Toto Toto

As debut albums go, many bands are attempting to break through, stand out, and become known. Generally speaking, most bands are facing daunting odds, at least that was the case in 1978.

But that wasn't the case for Toto. Toto was an amalgam of quite accomplished studio musicians who were already busy backing the likes of Boz Scaggs, Steely Dan, Seals and Crofts, and countless other household musicians who simply wanted he best musicians they could find.

Toto was a concept, and a group of the crime of the crop musicians. But when they decided to collaborate, the result was the most formidable band in the pop-rock genre. With a group that has been making music together since their early teens, David Paich, Steve Lukather, Steve Porcaro, Jeff Porcaro, Mike Porcaro, and vocalist Bobby Kimball assembled in the studio to take a break from their career as backing musicians to produce the kind of album that would make waves for decades.

The debut features the brilliant writing, arranging and producing of David Paich, perhaps the best keyboardist in the rock era, the guitar skills of the very young Steve Lukather, who would grow over time to be e voice of Toto, and the consensus best drummer in the history of Rock music in Jeff Porcaro. By the age of 19, Jeff Porcaro was playing in studio for Steely Dan.

In their mid-late teens most of the band was playing for Sonny and Cher. Same for Seals and Croft. And then there was Boz Scaggs. Lukather was the key guitarist on Scagg's platinum album Silk Degrees, along with Jeff Porcaro on drums.

So Toto had nothing to prove as they entered the studio as Toto. The product released in 1978 was greater than the sum of its parts.

Prolific musicians, greatness from A to Z. One simply cannot go wrong with Toto. This album is en the first chapter in a career that is relevant, and defined the era of sophisticated, cerebral, and always polished fine art. The pinnacle of rock music, Toto and its members have set standards that future bands and musical professors will point to as reference material for generations to come.

Great debut album, but wait--is it rock? Listen to "Girl Goodbye" or "Hold the Line" and you'd say so. Or soft rock? Tune in to "You are the Flower" or "Taking It Back" and you'd say so. There isn't a single bad song, but there's no single musical style. This would become a problem down the line.

I wouldn't go so far to suggest that music professors will be looking to Toto as the pinnacle of rock music in the 70's but the chops and writing skills of the band were hard to dispute. Between all the members of the band, Toto had played on the majority of studio albums released by singers during the 70's.

Nevertheless, the band's self titled album met with critical sighs as the band wasn't seen as genuine and the music wasn't considered to be of quality either especially compared to the punk and new wave bands that were rolling out music consistently during this time with high quality (particularly compared to the lyrical complexity of people like Elvis Costello) which made Toto sound too slick and without soul. Was that true? To a degree but the music they created on their first album has largely held up.

An eclectic mix of styles played with great musicianship. One of the essential rock albums of the late 70s

If you believe that it is a good idea if you can play your instrument first and than try to come up with something, this is a band for you. The critics don't like them and I can tell you why. Most critics are frustrated musicians who never made it and for them there is nothing worse than a musician who can play, that shows them how lazy they where in there youth. Toto is a great band and to make a debut like this proof it, not all songs are great but there are very few albums who have all winners, no fillers. Toto is a band that needs no storys of mistreated kids that use the music to find a way out of misery, they already had the money and the skills, what they wanted was a real band and they got it and they deserved the success they had.

Great debute album, great musicians, great songs, great production, sleeve...

This album tends to get overlooked.
1978 after all was the year of stunning debuts fr.om The Cars and Van Halen.

But all the ingredients that go into Toto are here.
From the stadium sounding rock of Supply The Love and Hold The Line to the FM staple Georgy Porgy.
The rest is on that same level.

I've always looked at Toto as a Rock band, and they are. It's just that they probably have tried out every music style known to man. This their debut album does contain one Toto classic. You could note that Steve Lukather didn't compose anything for this album, it took him a while to get started with the writing, but he sure does some very fine guitar playing. Perhaps you could say that the record is more Earth, Wind & Fire than Led Zeppelin. Nothing against Earth, Wind & Fire though. The aforementioned classic is of course "Hold the Line" with "Angela" coming close to that. One really stands out from the start is the bands fantastic musician abilities and that David Paich sure knows his way around a good melody.

El segundo mejor album de toto en mi opinión, como álbum, lo veo más parejo en canciones que el éxito Toto IV, obviamente sin el nivel de calidad de éste. Combina elementos de los 70's y hard rock que lo hacen bastante variado y divertido de escuchar.

A solid album with rocking tunes, groovy tracks, good melodies and sing-along choruses. I was surprised when I learned this is from 1978 because to me it sounds slightly more modern (80s), though there are characteristic 70s disco beats and Funk influences on some songs. If only the keyboard sound wasn't so cheap...