Having had the privilege of being invited to spend 3 days at Simon Phillips' studio witnessing Toto putting the finishing touches to their new album in September 2005, Toto's management asked me to draft "Liner Notes" for the Falling In Between CD sleeve. In the end, only the "Band track notes" which I compiled were included in the final CD sleeve layout.

TOTO – FALLING IN BETWEEN
by Will Minting, November 2005

All great musicians enjoy a range and diversity that allows them to continually evolve. As such, they rarely satisfy just one musical genre. They never quite fit. This latest Toto album, as all those preceding it, has a breadth of styles which gives it a different flavour all the way through. It is perhaps this inability to "fit" with one audience that has hampered the recognition Toto deserve. Toto has experienced 28 years of falling in between.

Toto's standing in popular culture has been a dichotomy for nearly 30 years. Despite relentless panning by the popular music press, the members of Toto have on numerous occasions been acknowledged by the more specialist musicians magazines as the most accomplished musicians of our time. It seems that musicians recognised greatness but perhaps the general popular music press was under-qualified? Toto's peers have been quoted as saying that the band are 'collectively the best musicians on the planet', and to this day, they remain one of the most popular touring classic rock acts, even without a major hit single for over two decades.

The 1980's saw the advent of music television and the increasing importance of image in popular culture. Live performance was replaced by clever video technique; new fashion gimmicks saw the introduction of single white gloves and bandanas to our streets. It wasn't just about the music anymore; fans wanted to be their pop idol. At a time when Toto were enjoying huge success following the release of Toto IV, they gained recognition of their peers and the prestige of 7 Grammys and countless accolades in the guitar, keyboards and drums magazines, yet none of their posters adorned the walls of teenage idol seekers. Perhaps their lack of continuity of a front man throughout the second half of the decade was to blame. But did this make them any less successful? As a group, they have sold approaching 30 million albums worldwide but as session musicians their sound has been captured on records which have sold many hundreds of millions.

With virtually no press coverage or internet during the 1980's and first half of the 1990's, I was forced to scour album covers for any information about a band who were rapidly becoming my childhood heros. In my early teens, I'd noticed a similar sound to Toto on albums which I heard elsewhere; Intrigued, I was amazed to establish that my heros appeared on the album credits of Randy Newman's Trouble in Paradise and Lionel Richie's Can't Slow Down. When I saw friends' copies of Michael Jackson's Thriller, I found that once again their names littered the album credits. Toto were everywhere. They seemed to own the session scene in LA. Armed with the proof I needed that my heros were cool, I set about converting school friends to my Toto creed. As hard as I tried, it rarely worked without pop radio or rock magazines on my side. Toto were never cool, at least not beyond the select group who recognized them for their musical ingenuity and studio prowess.

Both invidually and often collectively, the members of Toto have added their various talents to literally thousands of recording sessions including hundreds of top-40 records.They've performed on stage with many of the iconic musical artists of our time. Paul McCartney, Eric Clapton, Pink Floyd, Aretha Franklin, Elton John, Diana Ross, Stevie Wonder, Steely Dan, Bruce Springsteen and Joe Satriani are amongst those luminary artists whose albums have been graced by the members of Toto's substantial contributions. Not only did the members of Toto perform as a rhythm section and vocalists on classic albums, but there are many industry tales of how their genius saved tracks from being deleted when the artist was unable to find the inspiration to transform their ideas to a workable song. They are collectively the most prolific "first call" session musicians and yet their names remain largely unknown. As the Funk Brothers were to Motown, so Toto are the unsung heros of Rock/Pop.

Ironically, Toto are perhaps one of the most sampled band over the last ten years. DJ's, hip-hop and R&B artists have lifted their lasting melodies and grooves, reinventing them for every new music fan reaching teenage years today. As new artists seek their own success, they continue to build on a rock anthology that is seemingly infinite. Virtually everyone's CD rack contains album credits to the members of Toto, yet they still remain the uncoolest rock band in the world. Again, Toto's music traverses more genres than any other band. They managed to "not fit" yet "fit all" at the same time.

During an era when people used designer labels to pigeon-hole their place in a material world, Toto were traversing so many genres of music that they appeared to be on a mission to not fit anywhere. Toto's quest to achieve musical excellence has compelled them to write and perform a breadth of styles, not only because they can but also because their fanbase has come to expect the very finest musicianship and flawless production. For Toto and their fans, a live performance is just another "take". It is Toto's musical excellence that has afforded them the career which they have maintained, not despite but because they are individually some of the most accomplished musicians of the last four decades. Consequently, Toto have been denied the breadth of audience that they deserve by virtue of the fact that their music doesn't match the media's narrow criteria.

What of the new album? Toto's first new material since 1998 reveals that the passion to deliver is as strong as ever; once again they demonstrate their ability to avoid being type-cast; hard rock, progressive, jazz, soul and funk influences are included in equal measure; and watching them adding the finishing touches to this album, there was an obvious abundance of energy and determination to attain the finest recording of their exceptionally distinguished careers.

The desire to achieve distinction through musical performance is in their blood. It is for this reason that Toto remain one of the finest rock and roll bands, irrespective of the general public's perception or the wider acceptance of the popular music press. One day their contributions to popular music will be acknowledged but regardless of crticial acclaim, Toto created the soundtrack to our everyday lives.

(c) Will Minting, London, November 2005