TOTO: Falling In Between Redeye Distribution
First a little recap on the band: (aren’t you happy that we have a long weekend so you can spend the balance of it reading this ultra-long review??? ï )
I have to admit that as a 14 year old growing up I was always a bit enthralled with the guys from Toto; they were all 1st call session guys who played on some of the most monumental tracks of the late 70s and 80s. They also seemed to have this really cool California lifestyle happening. I would see photos and videos with them backing up other artists, riding in convertibles along the beach, dating models and actresses and generally living the good life. This always contrasted with the pictures I would see of the “NY heavies†like Gadd, Richard Tee and Anthony Jackson, they were a little bit older and would always be playing in some dark smoky club with stern expressions on their faces and looking a little worse for the wear. I guess the California thing just appealed to me more.
Truthfully, I was always more fond of their playing than their songwriting, I found that there albums were inconsistent in terms of solid material, they were capable of writing some great pop tunes but the same writers were equally capable of producing a variety of shlock that it would be enough to send Celine Dion packing for north of the border. So for every “Girl Goodbye†(one of Porcaro’s best ever tracks) and “Rosanna,†there was a “Rockmaker†and “All Us Boys.â€
Nonetheless, they didn’t lack for talent, it is rumored that Toto guitarist Steve Lukather and Jeff Porcaro were responsible for actually putting together and producing most of the sound and concept that went into Michael Jackson’s Thriller, including Lukather getting his best friend Eddie Van Halen to play a solo on “Beat It.†Apparently Quincy Jones trusted them that much.
In listening to them from a musician’s perspective, I don’t think anyone surpassed them, then or now really.
I also empathized with their struggle to be seen as much more than studio jocks and become a force in popular music, which they did, if only for a brief period of time.
After winning 6 Grammy awards for Toto IV, which had “Africa†and “Rosanna,†among others, things took a downward turn for them as they fell prey to the familiar excesses of the 80s. The signature voice of Bobby Kimball was silenced when he was kicked out of the band for his drug problems which culminated in arrests and repeated rehab stays. After that they had a difficult time finding a lead singer, and their ensuing releases were never able to capture the chemistry or success of IV. Finally, in what seemed like a death knell to the band, and a tragedy in itself, Jeff Porcaro passed away in 1992 weeks before the start of a world tour. Luckily for them, Simon Phillips, who had played with Lukather in an earlier project, was able to cancel his previous engagements and do the tour with them. Eventually Simon became a full fledged band member.
Toto remained active by touring (very popular in Europe) and releasing various compilations, covers, tributes and live material, but since 1995 they have released only 2 CDs of original material. (1995’s Tambu , their last for Sony, and 1999’s Mindfields, which marked the return of Bobby Kimball, but was not originally released in the US). Both were certainly not bad works, but lacked focus, direction, and most importantly a hit single. Lukather’s influence in the band grew, as evident by the presence of harder edged material, but a casual listener would be hard pressed to find a hummable song on either. One of the band’s problems is that their abilities were so diverse that they tried to offer something for everyone on their albums, great for musicians to listen to, not so great for sales apparently.
With their latest release Falling In Between, Toto find themselves without a record contract and very much in the DIY mode but in this case it seems to have liberated rather than detracted from their productivity.
The band made a collective effort in getting together and writing songs for this album while in the same room, this is apparent, while still eclectic in terms of style, Falling In Between is more focused than previous efforts. Also of note is that CD features some cameos from some of their friends, such as Chicago’s Jason Scheff and James Pankow, Jethro Tull’s Ian Anderson, and saxophonist Tom Scott.
The CD opens with the title track, a tight and powerful piece in which they give a nod to bands like Dream Theater, with 32nd note runs over 5/4 and a chorus in 11/8, but still manage to layer in some great harmonies and give the song a strong, Indian-influenced hook.
Quickly following up with “Dying on My Feet,†a Steely Dan influenced track (may as well, they played with them too) feature a strong vocal performance from Kimball and the James Pankow Chicago-esque horn arrangements.
A band penned ballad “Bottom of Your Soul†is next, nice song but what makes it so (for me) is the 6/8 groove put together by long time percussionist Lenny Castro. (He and Porcaro came up with the groove for “Africaâ€).
“Hooked,†about the excesses facing society today features an Ian Anderson flute solo. Good hook and very strong band performances.
Other notables on the CD are “Taint Your World,†a tribute to Edward and Alex Van Halen which resembles the fast shuffles and high harmonies present in VH staples such as “Show Your Love,†“Full Bug†and “Hot for Teacher,†from the VH heydays. For me this didn’t work, it seemed that they were trying too hard and that it would have been something that may have made it to the album VH did with Gary Cherone album (enough said there).
Greg Phillinganes recently joined the band as a full time member. His name may be familiar because he has been around for years, originally “discovered†by Stevie Wonder, he has had a career as a keyboard player with many artists including Eric Clapton, Paul McCartney, Michael Jackson, Aretha Franklin and others.
His first solo vocal contribution to the CD, “Let it Go†is probably the strongest on the album. Marked by a funky verse and a catchy hook in the chorus, he does a great vocal backed with their usual complex, lush harmonies.
“Spiritual Man†is hymn-like, foray into Christian rock which touches on finding one’s way be it through god or John Coltrane. I had to listen to it a few times before I really started to get it and like it. It features strong vocal performances from David Paich, Bobby Kimball and new addition Greg Phillinganes. Can’t say I know too much about Christian rock-I had 2 Petra albums before I realized they were a Christian rock band, but I think it is one of the albums strong points.
“No End in Sight†is the final cut on the US version, it is an anti war song, I’m not much into musicians spouting their political views to me but the hook on this tune is great, another highlight.
On the Japanese import version there is an avant garde 12/8 song in which they got (appropriately enough) avant garde trumpeter Roy Hargrove to blow on. Oddly enough the import version was cheaper on Amazon so I bought it with this song. My advice, forget about the money, don’t waste the minute and 45 seconds of you time it will take to listen to it.
This CD was recorded at Simon Phillips’ home studio (which I’ve read is really a two bedroom house in Sherman Oaks, with one bedroom and the kitchen dedicated to the studio part) and engineered by him. I’m struck by the amazing quality of the recording, everything is crystal clear and pronounced and mixed really well. That says a lot for his capabilities behind the board. Oddly enough, Phillips has put himself pretty far down in the mix, in fact it is the lowest and least prominent I’ve ever heard him.
That leads me to my other observation. While Simon Phillips has been one of my favorite drummers since I was growing up, I think that all the time he has spent focusing on engineering and producing has taken a toll in his creativity and aggressiveness behind the kit. Don’t get me wrong, they recorded the thing without a click track and he is spot on, his meter is always good and more importantly, his feel is great but in comparison to some of his other recordings I feel something is missing. He managed to put his own stamp on his work with Jeff Beck, The Who and Pete Townsend among others, here on his own project he seems relegated to the background. For Simon Phillips at his best, see my other review of Steve Lukather’s live DVD.
My only major peeve about this CD is that these guys are a group of musicians on par with just about anyone playing today. I really wish they would take one self indulgent song and just blow it out but they chose taste over self indulgence, it would be a great to hear something like “Jake to the Bone†(JP) “Dave’s gone Skiing†(Simon in about 4 different time sigs) or “Party in Simon’s Pants†off the Lukather Candyman album (17/8) where they let loose and stretch out and have fun. On a CD like this, with so much emphasis on taste and restraint, there is plenty of room for self indulgence.
My overall impression of Falling In Between is that it is a very strong adult rock performance from a bunch of talented musicians who have lived a life. Now it seems they finally found an even ground. I don’t necessarily think they’ll get anything on the charts (but when was the last time Hall & Oates had an original up there?) but I’m glad to see they are in good form musically and still out there because they have something to offer. Toto has always been a great live band, aptly replicating what they put down in the studio, they are playing here in New York on June 24th; it should be a good show.
