Toto - Greatest Hits...And More (2002) [3CD]

De 2 CD plus unplugged bonus CD Greatest Hits & More is één van de betere Toto verzamelaars. 

Plus punten zijn dat alle hits er op terug te vinden zijn, zoals oa Hold The Line, 99, Rosanna, I Won't Hold You Back, Africa, I'll Be Over You, Stop Loving You, Pamela, Out Of Love, Don't Chain My Heart & I Will Remember. 

Ook de kleinere hits als I Suply The Love, If It's The Last Night, Mushanga, Love Has The Power & Melanie ontbreken niet. 

Het more zijn songs die sterk waren maar geen hits werden & de songs die alleen en exclusief op dit album staan, exclusieve songs zoals de 2 instrumentale nummers Moodio & Dune (film muziek door Toto), en de songs In A Word (non album B kant van de Single I'll Be Over You (1986) en het voor eigenlijk voor Past To Present album bedoelde Going Home (1989), alleen werd zanger Joseph Williams toen kort daarop uit de band ontslagen en bleef dit sterke nummer toen op de plank liggen, gelukig is het later weer bij gelegd, en trad Joseph Williams de laatste tijd regelmatig naast Bobby Kimball die in 1998 terug kwam in de band als lead zanger op, vooral om zijn Toto aandeel Stop Loving You & Pamela ten gehore te brengen. 

Williams is ook weer te horen op één van de songs vam het laatste studio album Falling In Between (2005) van de band. 

En Toto leden zijn te horen op Joseph's sterke nieuwe solo album This Fall (2008). Groot nadeel van dit album "Greatest Hits & More" is dat veel nummers er in Edit version (ingekort) op staan, sommige zijn de originele Single of Radio versies. 

The "more" in the title of Greatest Hits...And More of Sony Music Media's 2002 release refers to both the abundance of album tracks and relative rarities (such as excerpts from the Dune soundtrack) that fill out the 36 songs on the first two CDs of this set, as well as the third disc of unplugged performance of hits -- hits that appear in their original studio incarnations earlier on the collection. 

There is also another incarnation of this set that includes a bonus DVD of live performances from Toto, which includes a performance of Hendrix's "Little Wing.") 

For the casual fan who just wants the radio hits this is surely too much, but there are plenty of single-disc hits sets that will fulfill their needs. 

For those serious listeners who want a good, accurate overview of what Toto was all about, this is an excellent choice. 

Track listing

CD1

1.  Hold The Line - 3:31 

2.  Georgy Porgy - 4:08 

3.  I'll Supply The Love - 3:47 

4.  99 - 3:28 

5.  St.George And The Dragon - 4:04 

6.  If It's The Last Night - 4:32 

7.  Rosanna - 4:01 

8.  Make Believe - 3:43 

9.  Africa - 4:22 

10.  I Won't Hold You Back - 4:54 

11.  Waiting For Your Love - 4:14 

12.  Moodido (The Match) (Boxing Theme) - 4:24 

13.  Stranger In Town - 4:44 

14.  Holyanna - 4:17 

15.  Take My Hand - 2:35 

16.  Dune (Desert Theme) - 4:30 

17.  I'll Be Over You - 3:49 

18.  In A Word - 4:02 

19.  Without Your Love - 4:29 

CD2

1.  Stop Loving You - 4:29 

2.  Pamela - 4:30 

3.  Mushanga - 4:51 

4.  Goin' Home - 4:06 

5.  Love Has The Power - 4:29 

6.  Out Of Love - 4:22 

7.  Can You Hear What I'm Saying - 5:00 

8.  Don't Chain My Heart - 4:42 

9.  Only You - 4:21 

10.  2 Hearts - 5:07 

11.  The Other Side - 4:40 

12.  I Will Remember - 4:23 

13.  The Turning Point - 4:04 

14.  The Other End Of Time - 4:11 

15.  If You Belong To Me - 4:01 

16.  Melanie - 4:00 

17.  Mindfields - 6:02 

CD3  'Unplugged' Bonus CD  

1.  Georgy Porgy - 3:51 

2.  99 - 3:01 

3.  I Won't Hold You Back - 2:10 

4.  Don't Stop Me Now - 2:36 

5.  Out Of Love - 2:59 

6.  Mama - 2:13 

7.  You Are The Flower - 1:54 

8.  The Road Goes On - 2:33 

Credits

• Bass – David Hungate (tracks: 1-1 to 1-11), Mike Porcaro (tracks: 1-12 to 3-8)
• Design – De Vormers
• Drums, Percussion – Jeff Porcaro (tracks: 1-1 to 2-3, 2-5 to 2-11), Simon Phillips (tracks: 2-4, 2-12 to 3-8)
• Guitar – Steve Lukather (tracks: 1-1 to 3-8)
• Keyboards – David Paich (tracks: 1-1 to 3-8), Steve Porcaro (tracks: 1-1 to 2-3)
• Lead Vocals – Bobby Kimball (tracks: 1-1 to 1-11, 2-4, 2-16, 2-17, 3-5 to 3-8), Fergie Frederiksen (tracks: 1-12 to 1-16), Jean-Michel Byron (tracks: 2-5 to 2-7), Joseph Williams (tracks: 1-17 to 2-3)
• Liner Notes – Johan Vosmeijer
• Mastered By – Sony Music ISC Audio
• Vocals – David Paich (tracks: 1-1 to 3-8), Steve Lukather (tracks: 1-1 to 3-8), Steve Porcaro (tracks: 1-1 to 2-3)

Notes

Release Date:  2002

Genre:  Soft Rock

Duration:  2:55:39

Label - Sony Music Media

Toto - 35th Anniversary - Live In Poland (2014)

A wildly successful band in their own right, Toto helped shaped the sound of pop music in the '70s and '80s not just with their own songs, but as studio musicians for Boz Scaggs, Steely Dan, and Michael Jackson.
Celebrating their 35th anniversary, the band that served as the backbone for some of the smoothest pop hits of their day take Europe by storm on 35th Anniversary Tour: Live in Poland.
Playing to a massive, standing-room-only crowd in Lodz, Poland, a lineup featuring Steve Lukather, Steve Porcaro, David Paich, and Joseph Williams take to the stage to deliver a stellar performance for their ecstatic European fans.
Featuring hits like "Africa," "Rosanna," and a rousing rendition of "Hold the Line," this live set does their old material justice, and will be a welcome addition to the collection of any die-hard Toto fan.

Over the last decade, Toto has put together a handful of live DVDs. One might think this is a band past its prime simply seeking to cash in on its middle-aged fan base who've got the cash to buy multiple DVDs from the favorite bands of their youth (i.e...I'm looking at you, Chicago). So when I got the new "Live in Poland," I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it. The lineup with Joseph Williams (featured on "Fahrenheit" and "The Seventh One") was, in my view, the best version of the band because it featured a variety of contrasting voices. The Bobby Kimball concerts of recent years were good, but Kimball's vocal was sometimes overpowering or just a bit over-the-top in its delivery. This DVD, featuring Joseph Williams as the lead vocalist on many songs, is truly excellent. J-Will's voice is still in top form. Even with the passage of time, he seems to understand the limits that may come with age and doesn't push where he can't go when he was in his 20's...but you won't miss those few notes. The songs are thoughtfully crafted with new touches, truly enjoyable.

David Paich (exclusively on piano) and Steve Lukather are still the driving musical forces behind the band. You can tell that these guys were all friends from high school who've been playing together for 35 years.

Highlights include "Going Home" (with its original writer, Williams, delivering the vocal the way it always should have been). On many of the songs that originally featured Bobby Kimball, Williams' voice is truly at home. He's not trying to do a Kimball imitation at all, yet he owns the songs, something Jason Scheff of Chicago could never say when singing Peter Cetera's songs. In many cases, these live versions are better than the originals. "It's a Feeling" never stood out to me on its original studio track, but it's now a new favorite. "White Sister" really rocks with Williams on the mic.

Steve Lukather still sounds the same on his vocals. Paich's jazzy piano puts a nice twist is put on "99," breathing some life into one of Toto's early hits that otherwise might not stand the test of time that well.


CD1
1.  Intro 13 
2.  Medley - 5:32
    (a) On The Run 
    (b) Child's Anthem 
    (c) Goodbye Elenore 
3.  Goin' Home - 5:04
4 . Hydra - 7:17
5.  St George And The Dragon - 5:45 
6.  I'll Be Over You - 5:19
7.  It's A Feeling - 3:37
8.  Rosanna - 9:43
9.  Wings Of Time - 9:35 
10.  Falling In Between - 4:02
11.  I Won't Hold You Back - 5:50
12.  Pamela - 6:11

CD2
1.  99 - 4:17 
2.  The Muse - 2:43
3.  White Sister - 7:13
4.  Better World - 8:13
5.  Africa - 10:24
6.  How Many Times - 5:51 
7.  Stop Loving You - 7:29
8.  Hold The Line - 5:14
9.  Home Of The Brave (Encore) - 10:11

Companies, etc.

• Record Company – Eagle Rock Entertainment Ltd.
• Licensed From – Toto Live, Inc.
• Licensed To – Eagle Rock Entertainment Ltd.
• Phonographic Copyright (p) – Toto Live, Inc.
• Copyright (c) – Toto Live, Inc.
• Recorded At – Atlas Arena, Lodz, Poland
• Manufactured By – Optimal Media GmbH – AE43211

Credits

• Backing Vocals – Amy Keys, Mabvuto Carpenter
• Bass – Nathan East
• Drums – Simon Phillips
• Executive-Producer – David Paich, Geoff Kempin, Steve Lukather, Terry Shand 
• Guitar – Steve Lukather
• Keyboards – David Paich, Steve Porcaro
• Lead Vocals – Joseph Williams
• Liner Notes – Andrew McNeice
• Producer, Mixed By – CJ Vanston
• Supervised By [Audio] – Adrian Van Velsen
• Vocals – David Paich, Steve Lukather

Notes
Released: 2014
Recorded live at the Atlas Arena, Lodz, Poland June 25th 2013.
Genre: Rock
Style: Classic Rock, Soft Rock
Length: 2:09:37

Label - Eagle Records 

Toto - Turn Back (1981)

“Turn Back” is the third studio album by the American rock group Toto. Although it achieved the band's first top-ten hit, the album was a commercial disappointment.
Sandwiched between the highly successful self-titled debut, its follow-up "Hydra" and the monster smash of "Toto IV", "Turn Back" was Toto's least successful album yielding no hit singles and barely scraping the album charts. The album also took a beating from many critics claiming that the music and its performances were weak and disasterous.
However, in hindsight, "Turn Back" is not a bad album at all. Its lack of success and big hits make the album arguably more enjoyable to listen to than any other Toto album. This is also the band's heaviest album musically. The three opening tracks, "Gift With A Golden Gun", "English Eyes" and "Live For Today" usher in the album with solid dose of hook-filled hard rock with Steve Lukather's biting guitar work and the late Jeff Porcaro's solid forceful drumming. The hard rock element is also apparent in fast-paced shuffle of "Goodbye Elenore" which features a strong resemblance to bands like Queen. There is also a small progressive-rock touch heard in the album's title track with its heavy doses of keyboards and guitar textures.
Balancing out the album are three ballads. "A Million Miles Away" is a typical Toto power ballad with Bobby Kimball's emotional soaring vocals. "I Think I Could Stand You Forever" has a harder edge to it and once again comes across with musical references to Queen and Journey. "If It's the Last Night" is a Steve Lukather sung acoustic ballad with a slight REO Speedwagon vibe to it. This is also the album's powerful closing track.
"Turn Back" is an album that has aged gracefully over the years. Despite its lack of any commercial success, it is still one of Toto's strongest albums displaying the band's usual strong musicianship and great songwriting.

Track listing

01. "Gift with a Golden Gun"   (David Paich, Bobby Kimball)  - 4:00
02. "English Eyes"   (Paich, Kimball, Jeff Porcaro, Steve Porcaro)  - 6:11
03. "Live for Today"   (Steve Lukather)  - 4:00
04. "A Million Miles Away"   (Paich)  - 4:26
05. "Goodbye Elenore"   (Paich)  - 4:52
06. "I Think I Could Stand You Forever"   (Paich)  - 5:25
07. "Turn Back"   (Kimball, Lukather)  - 3:58
08. "If It's the Last Night"   (Paich)  - 4:28
Credits
David Hungate - bass, acoustic guitar on "I Think I Could Stand You Forever"
Bobby Kimball - lead and backing vocals
Steve Lukather - guitars, lead and backing vocals
David Paich - keyboards, backing vocals
Jeff Porcaro - drums, percussion
Steve Porcaro - keyboards, electronics
Joe Porcaro - additional percussion on "If It's the Last Night"
Production
Producers: Toto and Geoff Workman
Engineer: Geoff Workman
Recordist: John Weaver

Notes
Recorded March–November 1980, Cherokee Studios, Los Angeles, CA
Genre:  Rock
Length: 37:43
Label:  Columbia Records

© 1981

Toto - Isolation (1984)

"Isolation" is the fifth studio album by Toto, released in October 1984. This was one of two albums the band made with Fergie Frederiksen as the primary vocalist, the other being their soundtrack to "Dune". "Isolation" failed to achieve the popularity of its predecessor, "Toto IV". Relatively few songs from this album were featured in live performances after 1985's Isolation World Tour. Frederiksen, singing lead on seven of the ten tracks, replaced original Toto vocalist Bobby Kimball while the band was in the recording process for the album. Kimball had recorded vocals for some of the album's tracks prior to his termination. Some of Kimball's background vocals can be heard on the record, such as in their single "Stranger in Town", and at least one song, "Lion", had a demo recording with Kimball on lead vocals before being recorded with Frederiksen. Whereas "Toto IV" and the band's earlier work had a bluesy, R&B edge to go along with the slick LA pop sound, "Isolation" plunged headlong into the 80s wave, powered by Fredrickson's vocals...a major departure from Kimball's, but very impressive in their own right. The best cut on the album is "Stranger In Town", erroneously described in another review as being about Jack the Ripper (it's actually based on the plot of the old movie "Whistle Down the Wind", which has also been adopted into an Andrew Lloyd Webber musical). "Carmen", "Endless" and the title track "Isolation" are also solid efforts.

 

01.  "Carmen"   (David Paich, Jeff Porcaro)  - 3:25

02.  "Lion"   (Bobby Kimball, Paich)  - 4:46

03.  "Stranger in Town"  (Paich, J. Porcaro)  - 4:47

04.  "Angel Don't Cry"  (Fergie Frederiksen, Paich)  - 4:21

05.  "How Does It Feel"  (Steve Lukather)  - 3:50

06.  "Endless"  (Paich)  - 3:40

07.  "Isolation"  (Frederiksen, Lukather, Paich)  - 4:04

08.  "Mr. Friendly"  (Frederiksen, Lukather, Paich, J.Porcaro, Mike Porcaro)  - 4:22

09.  "Change of Heart"  (Frederiksen, Paich)  - 4:08

10.  "Holyanna"  (Paich, J.Porcaro)  - 4:19

Released:  October 18, 1984

Genre:  Pop, Rock

Length:  41:42

Label:  Columbia

Producer:  Toto

Personnel

Fergie Frederiksen - lead vocals, backing vocals

Steve Lukather - guitars, backing vocals, lead vocal

David Paich - keyboards; backing vocals; lead vocals

Steve Porcaro - keyboards

Mike Porcaro - bass

Jeff Porcaro - drums, percussion

The London Symphony Orchestra - strings

James Newton-Howard - orchestral arrangements

Lenny Castro - percussion

Joe Porcaro - percussion

Mike Cotten - synthesizer

Chuck Findley - trumpet

Jerry Hey - trumpet, horn arrangements

Tom Scott - saxophone

Tom Kelly - backing vocal

Richard Page - backing

Gene Morford - bass vocal

Bobby Kimball - backing vocals