Toto (album)

Background and composition

During the first half of the 1970's, the future members of Toto worked as session musicians in Los Angeles, California, for artists such as The Pointer Sisters, Foreigner, Boz Scaggs, Barbra Streisand, Leo Sayer, Alice Cooper, Steely Dan, among others. In 1976, high school friends David Paich (keyboardist, songwriter, and vocalist), David Hungate (bassist) and Jeff Porcaro (drummer), played and worked on Boz Scaggs's album Silk Degrees. The trio were joined by other longtime friends, guitarist Steve Lukather and keyboardist Steve Porcaro (Jeff's younger brother), on Scaggs's touring band. In 1977, the group auditioned vocalist Bobby 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 with Columbia Records, and started work on their debut album.

The band spent nine months in the recording studio. Aside from "You Are the Flower", written by Bobby Kimball about his 9-month daughter, and "Takin' It Back", written by Steve Porcaro, all the songs on Toto were written by David Paich. He composed the album's opening instrumental track, "Child's Anthem", while studying classical music at the University 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 "loved Queen, Zeppelin, Yes, ELP." The album also showcased vocal performances from four of the six members of Toto, including Bobby Kimball, who served as the band’s frontman.

Release

Toto was released in 1978 and promoted with four singles, three of which were commercial hits. "Hold the Line" spent six weeks on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, 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 the All In CD box set, and was remastered by the band and Elliot Scheiner.

Cover art

Drummer Jeff Porcaro explained that Philip Garris, known for painting many Grateful Dead album covers, created the album's emblem inspired by lyrics from the fourth track, "Manuela Run", which referenced the Sword 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 the Year of the Child theme.

Critical reception

Upon its release, Toto received generally positive reviews. Billboard wrote on 7 October 1978 that Toto offers a "rock twist" with its instrumental opening track, Child's Anthem", and that the harmonies and instrumentals stood out. On the same day, Cashbox described 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, Billboard had 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, Cashbox wrote that the single offered "simple emphatic piano part, 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 of The 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 of The Michigan Daily noted 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 like Walter Egan's "Magnet and Steel", "Toto should see a promising future." On December 3, Pete Bishop of The Pittsburgh Press said 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 in The Star-Phoenix that Toto is "slick, melodic and highly listenable," noting that although the majority of the songs were written by David 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, calling Toto a "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 of Melodic deemed Toto one of the most important and unique albums in the AOR genre, highlighting its playful and unpolished nature compared to Toto IV. For the album's 45th anniversary, Al Merchor from American Songwriter wrote 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."

Track listing

All tracks are written by David Paich, except where noted.

Personnel

Adapted from the album's liner notes and AllMusic.

Toto

• Bobby Kimball – vocals
• Steve Lukather – guitars, vocals
• David Paich – keyboards, vocals
• Steve Porcaro – synthesizers, vocals
• David Hungate – bass
• Jeffrey Porcaro – drums, percussion

Additional musicians

• Lenny Castro – percussion
• Chuck Findley – horn
• Jim Horn – saxophone, wind instruments
• Raj Neesh (Roger Linn) – synthesizer
• Cheryl Lynn – backing vocals on "Georgy Porgy"
• Marty Paich – string arrangements, strings
• Joe Porcaro – percussion
• Sid Sharp – string arrangements, strings Production
• Toto – production
• Tom Knox – engineer, mixing
• Dana Latham, Gabe Veltri – recording
• Mike Reese, Ron Hitchcock – mastering (at The Mastering Lab, Los Angeles, CA)
• Philip Garris – cover art
• Ed Careaff Studio – photography, design
• Fitzgerald Hartley Co – career direction

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

References

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