Toto

[MrBoom_shack-a-lack]

I think it's in the Falling in Between Live DVD when Bobby is being interviewed and he mentions that he really enjoys this line-up and hope they will continue with it.... literally the next year Toto retires and when they reform Joseph in and Bobby's out. I felt so sad for him. 

[Kwyjibo]

Yes, but Bobby and Luke often weren't on the best of terms and Bobby did some things like billing his solo tour as Toto that soured the other guys. And then he really struggles hitting the notes these days, while Joseph Williams seems to have improved with age.

[King Postwhore]

Yeah, around the time of the Falling Into Infinity Steve Lukather wanted to call it quits, because he and Bobby Kimball were the only "real" members left and Steve got the feeling that it's not Toto anymore. I'm glad that they kinda reunited and keep on touring and putting out new music (even if sparsely).

I've yet to see them with Joe Williams, I've seen them maybe 15 times in the past, even two concerts with Jeff Porcaro before he passed away, but for the last couple of years their schedule didn't sadly match mine or they weren't playing near me.

I saw them in 1987 on The Seventh One tour (my favorite album from them) and had tickets in 2009 but they canceled the show.  I've seem them twice with Joseph again and they still kill it live.

[Polarbear]

I've seen them twice now since Joseph Williams and Steve Porcaro rejoined the band!

They aren't getting any younger, but they are in top form at the moment. They were even better on this tour compared to the XIV tour. Let's hope they have one more studio album in them!

[MrBoom_shack-a-lack]

Yes, but Bobby and Luke often weren't on the best of terms and Bobby did some things like billing his solo tour as Toto that soured the other guys. And then he really struggles hitting the notes these days, while Joseph Williams seems to have improved with age.

Yea sure but there's no "but", i'm sure they had reasons to pick Joseph instead, I sure as hell wouldn't want to trade Joseph for Bobby after the times i've seen them live recently. Eitherway, the way he spoke so fondly about the line-up and the future of the band, that's what made me feel sad about him.

His struggle with high notes has been evident for years, way before his split.

[Kwyjibo]

Don't disagree with that, it's kinda sad, especially when you see how he struggles to get something going on his own. But from various interviews through the years, I got the feeling that Bobby don't always sees the signs, he sometimes seems a little bit detached from reality.

There were several instances where Bobby was making future plans with Toto and the other guys said no, that's not what was talked about and what we planned to do, didn't you listen?

[MrBoom_shack-a-lack]

SIMON PHILLIPS / PROTOCOL 4 - STUDIO LIVE SESSION - NIMBUS

Amazing players and I always loved the sound of Simons kit. No dampening or triggers only great tuned drums that sound huge.

[The Walrus]

TOTO Announce Fall North American Tour Dates

Los Angeles, CA --- It’s without question, that TOTO have currently been in the middle of a major resurgence around the world over the past several years. Their Greatest Hits package titled 40 Trips Around The Sun - Legacy Recordings (a division of Sony Music) debuted at the top of the charts in eight different countries upon its release in early 2018 and kicked off what’s been the longest tour for years for the band.

Their European tour last year saw them performing to packed houses every night including sold out stops at the Ziggo Dome (17,000 seats) in Amsterdam and Royal Albert Hall in London. Another round of European shows are already scheduled for this summer.

TOTO will now conclude the almost two year long 40 Trips Around The Sun Tour with twenty final shows in North America. The tour will kick off in Los Angeles on September 20th at The Wiltern. Tickets for all shows go on sale this Friday 10AM local time. American Express Card® Members can purchase tickets in select markets before the general public beginning this Wednesday, May 1 at 10AM local time through Thursday, May 2 at 10PM local time. For the most update information visit: http://totoofficial.com/events/

A special fan pre-sale will begin tomorrow (Tuesday) at 10AM local with the code: FORTY.

Their definitive CD box set: All In via Legacy Recordings will be released worldwide on May 24th.

40 TRIPS AROUND THE SUN NORTH AMERICAN TOUR
Fri-Sep-20 - Los Angeles, CA - The Wiltern
Sep 20-23 - Las Vegas, NV - Life Is Beautiful Festival*
Sat-Sep-21 - Phoenix, AZ - Celebrity Theatre**
Tue-Sep-24 - Salt Lake City, UT - Eccles Theatre
Wed-Sep-25 - Denver, CO - Paramount Theatre
Fri-Sep-27 - Kansas City, MO - Uptown Theater
Sat-Sep-28- Des Moines, IA - Hoyt Sherman Place
Sun-Sep-29 - Madison, WI - Orpheum Theater
Tue-Oct-01 - Minneapolis, MN - State Theatre
Wed-Oct-02 - Peoria, IL - Peoria Civic Center Theatre
Fri-Oct-04 - Chicago, IL - The Chicago Theatre
Sat-Oct-05 - Mt. Pleasant, MI - Soaring Eagle Casino
Tue-Oct-08- Nashville, TN - Ryman Auditorium
Wed-Oct-09 - Birmingham, AL - Alabama Theatre
Thu-Oct-10- Atlanta, GA - Atlanta Symphony Hall
Sun-Oct-13 - Northfield, OH -MGM Northfield Park
Tue-Oct-15 - Port Chester, NY - Capitol Theatre
Wed-Oct-16 - Englewood, NJ Bergen PAC
Fri-Oct-18 - Mashantucket, CT - Foxwoods Casino
Sat-Oct-19 - Red Bank, NJ - Count Basie Theatre

*On sale now.
**On sale Monday, May 6 at 10 AM local time.

[Kwyjibo]

Everyone should see Toto at least once.

[The Walrus]

Everyone should see Toto at least once.

Damn right!

[Max Kuehnau]

Everyone should see Toto at least once.

Damn right!

Yes (says a lifelong fan, seen them three times and it was great every time.) I'm one of these people who likes every record (apart from Toto XIV), which might not be normal.

[Kwyjibo]

I've seen them about 15 times and I like every record. Sure, some are better than others, but even the covers album Through The Looking Glass is at least solid. Favorites are probably Kingdom Of Desire and The Seventh One.

And what's wrong with Toto XIV?

[The Walrus]

I don't recall much discussion about Toto XIV around these parts, so I'd be down for hearing the beef, too. There are a few songs I almost never return to, like Great Expectations, but Orphan, Holy War, etc. are fantastic. All The Tears That Shine and The Little Things are two of my favorites, as well, but I could see those being a big sticking point for some fans.

[Kwyjibo]

The run from Running Out Of Time to Unknown Soldier is as good as it gets. The record loses a little bit of steam in the second half (imo). Little Things and All The Tears are good but kinda unspectacular, Fortune I'm not too fond of. Chinatown is a great reminiscence of Toto, Hydra and Toto IV, it could have come right out of those recording sessions. And Great Expectations has grown a lot for me, especially the proggy instrumental section.

All in all I find Toto XIV a worthy addition to their discography and far from a tired late work, like some other bands put out late in their career (Tesla, I'm looking in your direction).

[Max Kuehnau]

I don't have any issues with the songwriting, my only issue is the horrible, horrible drumming by Carlock. He completely ruined the record. Shannon Forrest would have done it much more fittingly.

[Kwyjibo]

Okay, he's no Jeff Porcaro or Simon Phillips but I don't mind his playing. But to each his own.

[Max Kuehnau]

Sure. I'm looking forward to recieving the new live album too, should be a fun listen. Not sure if I'll buy the CD or the 24 bit download version though.

[Kwyjibo]

You mean 40 tours around the sun?

I've got the CD/Blue-Ray bundle. Haven't watched the blue-ray yet, only listened to the audio.

The playing is top notch and Joseph Williams sounds great, but sometimes in the old Kimball songs he isn't powerful enough. But there are a lot of deep cuts that haven't been played for a long time or never played at all. Nice little acoustic set in the middle, but I wish they had played whole songs instead of only parts. The audio quality is good but they had better sounding live releases in the past. But all in all it's a really good release.

[Max Kuehnau]

Yeah that one.

[MrBoom_shack-a-lack]

I don't have any issues with the songwriting, my only issue is the horrible, horrible drumming by Carlock. He completely ruined the record. Shannon Forrest would have done it much more fittingly.

I'm with you on Shannon but I would'nt call Keith drumming horrible. He's a very soulfull drummer with a unique sound but a weird pick for Toto though. I'm also surprised they picked Vinnie Colaiuta for the recent new songs when Shannon would've been perfectly fine. My guess would be scheduling issues but who knows.

[Max Kuehnau]

I don't have any issues with the songwriting, my only issue is the horrible, horrible drumming by Carlock. He completely ruined the record. Shannon Forrest would have done it much more fittingly.

I'm with you on Shannon but I would'nt call Keith drumming horrible. He's a very soulfull drummer with a unique sound but a weird pick for Toto though. I'm also surprised they picked Vinnie Colaiuta for the recent new songs when Shannon would've been perfectly fine. My guess would be scheduling issues but who knows.

he is a good jazz drummer (far from being my favourite but anyway ,although his performance on the two Steely Dan records also was detrimental to their music IMHO), I will readily admit that. I've never heard him play sensibly on pop records (in a broad sense, meaning Toto, Sting, John Mayer and whatever else he has done in that genre of music) Concerning Vinnie over Shannon: I'm a Vinnie fan and I liked his performance on the newer Toto pieces, I would have liked Shannon too. I think it may have been a scheduling issue too.

[The Walrus]

I can't say the drumming on Toto XIV bothers me at all, but that's a shame it ruins the record for you, man. I love that album. It's awesome how every record they've put out sounds different. He's no Simon Philips but I like the drumming on Burn and Orphan a lot.

[Max Kuehnau]

Yes, the parts on Burn are ones I have almost no issue with, same as with Orphan. I gave him every chance I could muster, really. (and I've seen him live with Rudder, which was a jazz fusion type band and I liked him there for the most part) I wanted to like TXIV. I didn't. Simon and Jeff are among my heroes btw (and MM and Steve Smith and Phil Collins as well, have to give a nod to the one who started it all for me too)

[The Walrus]

What are your favorite Toto albums, Max, Kwyjibo, anyone else? Just curious; been a while since we've had a good Toto discussion round here. Toto IV of course is my favorite, but Mindfields is a very close second.

[Max Kuehnau]

What are your favorite Toto albums, Max, Kwyjibo, anyone else? Just curious; been a while since we've had a good Toto discussion round here. Toto IV of course is my favorite, but Mindfields is a very close second.

well, I literally like all of them (apart from Toto XIV) but my "eternal" favourites would be Toto I, Hydra, Fahrenheit, The Seventh One and Mindfields. I also quite like the Dune soundtrack really (yes, call me strange). Toto XX is cool too (great collection of "deep cuts" as it were).

[Kwyjibo]

Like I mentioned my favorites are Kingdom Of Desire and The Seventh One, but I really like all of them.

I thought about ranking the albums but couldn't do it, but I can put them in some broad categories

The Best/Top Notch/Really Great Records

Toto
Isolation
The Seventh One
Kingdom Of Desire
Mindfields
Falling In Between

The Almost Best/Almost Top Notch/Still Really Great Records

Hydra
Turn Back
Toto IV
Fahrenheit
Tambu
Toto IXV

The Good Ones

Dune
Through The Looking Glass
Toto XX

[Max Kuehnau]

Kingdom is the "odd one of the bunch" I guess. (so non-Toto in some ways, very driven by that raw, bluesy sound, somehow it's cool concerning the songwriting IMHO, the playing was cool as ever) Turn Back probably was another unusual one at the time too. (very raw sounding as well comparatively)

[The Walrus]

The last time I heard anything on Turn Back was years and years ago. I think that alone makes it my least favorite Toto album. Not sure if I'd call it bad, it just doesn't do anything for me. Even Fahrenheit, for its hot production and super 80s vibe, has at least a few songs I can dig.

[Kwyjibo]

Turn Back has Gift With A Golden Gun and English Eyes, which I really like and the title track is a cool quirky tune.

[Max Kuehnau]

Turn Back has Gift With A Golden Gun and English Eyes, which I really like and the title track is a cool quirky tune.

both of which I heard them play live. And A Million Miles Away and Goodbye Eleonore are great too (which I heard them play live too)

[MrBoom_shack-a-lack]

*Drama alert*

I don't like gossip and stuff like that but Toto put up this comment on FB:

FYI:

Bobby Kimball has not had any association with our band in 12 years.
Just want to set the record straight!

and in the comments someone from the band said this:

"Pretty much. I flew in ALL his BG vocals on 2 track cause if he shows up he was in poor shape and his vocals were sometimes put together word by word! He has NEVER EVER sang a track top to bottom EVER on ANY record we've ever done ! Period and .. yeah we rounded up the number of years he has been gone! I wish he had never been in this band due to his antics cocaine and now touching 4 year old girls butt... he is a shit-stain on OUR legacy!

What is going on?

[Kwyjibo]

What is going on?

Probably this:

Toto's former frontman Bobby Kimball had an intense showdown with cops at the airport after allegedly touching a child's butt with his cane while in line at a TSA checkpoint.

https://www.tmz.com/2019/07/04/toto-singer-bobby-kimball-cop-police-fight-threat/?fbclid=IwAR09EjmDfLuMjtODayaI2U-LEFEFTfsW4rK9n_GPfTyvETHv2VoPcZCdAsI

There are rumours around that he's suffering from dementia, maybe he's literally losing his mind. Sad to see him go down like that.

[MrBoom_shack-a-lack]

Yea I saw that, not sure how I feel about an article from tmz but yea, that's sounds sad.

Seems like the post has been redacted from fb.

Eitherway, that comment from what I assume is from Lukather is ruff to say the least especially the singing part.

[Kwyjibo]

Not sure if the tmz article tells it true, but it was the only recent "news" I found regarding Bobby.

And yeah, those are some very strong words. It seems that especially Luke is really pissed for some years now. Now I don't know what's going on behind the scenes but I find this very harsh, and to me it seems that Bobby needs help and not to be shit upon by former band members.

[MrBoom_shack-a-lack]

Yea they should've kept comments like that private, stuff like that dosen't help anyone.