{"id":39770,"date":"2006-05-24T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2006-05-24T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/reviews\/toto-iv\/"},"modified":"2006-05-24T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2006-05-24T00:00:00","slug":"toto-iv","status":"publish","type":"review","link":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/reviews\/toto-iv\/","title":{"rendered":"Toto IV"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

A lot of the Chicago fans on the message boards that
\nI frequent give mighty praise to Toto. Those who are big fans of
\nChicago 17<\/i> saw Toto IV<\/i> as comparable, although Toto
\nwon a few Grammys. Now, normally I don’t base my musical purchases
\noff award recognition, and this is why; having listened to Toto
\nIV<\/i>, I can again say that the Grammys are crap.<\/p>\n

There are two songs on IV<\/i> that stand head and
\nshoulders above the rest. They are, no surprise, the two big hits.
\n“Rosanna” and “Africa” are 80s pop at their finest, with incredibly
\nimmaculate production and numerous catchy riffs and hooks. The
\nlatter is textured with numerous layers of keyboards and
\nsynthesizers before reaching the soaring chorus. Sure, the lyrical
\nreferences to Africa may be a little hokey, but the boys in Toto
\nmake it work.<\/p>\n

“Rosanna” is the crown jewel of IV<\/i>, it has
\nbeen playing non-stop off my iPod for the past few weeks. Whether
\nit’s the hard hitting refrain, the sparse but effective guitar
\nwork, the blasts of horns every now and then, or the brilliant
\nshifting in tempo and pace, “Rosanna” has to be one of the best pop
\nsongs to come out of the 80s.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, these two songs are the first and last
\nof the album. The material in between is hit or miss, mostly miss.
\nBeing some of the most gifted studio session musicians of all time,
\nthe members of Toto sound professional, but the music lacks soul or
\npassion.<\/p>\n

The bright spots come with “Good For You” and “Afraid
\nOf Love.” The former reminds me of Bill Champlin-era Chicago
\nmaterial. It’s fairly funky, especially with the fake horns that
\ncome in the chorus. “Afraid Of Love” is a straight-ahead rocker,
\nimpressive in that it probably took Lukather no effort but sounds
\nso good.<\/p>\n

The rest of the songs are standard 80s pop fare. “I
\nWon’t Hold You Back” had potential, but it comes off as too sterile
\nand waaay too formulaic. This is the kind of song bands like Toto,
\nChicago, Journey, etc. could churn out in their sleep and send to
\nnumber one on the charts. “Waiting For Love” reminded me of Hall
\nand Oates, and not in a good way. “It’s A Feeling” has a very
\ninteresting arrangement to start things off, but with no strong
\nhook to grab the listener, it fades out of memory fast.<\/p>\n

Toto was too talented to turn in a bad performance.
\nHowever, that doesn’t mean IV<\/i> automatically works as quality
\nalbum. On the bright side, this album contributed two pop gems that
\nare up there with the best of the decade. It’s just a shame the
\nrest of the material didn’t live up to the same standards.<\/p>\n

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