Guitarist Steve Lukather has wanted Toto’s first new album in nine years to prove that older guys can still rock, deliver fresh tricks and make meaningful music with passion and intensity. Considering 'XIV' is a stunning embodiment of classy melodic rock, rich with compositional inventiveness and bags of heart, he may have been under-selling things.
Five years after reforming, and with a pesky lawsuit involving their record label settled, most of the surviving 'band of brothers' from the early days are back and recording together for the first time since the ‘80s.
Joining Lukather are keyboard players David Paich and Steve Porcaro, while original bassist David Hungate appears on three tracks. The all-important drum stool is occupied by former Steely Dan man Keith Carlock following Simon Philips' departure.
Only Bobby Kimball is absent, due to bad blood and vocal problems, so late ‘80s singer Joseph Williams returns and sounds superb. Add to that extra musicians contributing cello, saxophone, horns and backing vocals, and they've made an album so huge it renders Mount Rushmore a mere hill by comparison.
The desire, energy and dedication bubbling throughout 'XIV' suggests it's the work of a young, hungry band out to make a name for themselves. Opening mission statement Running Out Of Time boils with a restless sense of carpe diem, its asteroid-sized chorus smacking the sky in the kisser while Williams soars like it's his last night on earth.
CJVanston's production embodies the word epic, with endless layers of subtle and elegant embellishments weaving in and out. Crunchy rocker Holy War, the melodiously sweet Orphan and the brooding Burn may boast mainstream choruses and seemingly obvious structures, but imaginative vocal harmonies, delicious instrumental touches and the seamless integration of different musical styles makes them endlessly revealing.
Vocal duties are typically shared out, with Lukather's husky tones flavouring the Steely Dan-echoing 21st Century Blues and Unknown Soldier, a monster that sounds like Led Zeppelin at their most progressive. Elsewhere, Porcaro lights up the gorgeous ballad The Little Things, Paich is equally heart-breaking on All The Tears That Shine, and there are some cracking tracks where they all pitch in. The effortlessly cool Chinatown finds Paich, Williams and Lukather delivering a tune that moves eloquently through a low-key opening and street-smart funk.
Due to past line-up changes and experimentation, Toto have never made an album that perfectly balances all their traits. 'XIV' puts that right by bringing their blend of rock, pop, soul, prog, folk and world music into 2015, with lyrics rooted in an angry post-9/11 world where big issues are challenged and hope craved. Nothing epitomises that like uplifting finale, Great Expectations, a cinematic masterpiece that pivots around a spine-tingling hook and technical sorcery.
To the general public Toto may always be 'that Africa band', but to those in the know they are one of the most gifted, versatile and special acts of all time. This may be their last album and, if so, it's the perfect goodbye. 'XIV' is masterful.
Toto Upcoming Tour Dates are as follows:
Thu May 21 2015 - GLASGOW Royal Concert Hall
Mon May 25 2015 - MANCHESTER O2 Apollo
Tue May 26 2015 - LONDON Eventim Apollo
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