Customer Reviews

Candyman

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Since you have come to this page and are reading this review, you probably are familiar with "Luke"'s work. For those who aren't, this is the guitarist of Toto, and one of the three leaders of the band, together with David Paich and Jeff Porcaro (gosh, it's already been thirteen years... We miss you Jeff). Besides playing with his band, he has also played on an infinite number of albums, as a guest artist. The list would be too long to draft here, but he played with Earth Wind and Fire, Boz Scaggs, Kenny Loggins, David Roberts, Los Lobotomys, etc, plus apparently odd collaborations such as a recent one with Larry Carlton.

Over the years, Steve Lukather has released four solo albums (including Santamental, which is a strange fruit), this one being the second. They all respond to a need to express his "harder" line solo (Toto oscillating between a "poppy-jazzy" edge and a rockier line when he took command, at least until Jeff's departure), and that is what he also does here. The album is rock and blues. It has lots of riffs, obviously, and he lets us see why Jeff Beck is his hero. But it also has a couple of surprises : a toto-like ballad ("Borrowed time"), an almost new age-jazz-rock track ("Froth") and a beautiful tribute to his buddy Jeff (the closer, simply called "Song for Jeff"), probably the deepest and more powerful track (over 7 minutes) on this cd, with long and sensitive riffs; it is one of those tracks that make me sit down, close my eyes, feel and go with the flow....Don't overlook the bluesy "you'll never walk alone" (don't know if it's a tribute to British soccer fans though).

The cast is also impressive : Simon Phillips, David Garfield, John Pena, Carlos Trujillo, Lenny Castro, with Fee Waybill (remember the Tubes?), Richard Page (remember Mr. Mister ?) and David Paich collaborating.

The album was recorded live, for the most part of it, but it doesn't really sound like a live album. The quality of the sound is in fact closer to a good studio recording than anything else. If you like Lukather's style and/or are a collector of Toto's works, in a broad sense, you MUST have this one. After all, Luke IS one of the three greats in this genre, with Jeff Beck and Michael Landau.

This is a great rockin' cd from Steve Lukather. This is a solid follow up to his first solo cd 'Lukather' from 1989. This sounds similar to the music style on Toto's Kingdom of Desire cd from 1992 and Toto's 'Tambu' cd from 1995. Steve has a great backing band on this one including;Simon Phillips of Toto on drums,David Garfield on keyboards,John Pena on bass,Lenny Castro on percussion. Luke lays down some solid guitar rythyms and solos as only he can. There are 11 tracks on this cd,3 being instrumental tunes,and 8 tunes with Steve on lead vocals. A must have for Toto and Luke fans.

Following the tragic passing of his dear friend Jeff Porcaro in 1992, and having taken on Toto's lead vocal duties on the hard rocking Kingdom of Desire album and extensive world tour, Luke turned his considerable energies to his second solo album. His legendary mega session-guitarist status aside, most would recognise Lukather for his Toto ballads "I won't hold you back" and "I'll be over you" (both of which were subsequently sampled for summer anthem dance remixes). Candyman, the title a tribute to his iconic hero Sammy Davis Jnr, allows Lukather to stretch out beyond the more pop/rock orientated Toto material and display his outstanding talents in a completely different context. Demonstrating a new drive and energy in both his vocals and guitar playing, Candyman also features his Los Angeles club jam band Los Lobotomys, with Simon Phillips (who replaced Jeff Porcaro in both Toto and Los Lobotomys), David Garfield and John Pena. Lukather pays homage to Hendrix on a hard rocking cover of "Freedom" with backing vocal assistance from Paul Rodgers (Free/Bad Company). "Red House" is also available on an import release of Candyman, billed as Los Lobotomys. The album features the truly awesome 17/8 frenzy of "Party in Simon's Pants" and according to Lukather, a tribute to Steely Dan in "Born Yesterday". Naturally, Lukather's melancholic and reflective mood is captured in "Borrowed Time", "Never Let Them See You Cry", "Never Walk Alone", "Extinction Blues" and the Jeff Beck inspired emotional outpouring of "Song for Jeff". A ballsy cover of Stephen Stills "The Bomber". "Froth" is reminiscent of the original live all instrumental Los Lobotomys album of 1989. From the first riff of the heavy fusion track "Hero With a 1000 eyes" Candyman sets its stall: a brilliant collection of highly emotional material and the finest musicianship.

I just can't stop listening to that 'Extinction Blues' and 'Never walk Alone'. This Rock , fusion, blues album has been one of my favourites since I got it. I love guitars and boy can Steve Lukather play :-) and Simon Phillips on the drums definately gives this album the rhythm... The instrumentals really showcase these artists genius. If you like Toto you should like this album, especially if you like their more recent work with Steve on vocals. It's a nice addition to my collection, with a little extra emotion and edge because that's Steve's style I guess :-)

On Candyman you can hear the real Steve Lukather, groovy, jazzy and of course his trade mark rock sond. This is probably the best guitar album of the 90's. Luke has that power, every of the songs has a special flavor on it... definitively Steve is the best guitar player on the contemporary rock scene, he has shown that highly. buy this one, you won't regret, it will be sounding in your mind for a long time after you have turn your stereo off

Following the tragic passing of his dear friend Jeff Porcaro in 1992, and having taken on Toto's lead vocal duties on the hard rocking Kingdom of Desire album and extensive world tour, Luke turned his considerable energies to his second solo album. His legendary mega session-guitarist status aside, most would recognise Lukather for his Toto ballads "I won't hold you back" and "I'll be over you" (both of which were subsequently sampled for summer anthem dance remixes). Candyman, the title a tribute to his iconic hero Sammy Davis Jnr, allows Lukather to stretch out way beyond the more pop/rock orientated Toto material and display his outstanding talents in a completely different context. Demonstrating a new drive and energy in both his vocals and guitar playing, Candyman also features his Los Angeles club jam band Los Lobotomys, with Simon Phillips (who replaced Jeff Porcaro in both Toto and Los Lobotomys), David Garfield and John Pena. Lukather pays homage to Hendrix on a hard rocking cover of "Freedom" with backing vocal assistance from Paul Rodgers (Free/Bad Company), wih whom Lukather had then recently toured. "Red House" is also available on an import release of Candyman, billed as Los Lobotomys. The album features the truly awesome 17/8 frenzy of "Party in Simon's Pants" and according to Lukather, a tribute to Steely Dan in "Born Yesterday". Naturally, Lukather's melancholic and reflective mood is captured in "Borrowed Time", "Never Let Them See You Cry", "Never Walk Alone", "Extinction Blues" and the Jeff Beck inspired emotional outpouring of "Song for Jeff". A ballsy cover of Stephen Stills "The Bomber". "Froth" is reminiscent of the original live all instrumental Los Lobotomys album of 1989. From the first riff of the heavy fusion track "Hero With a 1000 eyes" Candyman sets its stall: a brilliant collection of highly emotional material and the finest musicianship.

Following the tragic passing of his dear friend Jeff Porcaro in 1992, and having taken on Toto's lead vocal duties on the hard rocking Kingdom of Desire album and extensive world tour, Luke turned his considerable energies to his second solo album. His legendary mega session-guitarist status aside, most would recognise Lukather for his Toto ballads "I won't hold you back" and "I'll be over you" (both of which were subsequently sampled for summer anthem dance remixes). Candyman, the title a tribute to his iconic hero Sammy Davis Jnr, allows Lukather to stretch out beyond the more pop/rock orientated Toto material and display his outstanding talents in a completely different context. Demonstrating a new drive and energy in both his vocals and guitar playing, Candyman also features his Los Angeles club jam band Los Lobotomys, with Simon Phillips (who replaced Jeff Porcaro in both Toto and Los Lobotomys), David Garfield and John Pena. Lukather pays homage to Hendrix on a hard rocking cover of "Freedom" with backing vocal assistance from Paul Rodgers (Free/Bad Company). "Red House" is also available on an import release of Candyman, billed as Los Lobotomys. The album features the truly awesome 17/8 frenzy of "Party in Simon's Pants" and according to Lukather, a tribute to Steely Dan in "Born Yesterday". Naturally, Lukather's melancholic and reflective mood is captured in "Borrowed Time", "Never Let Them See You Cry", "Never Walk Alone", "Extinction Blues" and the Jeff Beck inspired emotional outpouring of "Song for Jeff". A ballsy cover of Stephen Stills "The Bomber". "Froth" is reminiscent of the original live all instrumental Los Lobotomys album of 1989. From the first riff of the heavy fusion track "Hero With a 1000 eyes" Candyman sets its stall: a brilliant collection of highly emotional material and the finest musicianship.

Since you have come to this page and are reading this review, you probably are familiar with "Luke"'s work. For those who aren't, this is the guitarist of Toto, and one of the three leaders of the band, together with David Paich and Jeff Porcaro(gosh, it's already been ten years...). Besides playing with his band, he has also played on an infinite number of albums, as a guest artist. The list would be too long to draft here, but he played with Earth Wind and Fire, Boz Scaggs, Kenny Loggins, David Roberts, Los Lobotomys, etc, plus "strange" collaborations such as a recent one with Larry Carlton.

Over the years, Steve Lukather has released three solo albums, this one being the second. They all respond to a need to express his "harder" line solo (Toto being perhaps a bit too "poppy-jazzy" for him, at least until Jeff's departure), and that is what he also does here. The album is rock and blues. It has lots of riffs, obviously, and he lets us see why Jeff Beck is his hero. But it also has a couple of surprises : a toto-like ballad ("Borrowed time"), an almost new age-jazz-rock track ("Froth") and a beautiful tribute to his buddy Jeff (the closer, simply called "Song for Jeff"), probably the deepest and more powerful track (over 7 minutes) on this cd, with long and sensitive riffs; it is one of those tracks that make me sit down, close my eyes, feel and follow the flow.... The cast is also impressive : Simon Phillips, David Garfield, John Pena, Carlos Trujillo, Lenny Castro, with Fee Waybill (remember the Tubes?), Richard Page (remember Mr. Mister ?) and David Paich collaborating.

The album was recorded live, for the most part of it, but it doesn't really sound like a live album. The quality of the sound is in fact closer to a good studio recording than anything else. If you like Lukather's style and/or are a collector of Toto's works, in a broad sense, you must have this one. After all, Luke IS one of the three greats in this genre, with Jeff Beck and Michael Landau.

I'm listening again to this amazing album from the early 90's and realise this Lukather album sounds so much like the final years of Toto. That's because Simon Phillips, the drum king of tone and taste, is on drums and vocals are by the guitar maestro himself. If you are partial to the "Falling in between years" or heavier Toto then don't hesitate. This album is superb...every track.

I have the 2002 DTS version that still stuns all who listen - brilliant 5.1 mix by Elliot Schiener. Guitar cutting through the soundstage dead centre with percussion panned left and right and the deepest bass you've ever heard. This album contains two Hendrix tracks that are fresh, vigorous renditions. Phew,the second track 'Freedom' just kicks and I think Luke's vocals are excellent for this type of material as he slurs Jim's lyrics with a menace and attitude. Just listen to the snare and bass kicking-in with intensity at the bridge as they are about to sing "keep on pushing straight ahead".

The third track "Extinction Blues" could easily have been recorded alongside any of the "Kingdom of Desire" or "Tambu" tracks - this is pure Toto sound, mixing tight harmony vocals over a bed of resounding rock replete with climbing instrumental interlude. 'Born yesterday' is one of the lighter tracks more in the style of a shuffle. Having said that the attitude is still Luke having fun with guitar theatrics all over with the nastiest tube tones around. (Even on the proverbial ballad "Borrowed time", Luke sails into the stratosphere with a moving acoustic guitar solo which comes across magnificently in 5.1 sound. To me this musically is a little repetitive and probably goes on for two minutes too long. The great recording saves this.)

"Party in Simon's pants" is a monster drum guitar fest - pure fusion workout that hinted at what was to come later with Simon's "Dave's gone skiing". As Simon says in the liner notes 'in 17/8...they conquered'. Wow, these guys can play and this continues on the brooding "Froth". I love the use of the sax alongside guitar here in a rock song - sax harmonies that deepen the guitar distortion. This builds to a fusion extravaganza with Larry Klimas ripping away on sax before Garfield has his moment. Luke is not to be outdone and shreds like you only hear him live. Underpinning this is Simon keeping the driving momentum. Then we're into pure heavy 70's riffing rock, "The Bomber" - I don't think I have ever heard Luke sound like this on a roller coaster ride from intense slide to screaming lead.

The last two tracks of the album are the pinnacle - it was hearing the searing emotion drenched guitar on "Song for Jeff" that made me get up and write this review. Incredible. No other word for it. Moving, brilliant playing as the notes are caressed and bent. Is this maybe Lukather's finest guitar moment? Jeff Beck I'm sure would nod his head and smile. Buy this album just for this.

How else to end than hear Luke's voice asking for the dry amp and then an avalanche of the meanest distorted notes of Hendrix's "Red House". The meanness continues including a broken string and profanities and the deepest bass ever felt as John Pena plays a wonderfully supportive role.)

Tom Fletcher is commended for an excellent job recording, mixing and producing this album that does justice to these musicians. If you want to hear one of the best recordings of Luke, Simon and David Garfield look no further.

Guitarists, drummers - here's why Simon and Luke are rated at the top of their professions.

Steve Lukather and Los Lobotomys sophmore release hits hard right out of the gate.
Lukather,John Pena,David Garfield & Simon "Party In My Pants" Phillips are at the top of their game on every single track. One of the BEST discs released in the 90's. Grab it if you can find it, you'll be glad you did.