TOTO – The Seventh One [Rock Candy remaster]

This 2015 Rock Candy Records campaign of TOTO‘s most celebrated ’80s albums ‘Remastered & Reloaded‘ ends with the celebrated “The Seventh One“.
With vocalist Joseph Williams firmly settled into the line up, for the first time Lukather & Co. looked outside for production guidance, recruiting two members of Little Feat (George Massenburg and Billy Payne) to oversee the recording sessions, resulting in one of the strongest albums of their long and productive career.

“The Seventh One”, originally issued in 1988, set a new standard for the band, with critics and fans heaping praise on its contents. Forceful and dynamic, the tracks benefited from a sharper and more defined sound, aided and abetted by a brace of stellar songs.
Tracks such as ‘Pamela’ (the natural successor to ‘Rosanna’), ‘Only The Children’ and ‘Home Of The Brave’ hit the spot dead centre.
And look out for ‘Stay Away’, an incredible duet featuring Linda Ronstadt, containing Steve Lukather’s heaviest ever guitar riff.

While 1982’s IV swept the Grammys and is thus much more well known, “The Seventh One” is at least equal in quality if not superior due to it’s pristine production and a greater sense of musical adventurousness, integrating steel drums, Spanish guitar and other musical styles and elements not traditionally heard in rock&pop music.
Of course, there’s also the glossy AOR sounds that made Toto so great.

“The Seventh One” is one of those albums where each track is inherently catchy, where the hooks get under your skin and get your toes tapping, hands clapping, or fingers snapping.
The vocal harmonies are tight as always, while Steve Lukather’s guitar chops are even a bit more crisp than before as having Joseph Williams singing lead allowed him to concentrate more on his guitar.

‘Anna’ is one of two songs that Lukather takes lead on, and he does an excellent job. Being such a ballad mush I found myself wishing I could date an Anna and have it end just so I could sing this one to try and patch things up.
Then came the song that haunts me to this day: ‘Stop Loving You’, one of my all-time Toto favorites, and also one that made its way onto several mixtapes.
If you people don’t get the majesty that IS the late Jeff Porcaro (RIP) on drums, then listen to ‘Mushanga’ and you’ll feel pretty dumb. The flamenco solo from Lukather is highly impressive, too.

Things take a slow and groovy turn for ‘A Thousand Years’ before Lukather grabs the mic again on the terrific ‘These Chains’ which has some cool, understated horns. And as far as album closers go, ‘Home of the Brave’ may just be one of the greatest I’ve ever had the pleasure of hearing.
‘Home of the Brave’ never fails to get my blood pumping and make me feel like I can take on the world. Paich does lead vocals on the first part of each verse before Williams comes storming in and everyone just nails his parts to perfection. It’s nearly seven minutes but you wouldn’t even know it. And when Lukather takes off on that riff, that RIFF that leads the band out of the record I still get goosebumps.

“The Seventh One” Remastered & Reloaded by Rock Candy Records sound million bucks, with punchy bass lines, great snare presence and clean vocals / guitars.
Sadly, this reissue does not include the title track, originally only featured on the Japanese version of the album and on the B-side of the ‘Pamela’ single. But it’s OK, as this reissue campaign is based on the American original master tapes.
Your AOR collection is not complete without Toto’s “The Seventh One”, and this remaster is a no-brainer purchase.
A Must Have.

You’ve seen it first here, at 0dayrox

01 – Pamela
02 – You Got Me
03 – Anna
04 – Stop Loving You
05 – Mushanga
06 – Stay Away
07 – Straight For The Heart
08 – Only The Children
09 – A Thousand Years
10 – These Chains
11 – Home Of The Brave

Joseph Williams – vocals
Steve Lukather – guitars, vocals
David Paich – keyboards, vocals
Mike Porcaro – bass
Jeff Porcaro – drums, percussion
Steve Porcaro – keyboards, electronics
and many more

BUY IT !
www.amazon.com/Seventh-One-Toto/dp/B015PVX4QU
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