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Toto XIV

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Toto XIV
Studio album by
Toto
ReleasedMarch 20, 2015
RecordedJanuary 2014–c. October 2014[1]
Studio
  • The Treehouse (North Hollywood)
  • Capitol (Hollywood)
  • ATS (Calabasas, California)
  • Porcara Musica (Los Angeles)
  • Digby Road (Thousand Oaks, California)[2]
GenreHard rock, pop rock, jazz rock, blues rock, progressive rock
Length56:03
LabelFrontiers
ProducerC. J. Vanston, Steve Lukather, David Paich, Steve Porcaro, Joseph Williams[3][4]
Toto chronology
The Collection
(2008) 		Toto XIV
(2015) 		40 Trips Around the Sun
(2018)
Singles from Toto XIV
  1. "Orphan"
    Released: February 5, 2015
  2. "Holy War"
    Released: February 17, 2015
  3. "Burn"
    Released: March 3, 2015

Toto XIV is the thirteenth studio album by the American rock band Toto (though the band's fourteenth album overall, when one counts Toto XX). Toto released the album on March 20, 2015. It is the band's first studio album since Falling in Between in 2006.[5]

The album marks the return of Joseph Williams on lead vocals and Steve Porcaro on keyboards and vocals, as well as the only album marking the return of its original bassist David Hungate (since Toto IV in 1982) before he left the band in September and the only album with drummer Keith Carlock. 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 five days before the album's release.

Background

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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 albums "with unreleased or new music only", so the album Toto XX (1998) was counted because it contained previously unreleased songs, making Toto XIV the 14th album.[7]

Reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic [8]

AllMusic's review of 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

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No.TitleWriter(s)Lead vocalsLength
1."Running Out of Time"Lukather, Paich, WilliamsJoseph Williams4:06
2."Burn"Williams, PaichWilliams4:56
3."Holy War"Lukather, CJ 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:56:03
Japanese edition bonus track
No.TitleWriter(s)Lead vocalsLength
12."Bend"Mike Sherwood, Steve PorcaroPorcaro2:48

Personnel

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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), hand drumming on leather 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)
  • David Hungate – bass guitar (tracks 3, 4, 7, 8)

Additional musicians

  • 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 and CJ Vaston)
  • 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

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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

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  1. ^ "The making of the new Toto XIV album". Steve Lukather official website. Retrieved February 12, 2015.
  2. ^ a b 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. 6 November 2014. 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. ^ a b 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. ^ a b "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.
  13. ^ "South Korea Circle Album Chart". On the page, select "{{{date}}}" to obtain the corresponding chart. Circle 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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