Customer Reviews

Toto IV

5 star:		(51)
4 star:		(19)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

One expects a backlash to anything that is overtly successful.

One also expects a backlash when something is extremely polished and professional sounding.

To all the reviewers who have lambasted or said this album is worth only two songs (which makes it better than the first TOTO album) -- think of songwriting like somebody building you a house. Now if you find a person who builds you a house, you move in, and you find it has charm but is built like c**p, you of course will be pleased with how it makes you feel, but disappointed that what you paid for, you didn't get. Now say you find another person who builds you an expertly crafted house, but it lacks a certain homely charm. Does that mean you race back to the cr***y house?

Songwriting is a craft, like any other trade, any other thing you can do with your mind, hands or both. Like blacksmiths, carpenters, and farmers, the artist / musician is constantly developing and improving their technique and proficiency to present you (a person who may not be skilled in such a craft) a thing which is well presented and should suit your tastes in somehow,someway. Whether this is overall, or momentary is up to you as 'the buyer'. But if you're satisified at least once, then they have succeeded.

And TOTO succeeded with TOTO IV in a major way. To fault them for finally honing a songwriting craft after 4 years of steady work, and 10 years of professional session work, and that people of all types responded to it enthusiastically, is more to do with you than them. I'm not trying to look at TOTO IV with rose coloured glasses, but one thing that cannot be found on here is bad musicianship.

As a musician, I learned an immense amount of craft from TOTO, and I will always be thankful to them (primarily the Kimball / Hungate / Paich / Porcaro / Lukather / Porcaro lineup)and I find nowhere else in their first four albums where this craft is presented so refined and polished than on TOTO IV. To maybe a listener who is just looking for gripping songs, or dramatic flourishes, or fits of anger or paeans to love, they will not find it here. For me, what I look for is someone who cares about what they're doing, shows it, and walks away saying 'I did my best'. And TOTO IV delivers that.

How anyone can say 'Waiting For Your Love' is a filler tune to the likes of Africa and Roseanne, I cannot comprehend. Have you actually heard the groove of this song? I hate to get all imploring, but have you heard the way Jeff Porcaro plays the hi-hat on this song? If it was jazz great Harvey Mason, you may say different, you might even listen, because its Mason and you're supposed to, but the playing of these musicians is almost perfect - the right amount of technique and feel. So it's alright if its Steely Dan, but not TOTO aye?

'Waiting For Your Love' and 'Good For You' are absolutely my favourite songs on here for the reasons stated above, the musicianship and playing skills of these people, and how much it adds to just a song. If you cannot find heart or soul in the playing of these musicians, or at least some passion for what they are doing, then maybe I can only suggest picking up an instrument and learn these songs, because you will find how 'on' you have to be to play them with as much 'feel' thats in them.

I just think you have to be at a certain point where crash crash bang bang just doesn't hold as much interest any more, and funnily enough I reached that point at 20 years old. And I thank TOTO for showing me that being a musician is more than just flicking your hair, and drinking booze and talking about your car.

Once in a while, in the careers of certain bands, an album is produced that rides on a certain, unstoppable creative momentum. TOTO were one of the few bands to experience a wave of this sort in '81-2 when they recorded what is, without a doubt, their most accomplished and accessable album - "TOTO IV".

The industry and record buying public acknowledged them further with a surge of 5 Grammy awards, including Best Album, Record of the Year (Rosanna) and Best Producer (Toto).

It is no surprise to any reader or reviewer here that there are two songs on this LP that far outweigh the others in quality. "Rosanna" and "Africa" are absolute career-peak compositions by David Paich (the latter co-composed with Jeff Porcaro), indeed they are a peak for the eighties pop music canon and would both certainly feature in any serious pop/rock all time top 100 list.

It's also no mystery to pop culture fanatics that "Rosanna" was named, after the song was finished for the beautiful actress Rosanna Arquette who, at the time, was dating Toto's keyboardist/vocalist Steve Porcaro. The song however, was not written specifically for her. Either way, Arquette must have gone very weak at the knees when she first heard this song - it is an astonishing tour-de-force by the band whose musicianship effectively shatters most of the opposition. You have to remember that all of the players in TOTO have 'to die for' studio credits on literally hundreds of recordings including albums like "Thriller" and works from artists like George Benson, Steely Dan, Rickie Lee Jones, Lionel Richie, Boz Scaggs, Melissa Manchester, Randy Crawford, Carly Simon, James Taylor - the list is literally endless. Just the drum track played effortlessly by Jeff Porcaro in "Rosanna", a complex take on the half-time shuffle, has been discussed by drum teachers and included in music text books ever since.

The other track, "Africa" is one of the finest pop performances ever committed to vinyl. Another fantastic groove from the rhythm section, the finest vocal yet from David Paich (I doubt he will surpass it) and a sky high belted out chorus with Bobby Kimball soaring on backing vocals. The scope and grandeur of "Africa" is nothing short of cinematic and the solo keyboard from Steve Porcaro is astoundingly proficient and graceful - you wouldn't expect anything less from any player in the band. Listen carefully for David Hungate's ascending bass riffs at the end of the song. He has been dearly missed by me on all subsequent TOTO releases, and is still one of the most sought after session bass players in the business.

When compared to "Rosanna" and "Africa", the remainder of songs on the album fall short but so does 99% of western popular music. In actual fact, the remaining tracks are superb support tracks and most of them near career high recordings for the band. There is a feeling of 'triumph' about the album which is irresistable.

The horns and strings make every track feel like an anthem and even the lesser tunes are treated to such clever and imaginative arrangements they are a pleasure to listen to. My favourites: "Make Believe", "Good for You", "We Made It" and "I Won't Hold You Back" with Steve Porcaro's "It's a feeling" providing an experimental, uplifting diversion. It's surprisingly tuneful and the variety added by Steve P's voice adds yet another dimension to the album.

Despite a prolific number of vocalists in the band, it's really Bobby Kimball's specialised vocals that let the band soar and lend an organic R&B credibility to the sometimes overly technical arrangements of TOTO. He too was sorely missed after being asked to leave following this album.

If you are familiar with the rest of TOTO's catalogue, then you will know that this is the album where their strengths are most to the fore and their weaknesses are held back. In short, they are at their most inspired here and for artists of this calibre, that means an album that will always be regarded as an iconic classic of it's time.

This is my favorite album from Toto. They did a great job on this album. This is one of those rare albums that doesn't have any filler, and every song stands on its own. The musicanship is great and very tight. My favorites are "Africa," "I Won't Hold You Back," and "Make Believe." "I Won't Hold You Back," is a classic ballad with great vocals from Steve Lukather. Toto's best album. Recommended.

DUDE--Mr. S. St Thomas "suckerfly" --you NAILED it better than I could have myself...excellent job!

Most people are just stupid and that's that. They will listen to the hugely commercial feel of Michael Jackson's Thriller and miss the fact that basically it was TOTO playing those tunes--in fact, Steve Porcaro even wrote one of the ballads if I'm not mistaken.

TOTO is like the BeeGees--that is, for some reason, maybe popularity or the curse of grammy success, people turned on them, so they just wrote huge hits for other artists. Like Mr. S. St Thomas "suckerfly" said, if it was a Steely Dan hit, it was cool, but if it's TOTO??? Stupid.

This by FAR, was the most diverse pop band EVER. That's right, ever. No other group had the skill of writing songs and the musicianship to play--yes, they actually played on their own records--at TOTO's level.

I saw TOTO last year (2004) and they KILLED with Simon Phillips on drums. Steve Lukather was ON FIRE. Bobby Kimball sounded like it was 1984 again. His leaving TOTO after the epic IV'th LP was a disaster for everyone. They tried to go too far left with Isolation and lost their fan base, those looking for more of the TOTO IV sound.

Lastly, TOTO I is another classic and Hydra is excellent as well. If their was a departure, it was Turn Back and maybe Isolation. Turn Back sounds more like a demo compared to IV.

Probelm is, most have never really listened to all their work. it is an amazing catalog of music. Compare TOTO IV to Kingdom of Desire and your head will twist around--Is this the same band? They changed singers so much they lost their core audience, but it also made them sound so diverse. Life in the music biz. They are still HUGE in Europe and Asia. Go figure.

...and Jeff's hat work on Waiting For Your Love is AMAZING! Silky smooth dynamics.

I have the original vinyl pressing of Toto IV and I also have the SACD multi-channel pressing of Toto IV.

Here's a fact - the multi-channel area of the SACD is richer, crisper and fuller than the vinyl. What a beautiful job Elliot Schriner has done with this recording, as he also has done with the REM - Out Of Time DVD-Audio and the DTS 5.1 release of Sting's Brand New Day.

Absolutely gorgeous. The last reviewer of this item was obviously not listening to the SACD portion of the disc. If you have an SACD compatible player I can highly recommend this item.

EDIT Mar/2009 - having since replaced the record player I have to now note that the vinyl is really fantastic, but the multi-channel layer is where this release excels and as such I will find myself continuing to choose the SACD over the vinyl. ES' surround mixes are just wonderful.

This is one of my all-time favorite albums. The songs are all so different, yet each is musically intricate and complex. The lyrics are great, the music is great. But what really made me respect this album is something I caught after many, many run-throughs. Intended or otherwise, it's a concept album. Think about it. The songs trace a man from love, to breakup, to strife, to hope, to new love and hope for the future. Let me demonstrate. Here are key lyrics from each track, and my impression:

1: All I wanna do when I wake up in the morning is see you rise.
(Madly in love)

2: Why don't we make believe we're in love again
(Love ends, as it sometimes does through no-one's fault. He foolishly thinks things can be rebuilt once they've been torn down, which almost never happens.)

3: I won't hold you back.
(Letting her go to find happiness because he loves her and wants this for her.)

4: I could be good for you! You could be good for me too!
(One more try to woo her back? Or wooing a new girl too soon, trying only to fill the void?)

5: It's a feeling, you never belonged to me. You're fighting me.
(Contemplating what went wrong. Realizes it wasn't so perfect, now that the rose-colored glasses of love are gone.)

6: I like the way you move and just the way you are. I can't take anymore, 'cause girl, you're pushing too hard. 'Cause I've never been afraid of love 'till I met you.
(Being over-cautious after heartbreak leaves one to turn down or otherwise not earnestly pursue relationships, relationships they will regret not pursuing later on.)

7: You know she's gonna make you cry, you know she's gonna make you cry. She'll have you walk beneath the ladder you were meant to climb.
(Callous to love. Anger/resentment stage of grief. The main cause of men who say "Women are b****. No more for me!" They're hurt and disempowered.)

8: We made it, made it, made it before, I know that we can make it again.
(This boy is having trouble moving on.)

9: I've been waitin' for your love, And it's been here all the time right in front of me. I've been sitting, waiting for your love, And all the time it's been here right in front of me
(Eventually finds new love, and the cycle starts again, hopefully to have a happier ending this time)

10: It's gonna take a lot to drag me away from you. There's nothing that a hundred men or more could ever do. Gonna take some time to do the things we never had.
(A song to one's love, wherever she may be, even if one hasn't met her yet; We'll meet, we'll fall in love. We'll take time to do things right.)

Having been one if the infinite number of men, and women, who has been in these places and can relate with this perception of this album, I just find it almost chillingly accurate. Sometimes we feel as though we're the only ones who have felt this way.

From this album I came away with the following: You're not the only one. There's always tomorrow; always hope.

While brief in minutes, this album is an epic of emotions. Try it. I think you'll relate.

Although this is a darn fine album, sadly it's all some people know about Toto. Don't get me wrong, this is as great a place to start with Toto as any, but it shouldn't end here. "Rosanna", "Africa", and "I Won't Hold You Back" were one time radio staples, and deservedly so, but there are songs here that would belong on a Toto fan's greatest hits album including "Make Believe", "We Made It", and "Waiting for Your Love". Buy Toto IV without delay but also check out "Isolation", "Mindfields" and "Kingdom of Desire".

I recently re-purchased Toto IV after being reminded by a guitar instructor of the brilliance of the musicians that created this album. It was one of my most-listened to LPs as a child back in the early 1980s, but years and experience drove a wedge between me and Toto.

The reunion was strange, to say the least. I had forgotten exactly how this record sounded, which is to say, it's all over the place! This explains why I love disjointed, eclectic records so much. Toto IV is just a grab bag of pop candy, executed with the grace and precision of enviable masters who conquered the music world and still command the respect of musicians the world over.

"Rosanna" was the song that hooked me. The piano and synthesizer driven tune is punctuated by the horns of rock band Chicago, whom Toto assisted with their David Foster-produced albums 16-18. "I Won't Hold You Back" was one of the tunes that brought me back to this album. It's a tender ballad, with a dynamic arrangement that buzzed me like an illegal substance. I had forgotten how awesome the stop time in the middle of "Afraid Of Love" sounded -- and in hindsight, it also sounds like the musical source of Bryan Adams' "Summer of '69." "Waiting For Your Love" totally sticks out, if anything because its funky groove makes it sound like a leftover from Michael Jackson's Thriller sessions. And little wonder, the guys from Toto were on that album as well.

I listen to this album, and I wonder why it never received any airplay on the classic rock stations I used to listen to. Once in a great while I might hear "Hold The Line," but nothing from Toto IV. Granted, the four hit singles ("Rosanna," "Make Believe," "I Won't Hold You Back," "Africa") are less rock and more pop, but album tracks like "Lovers In The Night," "We Made It," and "Afraid Of Love" rocked as much as anything by Foreigner or Boston. Everything on this album, except perhaps "It's A Feeling," sounds as if it was crafted to be a hit. "It's A Feeling" is the closest thing to an 'art' piece here, taking an intelligent, philosophical view of a failed relationship with understated vocals. It's easily the most brilliant, haunting track on the album.

Ultimately though, the record wears thin after a while. It's a great time capsule, but there's little beneath the surface. This band could have been the next Yes if they had as much thematic variety and focus in their lyrics as they do with their musicianship. As it turns out, love is the most favored subject matter here, and lyrics of that type are a dime a dozen if you're not a poignant wordsmith of the order of Bob Dylan or Joni Mitchell. I listen with awe and respect for these legendary players, but my level of enjoyment comes and goes like the high you get from eating too much candy -- it disappears quickly, and then you never want to touch the stuff for a long time, at least until you forget why you stopped eating it in the first place.

excellent sound, a great thing to discover again this album on SACD, voices are separated like instruments on differents channel.

more SACD please !

Toto is one of the bands that started as an FM rock staple in the 70's, similiar to Foreigner, Kansas, Styx, and the many other acts, but made the transition to become a Top 40 pop/rock act. "Toto IV" was the album that redefined the type of music that the L.A. supergroup would release.

Many who are familiar with the early music of Toto would call the group a hard rocking bunch in vein with many album rock artists. This changed with "Toto IV", where the band made more accessable and mainstream pop/rock. The album launched three top ten hits with the number ones "Roseanna" and "Africa" and the top ten "I won't hold you back." The album tracks are also strong, such as "Make Believe." The jazzy and smooth pop would later be defined as "west-coast pop" or "L.A. pop." Because of the originality of the sound, and the beautiful instruments, the album went on to win numerous grammies, including album of the year. Many may think home cooking was involved (most of the band have relatives that are in some way related to the grammy board), but the album did have many strong cuts and a sound that was second to none.

Though this is a great album, it isn't perfect. Some songs are filler, though they are few and far between. Also those used to the hard rocking sound of earlier Toto might be disappointed by the number of slower paced, pop sounding songs that fill the album up. Still, for most music fans, this is a must have for great pop/rock and is a good introduction to a very talented group of musicians. Also recommended are the self-titled release, "Hydra", and any of their other earlier work. After this album, the group was happy with a job well done, and went on to help in the production of the smash "Thriller" and other side projects.