Toto - Through the Looking Glass
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Free Music Notes for Through the Looking Glass
Free Music Review: Best covers album ever, but...
Hit: 3 Stars
I first heard that TOTO were doing a covers CD when the album was still being recorded. I had initial misgivings, but figured, "Hey, if anyone can make a great covers album, it's TOTO." Well, it would seem that NOBODY can make a great covers album.There are some good songs here, and, of course, there are some amazing performances. But unlike anything else these guys have done it's all very uninvolving.
There are four very strong tracks - "Could You Be Loved" is a spirited opening, and Bobby Kimball sounds at his absolute best on fabulous renditions of "I Can't Get Next To You", "Living For The City" and "Burn Down The Mission", although please note that I don't know the originals, and in many other cases this makes a BIG difference.
Steely Dan's "Bodhisattva" (Which is from my favourite Dan album - "Countdown To Ecstasy" - but is also my least favourite song FROM that album) is recreated here, virtually note for note. I was shocked that TOTO would be so lazy as to resort to a carbon copy cover of ANYTHING. The worst thing about this version though is the vocals. Kimball and Steve Lukather sing together and the vocal blend is grating - a very oil and water approach. If they'd wanted a solid duet effect they should have simply double-tracked Kimball's voice.
Mercifully carbon-copies do NOT abound, and the next track, "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" transforms the song into a classic-sounding TOTO ballad. Sadly, Luke's solos are quite dull (Clapton's originals are far superior - Help, I don't even LIKE Clapton!), and again his vocal is...not so good.
"Maiden Voyage/Butterfly" is a yawn, pure and simple. Fans of light breezy jazz instrumentals will love it though, and it DOES sound good.
"Sunshine Of Your Love" is pretty much another carbon copy, and this time of a song I never liked to start with. They find their own arrangement of "House of the Rising Sun", but again, I have never liked the song, no matter who was singing it.
The album then concludes with a couple of 'joke' tracks, the first featuring Lukather 'as' Elvis Costello on "Watching the Detectives", which is quite funny, but wears thin pretty quickly, and then we get David Paich giving a very token lead vocal, and just having a laugh, by the sounds of it, on another song I have by enough different people already (My preferred version being that by Al Kooper on the 'Super Session' album).
So, in the final analysis, this album, as a listening experience, is not up to much. But it does have a saving grace - the band seems to have gained renewed vitality as an outfit, and the accompanying tour was simply amazing, as their next album of all-original material no doubt will be.
Essentially then you should only buy this if you are a huge TOTO fan, and even then you probably won't find yourself playing it very often. If you're NOT a huge TOTO fan go and buy another/all of their other albums, and that will make you a big enough fan to feel the need to buy this. And that would make the purchase worthwhile.
Free Music Review: I expected more
Hit: 3 Stars
I've been a Toto fan since the beginning (for the most part), so when I heard that they were going to release a collection of cover songs, I thought it sounded like a cool idea. Unfortunately, with a few exceptions, this is a perfect example of one of those CDs that looks good when you hear about it, but doesn't measure up when you hit the play button. The idea was to give fans a glimpse into the musical influences of the band. There aren't any real surprises here, except for maybe the fact that the CD is a disappointment. Considering the fact that Toto is made up of some of the finest musicians on the planet, I expected more.
The CD's leadoff track and first single, "Could You Be Loved" (Bob Marley) is just plain awful. If Marley could hear this, he'd be rolling over in his grave. The `ad libs' on the song, courtesy of James Ingram, are an embarrassment to both the band and Ingram. Do yourself a favor and skip this track. Up next is "Bodhisattva." Now this is what you'd expect from a band of this caliber. Great rendition of the Steely Dan rocker, and some incendiary fretwork from guitarist Steve Lukather.
Aside from Luke's solos, "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" sits firmly in smooth jazz mode. "I Can't Get Next to You" and "Living For the City" pale in comparison to the originals. There are some songs that you just don't mess with, and these are two of them. Herbie Hancock's "Maiden Voyage" and "Butterfly" get an update from the band, and the results are quite enjoyable. Although the medley has its smooth tendencies, the band takes enough liberties with the songs to make them interesting.
"Burn Down the Mission" is played fairly straight, but respectable. Elton should be pleased. On "Sunshine of Your Love," they rearrange the middle section and the outro a bit, but aside from that, they stay close to the original. For "House of the Rising Sun," all gloves are off. This is one of the most blistering versions of the song I've heard. Bobby Kimball's vocals are a bit over the top, but the music's great.
All told, Through the Looking Glass is a mixed bag. Toto fans will probably enjoy it, but if you're a fan of any of the original versions mentioned negatively above, you'll probably be disappointed.
Free Music Review: Rocking Backwards
Hit: 3 Stars
TOTO's 2002 release made up of non-original tracks reminds me of White Queen in Carol's Through The Looking Glass who live in reversed time sequence. Probably they wanted to do something peculiar not any of music fans might have expected.
To be honest, I think whether you can enjoy this album depends upon how deep are were into 70s rock. Some are familiar tracks and others may not. Among them Herbie hancock's classic MAIDEN VOYAGE/BUTTERFLY is excellently cared and you may enjoy whether or not you know the original. My personal favorite is BODHISATTVA one of my favorite STEELY DAN tracks and I am glad TOTO chose that track for this release. Beatles track WHILE MY GUITAR GENTLY WEEPS sounds close to original and Bobby Kimball did quite good vocal performance. BURN DOWN THE MISSION also is quite a nice choice giving great respect to ELTON JOHN one of my favorite artists.
Verdict: NOT regular release but still enjoyable
Rating: 74 out of 100
Recommended for: 70s rock fans and TOTO fans.
Free Music Review: Un album de reprise pour Toto. On est étonné...
Hit: 2 Stars
On est surtout déçu , car à par de les entendre jouer ( très bien ) d'entendre la voix de Bobby qui chante bien, un peu trop soutenu par les effets. On reste quand même un peu sur sa faim. Car les morceaux repris n'apportent pas grand chose par rapports aux originaux, à par un petit rafraîchissement, une mise aux goût de Toto...Vous avez le flacon, mais il manque l'ivresse.
On est quand même loin de ce qu'a l'habitude de faire Toto, si ce n'est que l'album est bien propre, bien mixé super bien arrangé. Ca sonne vraiment bien. Le tout est d'une qualité irréprochable et avec une cohérence entre les morceaux.
Il en demeure un album moyen où le seul plaisir est d'écouter de bonnes parties de piano de Sir Dave et surtout de l'entendre chanter sur le dernier morceau.
Il y en a un peu pour tout les goûts : du reggae, au rock, en passant par le blues et le jazz.
Bref on attendra avec impatience un vrai album de composition du groupe, car il est fort possible que celui-ci ne passera pas à la postérité. Peut être que cet album attirera un nouveau public plus jeune pour Toto, mais risque de décevoir les inconditionnels.
Best : While My Guitar Gently Weeps, Maiden Voyage / Butterfly, Burn down The Mission.
Plus d'info sur : www.totofrance.com
Free Music Review: Weakest TOTO effort. These guys are better than this.
Hit: 2 Stars
I have been a TOTO fan since the beginning, and hold the band to a very high standard. While I certainly can't knock the talent and musicianship on the album, finding an album of cover songs was a big disappointment. Talk about setting yourself up for failure. With few exceptions, the originals far surpass TOTO's attempts at reinterpretation. These are some of the greatest songs in rock history! The renditions of Could You Be Loved, Living For The City and Sunshine Of Your Love are admirable, but the straight covers of Bodhisattva and Burn Down The Mission are best left to the original masters. And Luke, please, what were you thinking trying to do Elvis. Poor execution of what could have been a funny goof. Kingdom, Tambu, Mindfields were awesome - and now that Kimball is back, I want more original material. Not bad as a stand alone collection, but only worth two stars compared to the rest of their catalog.