5/28/2023 0 Comments Toto hydraGeorge And The Dragon' retained the impressive grooves of Jeff Porcaro and Hungate, as well as the mix of Steve Porcaro's synths and Paich's piano and organ, but a more aggressive arrangement and the mighty Lukather guitar riffs gave the band a more epic slant. A different re-mix of 'Georgy Porgy' is a cool bonus track to have but doesn't really add anything to the album.ĭespite the success of the eclectic 'Toto', the band changed direction on the following year's 'Hydra', leaning more towards their Rocky and Progressive sides. Kimball's soaring voice and Lukather's breathtaking solos influenced many bands to change their sound, but none would have the chops or arrangement expertise of Toto at their best, the instrumental 'Child's Anthem' and the wonderful 'Angela' being cases in point. The keyboard-led arrangements and irresistible grooves made songs like 'Manuela Run', 'Georgy Porgy' and 'You Are The Flower' into perfect examples of what would come to be known as West Coast AOR, but it was the harder side of Lukather's guitar on the brilliant 'Girl Goodbye', 'I'll Supply The Love' and the mega-hit 'Hold The Line' that would put Toto firmly in the hearts of Rock fans. With their self-titled 1978 debut they managed to cover the bases of Rock, Funk, Soul, Jazz and Pop, mixing them all together in a unique style that would become the band's trademark. The aim was to infuse the mostly singer/song-writer direction they'd been mostly working in with the Rockier edge that had already paid dividends for Boston and Foreigner. Having worked on Boz Scaggs' successful 'Silk Degrees' record together, they soon recruited fellow Scaggs sidemen David Hungate (bass) and Jeff's brother Steve on synthesizers, but with original guitarist Les Dudek unavailable they drafted in teenage session sensation Steve Lukather, along with vocalist Bobby Kimball. ![]() session musicians, Toto was the result of keyboardist David Paich and drummer Jeff Porcaro's plans to put together their own band whilst constantly crossing paths working with a who's who of platinum selling US artists. ![]() For me the original line-up will always be about 'Toto' and 'Hydra' and their importance to the way AOR developed from there.įormed in the late seventies by the crème-de-la-creme of experienced L.A.
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