll never ever have to compromise
Rosanna, Rosanna
I never thought that losing you could ever hurt so bad
Not quite a year since she went away, Rosanna, yeah
Now she's gone and I have to say
[Repeat chorus]
[Instrumental break]
Not quite a year since she went away,
Who is it? Rosanna
Now she's gone and I have to say
[Repeat chorus]
Meet you all the way, Rosanna
Meet you all the way, Rosanna
02 Make Believe (03:47)
Why don't we make believe we're in love again
Who said the crimson moon doesn't shine
Where do people go when they're lookin' for that one of a kind
Why don't we make believe that we're sorry
Why must we hold it all inside
Where do lovers go when they're runnin' and there's no place to hide
Always remember - the day we met in the pouring rain
No more pretendin' - we went our separate ways
No matter which way the wind blows now, hang on to it anyhow
Don't ever say it could never be the same
Chorus
Always remember - holding hands on a summer day
You were content ob das stimmt?? and - you took it all away
I didn't come here to change your mind, lead you on and waste your time
All alone in the evening, gettin' blue
Why don't we make believe
(Instrumental break)
Chorus
Why don't we make believe, why don't we make believe
04 Good for You (03:18)
If you're dreamin', son don't you rise, I never get lost, so deep into us
I won't give up until you give in, but I know you must realize
Chorus:
I could be good for you, you could be good for me too, yeah
I could be good for you, you could be good for me too
Everyone knows, but they don't know why, how much will a smile, you satisfy
Stars gonna shine, the way that you feel, so there is no reason, I wonder why
Chorus
(Instrumental break)
Chorus repeats 2x
05 It's a Feeling (03:10)
It's a feeling, I don't belong here
But man's on the outside looking in, wonderin' losin' his old margin
It's a feeling, you never belonged to me
First you're on the up 'n up, only to down in sea
Only to down in sea
You're fighting me, you knew me, all desires
No lock or key can hide the truth you're keeping from me
(repeats 2x)
It's a feeling
07 Lovers in the Night (04:26)
It's just the soul that matters, and I don't know why
You know she's gonna make you cry, you know she's gonna make you cry
She'll have you walk beneath the ladder you were meant to climb
You know she's gonna make you try, you know she's gonna make you try
Chorus:
Ooh, you know we're lovers in the night
Ooh, you know we're lovers in the night
It's just the soul that matters, and keeps her satisfied
You know she's gonna make you cry, you know she's gonna make you cry
She'll have you wishin' that you had her come your way to shine
You know she's gonna make you try, ooh, you know she's gonna make you high
Chorus
(Instrumental break)
It's just the soul that matters, and keeps her satisfied
You know she's gonna make you cry, you know she's gonna make you cry
She'll have you wishin' that you had her come your way to shine
You know she's
(Instrumental break)
Chorus repeats 2x
Ooh, you know we're lovers in the night
08 We Made It (03:58)
Bad timing for love - you caught me on your birthday
I could feel your heart break into a hundred pieces
We were too torn apart, now it seems so senseless
And if we're clever, we'll put it together, it may be forever
Chorus:
We made it, made it, made it before, I know that we can make it again
We made it, made it, made it before, I know that we can make it again
Down on my luck, you arrived just in time, my angel
Thought you'd given me up, like a rhyme that needs no reason
I want you enough to keep my life untangled
If we're clever, we'll put it together, 'cos it may be forever
Chorus
(Instrumental break)
I want you enough to keep my life untangled
If we're clever, we'll put it together, 'cos it may be forever
Chorus repeats 2x
If ever we'll make it, we're gonna make it girl
And I know we can take it, we got to take it, girl
If ever we can make it, we gotta make it
And I know we can take it...
10 Africa (05:01)
I hear the drums echoing tonight
But she hears only whispers of some quiet conversation
She's coming in, 12:30 flight
The moonlit wings reflect the stars that guide me towards salvation
I stopped an old man along the way
Hoping to find some old forgotten words or ancient melodies
He turned to me as if to say
Hurry boy, it's waiting there for you
It's gonna take a lot to drag me away from you
There's nothing that a hundred men or more could ever do
I bless the rains down in Africa
Gonna take some time to do the things we never had, ooh
The wild dogs cry out in the night
As they grow restless longing for some solitary company
I know that I must do what's right
As sure as Kilimanjaro rises like Olympus above the Serengeti
I seek to cure what's deep inside
Frightened of this thing that I've become
It's gonna take a lot to drag me away from you
There's nothing that a hundred men or more could ever do
I bless the rains down in Africa
Gonna take some time to do the things we never had, ooh
Hurry boy, she's waiting there for you
It's gonna take a lot to drag me away from you
There's nothing that a hundred men or more could ever do
I bless the rains down in Africa
I bless the rains down in Africa
I bless the rains down in Africa
I bless the rains down in Africa
I bless the rains down in Africa
Gonna take some time to do the things we never had, ooh
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By Tucidide
Thanks to TOTO IV, I returned to the memory of that little girl with Battisti-like blonde braids, whom I dated when I was ten.
Rosanna! How could I have forgotten her after just six years? Rosanna! The evocative power of Lukather and company!
