TOTO – Turn Back [Rock Candy remaster] (2014)

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“Turn Back” is the last TOTO album from batch recently Remastered & Reloaded by Rock Candy Records.
You could say that “Turn Back” is the ‘lost’ Toto album. Whilst their debut record achieved double platinum sales figures producing two global hit singles, and it’s follow up ‘Hydra’ was eventually acknowledged as a neo progressive rock triumph, “Turn Back” flew beneath the radar and barely caused a blip on the charts before disappearing from sight.

The fact that their follow up album ‘Toto IV’ has won an unprecedented seven Grammys and contained three top 10 hit singles only seems to emphasise the point.
But although it is the least well known early era Toto album, to die-hard fans of the band it is regarded as one of their creative highpoints. Since its release more than thirty years ago, “Turn Back” has become somewhat a fan favorite, perhaps due its lack of success and big hits make the album arguably more enjoyable to listen to than any other Toto album.
Apart from that, and being unbiased, “Turn Back” includes some awesome, terrific songs.

“Turn Back” found Toto taking a far more aggressive approach, dialling down the keyboards and upping the guitar quota by a considerable margin. This was, for all intents and purposes, an arena rock album designed to stave off their detractors and emphasise that they could hold their own against meatier acts such as Foreigner and Boston.
Much of this was due to the enlistment of renowned British co-producer Geoff Workman who provided a more raw, heavy, glossy but thick sound.

The three opening tracks, “Gift With A Golden Gun”, “English Eyes” and “Live For Today” usher in the album with solid dose of hook-filled hard rock with Steve Lukather’s biting guitar work and the late Jeff Porcaro’s solid forceful drumming.
The melodic hard rock element is also apparent in fast-paced shuffle of “Goodbye Elenore” which features a strong resemblance to bands like Queen or Journey. There is also a small progressive-rock touch heard in the album’s title track with its strong doses of keyboards and guitar textures.

Balancing out the album are three ballads: the calm “A Million Miles Away” which explodes during the chorus with Bobby Kimball’s emotional soaring vocals, “I Think I Could Stand You Forever” has a harder edge to it and once again comes across with musical references to Queen and Journey.
“If It’s the Last Night” is a Steve Lukather sung acoustic ballad with a slight REO Speedwagon vibe to it. This is also the album’s powerful closing track.

I am a big Toto fan, and all their albums are quite different amongst them. “Turn Back” is their rockier, the less commercial and the more ‘raw’, and I love it.
To my ears, there’s always has been a problem with the production of “Turn Back”. I mean, I really like Geoff Workman’s production, but all the copies I have listened (LP, cassette, CD) suffer from some kind of ‘attenuate brightness’ and tape hiss.
Well, Rock Candy has fixed that sensation. This is one of the best remasters done by the British company, and definitely the best sounding Toto’s “Turn Back” edition ever.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

01 – Gift With A Golden Gun
02 – English Eyes
03 – Live For Today
04 – A Million Miles Away
05 – Goodbye Elenore
06 – I Think I Could Stand You Forever
07 – Turn Back
08 – If It’s The Last Night

Bobby Kimball: lead and backing vocals
Steve Lukather: guitars, lead and backing vocals
David Paich: keyboards, backing vocals
Steve Porcaro: keyboards, electronics, backing vocals
David Hungate: bass, acoustic guitar on 6
Jeff Porcaro: drums, percussion

BUY IT !
www.barnesandnoble.com/w/turn-back-toto/27503476
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