Toto - IV (1982)

Note: this release was originally purchased as an LP, later replaced by a CD.

I was attending a high school baseball game last night where I heard Toto's hit single from this album, Rosanna. I was bobbing my head to the song's insistent shuffle beat and looked around. Seemingly everyone in the stands was singing along with the song, regardless of age or ethnicity. I knew the song was huge when I was in high school, but I didn't realize it had such staying power. However, when I last drew up a "desert island" list of CDs in August of 2004, this CD was on it, so I know it has staying power with me.

This is not only the band's best and most consistent album, but also the definitive album of slick L.A. pop for the early '80s. This band was made of L.A. session musicians that wrote and recorded this album between other gigs, most notably Chicago 16 and Michael Jackson's Thriller. Even though this album was a major part of the soundtrack to my high school years, I only stuck with the band for one more album, 1984's Isolation, but it was such a weak follow-up to this solid album, I quickly lost track of the band. Evidently, the band is still around in some form.

Press of the time:

• Rolling Stone (★★): "feels about as real as a Velveeta-orange polyester leisure suit"
• Robert Christgau (B-): "they have their glitzy moments"
• Record World: "Four looks like a lucky number for this all-star band"
• CashBox: "elaborate arrangements that seem custom-made for Top 40 success"
• Billboard: "best material and most rounded performances yet"

 

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard Top 200: #4 (but I guess that was predestined when they named the album)
• Billboard Rock: #6
• CashBox: #5
• Rolling Stone: #6

Tracks: I listen to all of it, even I Won't Hold You Back, one of the few power ballads I can stand. The weakest track is It's A Feeling, but the majority of the filler is better than most, especially Waiting For Your Love. The hits are the hits and they still sound good.

	Hot 100	Rock	AC
Rosanna	2	8	17
Make Believe	30
I Won't Hold You Back	10		1
Good For You
It's A Feeling
Afraid Of Love		28
Lovers In The Night		57
We Made It
Waiting For Your Love	73		27
Africa	1		5

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: At my senior prom, we had a live cover band (I think the band's name was Fast Forward?) and I remember dancing to a decent filler track from this album, We Made It. Even back then, I thought that song was a curious selection for a cover band.

While this music wasn't a big hit with the critics, other musicians loved it, which led to numerous arrangements of the music for school groups. I remember playing Rosanna, Africa, and I Won't Hold You Back in high school marching band and/or jazz band.

My erudite friend Scott once tried to convince me that the word "rains" in the lyrics "the rains down in Africa" referred to years, not actual rain. He had just read Alex Haley's Roots, so in his mind, that made him an expert on African culture and nomenclature. Hell, for all I know, he could have been right.

Blog post #550