Toto - Fahrenheit - 1986 gdmonline.info

One of the reasons that ‘Fahrenheit’ hasn’t appeared earlier in our reviews section is that for mine, this is not one of Toto’s strongest efforts, apart from the one hit song, this album holds very little attraction.

Written by: gdmonline

ARTIST: Toto
ALBUM: Fahrenheit
LABEL: CBS
SERIAL: FC 40273
YEAR: 1986
CD REISSUE: Discogs Reissue List
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: USA

LINEUP: Steve Lukather – vocals, guitar * David Paich – keyboards * Steve Porcaro – keyboards * Mike Porcaro – bass * Jeff Porcaro – drums * Joseph Williams – vocals

TRACK LISTING: 01 Til The End * 02 We Can Make It Tonight * 03 Without Your Love * 04 Can’t Stand It Any Longer * 05 I’ll Be Over You * 06 Fahrenheit * 07 Somewhere Tonight * 08 Could This Be Love * 09 Lea * 10 Don’t Stop Me Now

WEBLINKS: Site Link

Table of Contents

Background

After the aural bombast that was 1984’s quite brilliant ‘Isolation’, this 1986 follow up might seem a little tame by comparison. It’s definitely a change in direction, perhaps bought about by the less than stellar sales of ‘Isolation’ after the high-blown success of the Grammy Award winning affair that was ‘Toto IV’ a few years earlier.

Out the door went Fergie Frederiksen, supposedly for substance abuse issues (though the official line was ‘not too hot in the studio.. yeah right!) only to be replaced by someone with equally bad personal lifestyle choices in the shape of Joseph Williams. Go figure! Anyway, Toto nearly revert back to the style similar to ‘Toto IV’ with a bunch of catchy songs to boot though the prevailing genre is mostly R&B with some reggae and jazz twists rather than west coast.

The Songs

I do recall during mid 1986 the singles charts action, Toto’s ‘I’ll Be Over You’ doing well to reach #11 in the Hot 100 Billboard, but ultimately overshadowed by The Human League‘s ‘Human’ during the same time frame. ‘I’ll Be Over You’ is a lovely laid back song, sort of similar to ‘I Won’t Hold You Back’ from ‘Toto IV’ but lacking the pure emotion and drama of the latter.

The opener ‘Til The End’ is a high-kicking track and a solid effort. ‘We Can Make It Tonight’ after an indecisive start soon shifts into a typical Toto fourth gear cruise-shift. ‘Without Your Love’ on the other hand is a very laid back number with a gentle beat. The vocals are split between Lukather and Williams and I think I prefer Luke’s contributions because he is inherently Toto after all.

The title track ‘Fahrenheit’ is not very Toto like at all. It’s closer to Robbie Nevil‘s upbeat style than anything else. Take it or leave it. ‘Somewhere Tonight’ operates between ballad, R&B and west coast, ‘Lea’ is pure syrupy balladry which though OK is not a shade on their other (superior) ballads throughout their discography.

‘Don’t Stop Me Now’ will appeal to jazz fusioneers a la Ritenour, Carlton, Bob James etc and seems to be the odd track out here. Probably why it’s at the tail of the track list order.

In Summary

One of the reasons that ‘Fahrenheit’ hasn’t appeared earlier in our reviews is that for mine, this is not one of their strongest efforts. Apart from the one song, this holds very little attraction.

Thankfully this was addressed upon the release of 1988’s ‘The Seventh One’, a vastly superior effort. At the completion of responsibilities for this album, original keyboardist Steve Porcaro called it quits and the band forged ahead as a five-piece.