Toto XIV

Toto XIV is the thirteenth studio album (though counted as the fourteenth album overall) by the American rock band Toto, released on March 20, 2015. It is their first studio album since Falling in Between in 2006.[5]

Toto XIV
Studio album by
Toto
ReleasedMarch 20, 2015
RecordedDecember 2013–December 2014[1]
StudioThe Treehouse, North Hollywood, California
Capitol Studios, Hollywood, California
ATS Studios, Calabasas, California
Porcara Musica, Valley Village, California
Digby Road Studios, Thousand Oaks, California[2]
GenreHard rock, pop rock, jazz rock, blues rock, progressive rock
Length55:59
LabelFrontiers
ProducerC. J. Vanston, Steve Lukather, David Paich, Steve Porcaro, Joseph Williams[3][4]
Toto chronology
The Collection
(2008)		 Toto XIV
(2015)		 Live at Montreux 1991
(2016)
Singles from Toto XIV
  1. "Orphan"
    Released: February 5, 2015
  2. "Holy War"
    Released: February 17, 2015
  3. "Burn"
    Released: March 3, 2015

The album marks the return of Joseph Williams on lead vocals, Steve Porcaro on keyboards, and as well as the only album marking the return of its original bassist David Hungate before he left the band in September. The band continued without an official bass player in their lineup. Toto XIV is the first and only album with Keith Carlock on drums, replacing Simon Phillips, the longstanding successor to original drummer Jeff Porcaro, who died in 1992. It is also the first studio album since 1982's Toto IV not to feature longtime bassist Mike Porcaro, who had been inactive since 2007 due to ALS and died shortly before the album's release.

Background

Their final contractual obligation with Frontier Records, Toto made the record understanding that it likely would not make pop radio. With the return of Steve Porcaro and David Hungate, David Paich found the sessions to be "very cyclical", which was further helped by the location of their studio: it was located just a half mile away from where they recorded their eponymous debut.[6] One song, "Chinatown", was actually written for the first album, but never fully developed until the Toto XIV recording sessions.[6] The name was explained by band member Steve Lukather in December 2014: The band counted all the albums with new released music. Because of this, the album Toto XX from 1998, although not a studio album, but a collection of older unreleased songs, was counted as well, making Toto XIV the 14th album.[7]

Reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic [8]

AllMusic's review XIV described the album's title as a reference to their platinum-selling 1982 album Toto IV, but said that it "doesn't share much with that Yacht Rock classic. Despite the McCartney-esque shimmer of "The Little Things" (not to mention the passing allusions to "99" on "Chinatown"), tunes take a backseat to bombast on Toto XIV, with this Steve Lukather-led incarnation accentuating intricate instrumental interplay." The review also described a "furious first half, containing such plainly evident socio-political protests as "Holy War," "Running Out of Time," "Unknown Soldier," and "21st Century Blues"". It concludes that the band is "not living in the past, nor are they denying it: they're accepting all their indulgences, all the intricacies that come with their virtuosity, and making a record that reflects what these veteran rockers have seen and learned in their 40 years in the business."[8]

Track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Lead vocalsLength
1."Running Out of Time"Lukather, Paich, WilliamsJoseph Williams4:06
2."Burn"Williams, PaichWilliams4:56
3."Holy War"Lukather, Vanston, WilliamsWilliams & Steve Lukather5:24
4."21st Century Blues"Lukather, VanstonLukather6:08
5."Orphan"Paich, Williams, LukatherWilliams3:55
6."Unknown Soldier (For Jeffrey)"Paich, LukatherLukather5:06
7."The Little Things"Steve Porcaro, Allee WillisSteve Porcaro4:34
8."Chinatown"Paich, Mike SherwoodDavid Paich, Williams & Lukather5:07
9."All the Tears That Shine"Paich, SherwoodPaich5:09
10."Fortune"WilliamsWilliams4:46
11."Great Expectations"Paich, Williams, LukatherPaich, Williams & Lukather6:48
Total length:55:59
Japanese edition bonus track
No.TitleWriter(s)Lead vocalsLength
12."Bend"Mike Sherwood, Steve PorcaroPorcaro2:48

Personnel

Credits taken from album’s liner notes.[2]

Toto

  • Steve Lukather – guitars (tracks 1-11), lead vocals (tracks 3, 4, 6, 8, 11), background vocals (tracks 1-3, 5, 6, 8-11), bass guitar (tracks 5, 6, 11)
  • Joseph Williams – lead vocals (tracks 1-3, 5, 8, 10, 11), background vocals (tracks 1-11), keyboards (track 11), park bench (track 2), additional keyboards (track 5)
  • David Paich – piano (tracks 1, 3, 4, 9-11), keyboards (tracks 2, 5, 6, 8, 9, 11), organ (tracks 3, 4, 11), lead vocals (tracks 8, 9, 11), background vocals (track 2), upright bass (track 9)
  • Steve Porcaro – synthesizers (tracks 1-5, 8-12), keyboards (track 7), lead vocals (tracks 7, 12), samples (track 12)
  • Keith Carlock – drums (tracks 1-11), background vocals (track 2)

Additional musicians

  • David Hungate – bass guitar (tracks 3, 4, 7, 8)
  • Tal Wilkenfeld – bass guitar (tracks 9, 10)
  • Leland Sklar – bass guitar (track 2)
  • Tim Lefebvre – bass guitar (track 1)
  • Lenny Castro – percussion (tracks 2, 3, 5-10)
  • Martin Tillman – cello (tracks 6, 7, 11)
  • CJ Vanston – additional synthesizers (tracks 1, 2, 4-6, 10, 11), additional keyboards (track 3), synthesizers (track 4), background vocals (track 2), end vamp piano (track 4)
  • Michael McDonald – background vocals (track 6, 8, 10)
  • Amy Keys – background vocals (tracks 4, 6, 8, 10)
  • Mabvuto Carpenter – background vocals (tracks 5, 11)
  • Jamie Savko – background vocals (tracks 1, 2, 11)
  • Emma Williams – background vocals (track 2)
  • Tom Scott – saxophones (tracks 4, 8), horn arrangement (track 4)

Technical personnel:

  • Produced by: CJ Vanston, David Paich, Steve Lukather, Joseph Williams (except for tracks 7 & 12, produced by Steve Porcaro)
  • Engineered by: CJ Vanston, Csaba Petrocz, Joseph Williams, Stefan Nordin
  • Assistant engineers: Steve Genewick, Chandler Harod:
  • Mixed by: CJ Vanston at The Treehouse, North Hollywood, CA
  • Mastered by: Peter Doell at Universal Mastering, Los Angeles, CA

Other:

  • Photography: Heather Porcaro
  • Art Direction: Thunderwing
  • Cover Art: Fred Kim
  • Production Management: JoAnn Tominaga
  • Business Management: Ron Remis and Trish Field
  • Legal Affairs: Gary Gilbert at Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP
  • Public Relations: Steve Karas and Keith Hagen

Charts

The single "Burn" reached as high as number 7 on the World Modern Rock Top 30 Singles Chart, where it appeared for 20 consecutive weeks.

References
  1. "The making of the new Toto XIV album". Steve Lukather official website. Retrieved February 12, 2015.
  2. album liner notes
  3. "Toto XIV". 20 March 2015. Retrieved January 8, 2018 – via Amazon.
  4. "TOTO XIV - Lukather & CJ Vanston Comment Exclusively". Melodic Rock. Retrieved February 10, 2015.
  5. "TOTO'S FIRST NEW ALBUM IN 10 YEARS GIVEN RELEASE DATE". Toto official website. January 8, 2015. Archived from the original on January 10, 2015. Retrieved February 10, 2015.
  6. Kovarsky, Jerry (July 13, 2015). "TOTO: The Synth Statesmen of Progressive Pop Return". Keyboard. Retrieved April 18, 2018.
  7. "The making of the new Toto XIV album". Steve Lukather official website. Retrieved March 23, 2015.
  8. "Toto XIV - Toto - Songs, Reviews, Credits - AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved January 8, 2018.
  9. "Austriancharts.at – Toto – XIV" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved April 1, 2015.
  10. "Ultratop.be – Toto – XIV" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved March 28, 2015.
  11. "Ultratop.be – Toto – XIV" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved March 28, 2015.
  12. "Czech Albums – Top 100". ČNS IFPI. Note: On the chart page, select {{{date}}} on the field besides the word "Zobrazit", and then click over the word to retrieve the correct chart data.
  13. "South Korea Gaon Album Chart". On the page, select "{{{date}}}" to obtain the corresponding chart. Gaon Chart
  14. "Danishcharts.dk – Toto – XIV". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 28, 2015.
  15. "Dutchcharts.nl – Toto – XIV" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved March 28, 2015.
  16. "Toto: XIV" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved March 30, 2015.
  17. "Lescharts.com – Toto – XIV". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 30, 2015.
  18. "Officialcharts.de – Toto – XIV". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved March 30, 2015.
  19. "Album Top 40 slágerlista – 2015. 12. hét" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ. Retrieved March 27, 2015.
  20. "GFK Chart-Track Albums: Week 13, 2015". Chart-Track. IRMA. Retrieved March 25, 2015.
  21. "Italiancharts.com – Toto – XIV". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 2, 2015.
  22. "TOTO XIV～聖剣の絆(限定生産 紙ジャケット仕様) - TOTO". Oricon.co.jp. Retrieved January 8, 2018.
  23. "Norwegiancharts.com – Toto – XIV". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 29, 2015.
  24. "Swedishcharts.com – Toto – XIV". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 26, 2015.
  25. "Swisscharts.com – Toto – XIV". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 1, 2015.
  26. "xiv - full Official Chart History - Official Charts Company". OfficialCharts.com. Retrieved January 8, 2018.
  27. "Toto XIV - Billboard". Billboard. Retrieved January 8, 2018.
  28. "Toto Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved March 25, 2015.
  29. "Jaaroverzichten – Album 2015". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved October 31, 2020.
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