Toto – Toto XIV

Releasedate: 23-03-2015; Label: Frontiers Records
By: Sabine van Gameren

Toto, the American Rockband, has been around for many years. May some people mainly remain the hitsongs like “Africa”, the band now released “Toto XIV” indicating it being the 14th album that has unique Toto material on it, the 13th studio album to be exact.

It has been a while since Toto delivered a new studio release but now we have one in our hands we are happy to share about it. A piece of classical rock music in our hands brought with a 2015 touch. And that speaks for the band, many would be stuck in the past but listening to this one gives you a modern touch of what the band is about and that tastes sweet.
The majority of the album is filled with calm and serene rock songs. Not too much power behind them as they are not very bombastic. But then there are some exceptions that set the rule. The final song “Great Expectations” is a lot more filled. A rich body that leads to more drama and with the catchy lyrics on board it is no questions that this will be one that people can sing along to rather fast.

Altogether it is a nice album. The songs are not very varied but have an easy-listening factor and fall easily into your background when doing various tasks. It has great songs that highlight the enormous amount of experience the guys gathered through the years and those who liked Toto before can simply buy it blindly.

Line up:
Steve Lukather – vocals, guitars, bass
Joseph Williams – lead vocals, keyboards, percussion
David Paich – vocals, keyboards
Steve Porcaro – vocals, keyboards
Keith Carlock – drums, background

Tracklist: 01. Running Out of Time 02. Burn 03. Holy War 04. 21st Century Blues 05. Orphan 06. Unknown Soldier (For Jeffrey) 07. The Little Things 08. Chinatown 09. All the Tears That Shine 10. Fortune 11. Great Expectations

Links:
Toto Official