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Tracklisting: Falling In Between; Dying On My Feet; Bottom
Of Your Soul; King Of The World; Hooked; Simple Life; Taint
Your World; Let It Go; Spiritual Man; No End In Sight.
After nearly 30 years of playing music together and enjoying
worldwide success, much of it under the radar of an
ever-changing and fickle music industry, Toto has once again
joined their creative forces and recorded what could be
their most personal album yet. Falling In Between will be
the 18th official release of their long and varied career.
It is a true representation of years of musical and life
experiences unmatched by most of their colleagues and
contemporaries in the music world but what sets them apart
is their steadfast adherence to their own unique musical
vision. They approach each project with an equal dose of
seriousness and humor. The title of the new record is a sort
of tongue and cheek, somewhat self-deprecating view of their
fate as a band that appears to never quite fit into your
typical mold, falling in between genres of music, in between
the cracks of conglomerate label mergers and takeovers,
restrictive radio formats and in between the notice of many
music critics who misunderstand what and who they are.
Who they are depends on who you ask. Most people are aware
of Toto’s impressive history dating back to 1978 with their
eponymous debut album, which spawned the hit 'Hold The
Line'. But thanks to their fourth album, aptly titled "IV",
the Los Angeles based act enjoyed enormous worldwide success
with two hit singles in 'Rosanna' and 'Africa'. Whereas the
former reached number 2 in the American singles chart,
'Africa' hit the top spot. The album also won the Grammy
Award for "Best Album Of The Year" and "Rosanna" won the
coveted "Best Record Of The Year" award in 1982. They had
several hits thereafter selling over 25 million records
worldwide but many stateside critics panned their success
chalking it up to their good musical genes, vast body of
session work, and griped about their several changes in
personnel over the years. Although the spotlight in the US
may have faded, what remained strong was a very loyal fan
base that continued to grow far beyond US soil, has lasted
for nearly three decades and crossed generations as the
children of their original fans continue to discover them.
In true rock ‘n’ roll spirit, Toto has continued to defy the
trends and make the music they want to make. Touring around
the world on the strength of their live performances year
after year, insiders know they will get their monies worth
seeing them in concert. Setting new standards in tour
production with their Mindfields tour in 1999, Toto have
built a strong touring presence year after year in just
about every corner of the world. The band demonstrates a
sincere love and respect for multiple styles and genres of
music enabling them to deftly cross over and play just about
anything. This led to the band’s being twice invited as
headliners of the extremely popular Night of The Proms
concert series in Europe, which combines popular with
classical music. The experience of these shows, visited by
more than 600,000 people in 2003, inspired Toto to stretch
out even further and play a series of shows with various
symphonic orchestras. This is what makes fans across the
world as well as just about every musician worth his/her
salt find Toto fascinating and why the band has outlasted
many of their fellow artists. Despite many set backs and
obstacles they have persevered, welcoming many other
musicians to participate, collaborate, and fill in when it
was needed or wanted over the years. Ironically, the band’s
moniker TOTO, a Latin word meaning everyone, in total or all
encompassing epitomizes this philosophy, a fact that has
escaped most of the presumptuous critics who wrongly
attributed the name to Dorothy’s dog in the Wizard of Oz.
The nucleus of the band reunified 6 years ago coming full
circle with the return of original lead singer, Bobby
Kimball back into the fold with guitarist/vocalist, Steve
Lukather, keyboardist/vocalist David Paich, bassist Mike
Porcaro and drummer Simon Phillips. Never shying away from a
great addition to the team in favor of ego, the band
welcomed additional keyboardist/vocalist, Greg Phillinganes
(Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, Eric Clapton) into the
band. “From its inception Falling In Between has been a
labor of love and a team effort”, says Steve Lukather.
Produced and recorded by the band over a period of about
nine months at Phantom Studios in Los Angeles. Lukather
notes, “The new album is fresh, heavier, at times more
progressive and of course still with some great songs and
melodies embodying the classic TOTO imprint!” Fans will find
more than a few surprises on the record such as former
member Steve Porcaro, former singer Joseph Williams’ cameo
on a duet with Steve Lukather and guests such as Ian
Anderson (JETHRO TULL), the CHICAGO horn section and Jason
Scheff, L. Shenkar (PETER GABRIEL), legendary percussionist
Lenny Castro, legendary saxophone player Tom Scott, Roy
Hargrove and others. The band brought their personal bests
into this project and invited many friends to drop by the
party and participate. The result is a record that was very
much a team effort and a joy to make. “If this is the last
record we make (and I hope it wont be)”, concludes Lukather,
“we can walk away knowing we threw down the best we got. We
hope people will enjoy and appreciate the love, fun, and
passion that went into making Falling In Between”.
www.toto99.com |
