• Source: Toto (album)

Toto is the debut studio album by American rock band Toto, released in October 1978 by Columbia Records. It includes the hit singles "Hold the Line", "I'll Supply the Love" and "Georgy Porgy", all three of which made it into the top 50 in the US. "Hold the Line" spent six weeks in the top 10, and reached number 14 in the UK as well.
Although not initially very well received by critics, the band quickly gained a following, and the album gained a reputation for its characteristic sound, mixing soft pop with both synth and hard-rock elements. The band would venture deeper into hard rock territory on their next album.




Background


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.




Composition and release


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 Toto's unusual lineup as the band featured two keyboardists along with four lead vocalists, despite Bobby Kimball being the band’s frontman.
Toto was promoted with four singles, three of which were commercial hits: "Hold the Line", which spent six weeks on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, peaking at number 5, "I’ll Supply the Love", and "Georgy Porgy", both of which charted within the top 50.




Cover art


In an interview, drummer Jeff Porcaro explained that Philip Garris, known for painting many Grateful Dead album covers, created the album's emblem after listening to a lyric from the song "Manuela Run" ("Don't look now / You better watch that sword that's hanging over you") which referred to the Sword of Damocles. The sword also represented the band's powerful, hard-edge sound, and, due to their ability to play many types of music, Garris made the sword double-edged to show their versatility. The iron ring represented a piece of work being constructed (the record itself), and the ribbons represented the Year of the Child.




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 [sic], 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

David Hungate – bass
Bobby Kimball – lead vocals, backing vocals
Steve Lukather – guitars, backing vocals, lead vocals (on "Georgy Porgy" and "Angela")
David Paich – keyboards, backing vocals, lead vocals (on "Manuela Run" and "Rockmaker")
Jeffrey Porcaro – drums, percussion
Steve Porcaro – keyboards, lead vocals (on "Takin' It Back")
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






Certifications






References






External links


Toto list of releases at Discogs
TOTO (1978) at the official Toto website

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