{"id":121,"date":"2015-02-27T21:10:15","date_gmt":"2015-02-27T21:10:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/musicmuses.co.uk\/?p=121"},"modified":"2024-01-01T23:20:13","modified_gmt":"2024-01-01T23:20:13","slug":"toto-xiv","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/musicmuses.co.uk\/?p=121","title":{"rendered":"Toto – XIV"},"content":{"rendered":"

This review was published in the April 2015 issue of Classic Rock magazine, no. 201.<\/p>\n

–<\/p>\n

They\u2019re back with more of the same, fourteenth time round.<\/p>\n

Toto invariably exemplify professionalism, and XIV maintains the tradition. Harmonies are tight, production slick. Running Out Of Time<\/em>‘s energetic opening anticipates a developing melodic structure comfortingly reminiscent of their earlier work. It’s great\u00a0to hear Joe Williams – the sing\"xiv\"er most identified with the band through their various incarnations – back on vocals. So far, so predictable. However, the mellow 21st Century Blues<\/em> adds a jazzier edge that sweeps through its chorus, making it hard to believe that it doesn\u2019t belong on Donald Fagen\u2019s The Nightfly<\/em>, due to its interjections of smooth harmonies, synth and unadulterated funk. Just as 1986’s Fahrenheit had I\u2019ll Be Over You<\/em>, XIV has The Little Things<\/em> \u2013 a perfectly positioned, engagingly melodic, relaxing ballad to effortlessly delight the AOR mainstream. Chinatown<\/em> is\u00a0the track which smacks most of the band\u2019s 80s work \u2013 with vocals switching between Lukather and Williams, the prominent piano interludes and the recognisable Toto harmonies, it\u2019s a lost track from The Seventh One<\/em>. The album is drawn to a close by Great Expectations<\/em>, a surprising number; somehow combining a folk sound with distorted AOR, it should sound wrong, but somehow sounds right. Probably because it\u2019s executed by several top quality session musicians. No problem there.<\/p>\n

Toto have always showcased world class drumming (Jeff Porcaro, Simon Phillips) and in Keith Carlock they’ve secured the services of yet another well-seasoned session veteran. Despite a style less distinctive than that of Porcaro, Carlock brings the groove to XIV, particularly in Holy War<\/em> and Orphan<\/em> \u2013 challenge yourself not to tap your foot. Carlock is an adequate addition to the band\u2019s back catalogue of drummers. Not surprising considering a percussive CV that includes Diana Ross, Steely Dan and Paula Abdul. Lukather still remains at the forefront of most of the tracks; producing an intrinsic infusion of distorted charm over the combination of blues and rock, his playing is just as recognisable as always. The pillars of Toto lie in Paich and Porcaro. As long serving Toto members and providing backing vocals and synth sound which has given the band their most recognisable sound, the two keyboard gurus tie the band\u2019s new album together. However, it\u2019s the distinctive vocals and production sheen of XIV that ultimately serves to reinforce the impression that Toto remains a by-word for quality, musicianship and pizazz.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This review was published in the April 2015 issue of Classic Rock magazine, no. 201. – They\u2019re back with more of the same, fourteenth time round. Toto invariably exemplify professionalism, and XIV maintains the tradition. Harmonies are tight, production slick. Running Out Of Time‘s energetic opening anticipates a developing melodic structure comfortingly reminiscent of their … Continue reading Toto – XIV<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-121","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-album-reviews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/musicmuses.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/musicmuses.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/musicmuses.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/musicmuses.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/musicmuses.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=121"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/musicmuses.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":384,"href":"https:\/\/musicmuses.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121\/revisions\/384"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/musicmuses.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=121"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/musicmuses.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=121"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/musicmuses.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=121"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}