I only recently got properly into Toto – I’d grown up listening to Rosanna and Africa, but I wasn’t aware of many other songs of theirs. It wasn’t until I heard Africa properly that I went away and found more of their songs. Suffice to say, I’m glad I did. I found many songs by them that I adored, but Stop Loving You stood out the most. Primarily because of the melody, the sheer euphoria I feel whenever I hear it, and the vocals..
Joseph Williams’ voice is exceptional – I loved his singing even before I found out that he voiced adult Simba in Hakuna Matata, a fact that increased my general happiness by approximately 78%. Lyrically, I’ve always been caught between wondering if Stop Loving You is sweet or vaguely obsessive, (“I won’t stop till I’m through loving you”) but even if it does ere on the creepier side, Williams, unlike Sting, manages to make an obsessive song sound happy and not like he’s looking through your window with a telescope. This is probably my favourite Williams song, tied with Pamela, possibly the snazziest take on a guilt trip I’ve ever heard (“don’t break this heart of mine, it may not heal this time”).
As well as the main vo
cals being clean and precise on this record, another element to note is those legendary Toto harmonies, also exhibited on tracks from Africa to I’ll Be Over You to Dying On My Feet. The combination of Lukather, Paich and Porcaro result in a unique sound which has become part of the Toto trademark. These harmonies are present on Stop Loving You, combined effortlessly with an irresistible melody which in turn produces a beautifully intrinsic wall of vocal loveliness.
Perhaps the fact that each member was a well-respected session musician means that there is no shortage of songwriting talent in Toto; they’re one of those bands at whom I’m amazed at their unending originality, which is helped of course by the instrumentation. Steve Lukather’s distortion amp is a perfect contrast to the soft keyboard sounds created by Paich. The synthesizers manage to give the tune an overarching tone of happiness and jollity, despite the message of the lyrics being one of frustration. All of this is tied together by the unique and world-class drumming of Jeff Porcaro, resulting in a stellar level of timeless music.
Stop Loving You is an amazing song, which can be played over and over, and yet one can still find something new within it. There really is little I can find that’s wrong with this song. Aside from anything else, Joe Williams’ mullet in the music video is just magnificent.