TOTO – Tambu [Japan Cardboard Sleeve miniLP remastered +1] Out Of Print

After the excellent TOTO greatest hits CD featured here, one of you asked for “Tambu“, the band’s ninth studio album by Lukather & Co released in May 1995. It includes the single ‘I Will Remember’, which failed to chart in the USA but was the band’s first chart hit in the UK since ‘I Won’t Hold You Back’ 12 years before. And guess what; “Tambu” also resulted a success in Japan.
The request is specifically pointed out to this Japanese Cardboard Sleeve miniLP replica (sold out now), remastered and including the great bonus track ‘Blackeye’.

The first thing that jumps out about “Tambu” is the rather original design of the CD sleeve, giving off the appearance of a classic dime store pulp novel.
But it’s not just the packaging that makes the album pop. This album marks Toto’s first studio effort following the death of founding member and drummer Jeff Porcaro.

Perhaps what is most admirable about Jeff’s replacement is that Toto didn’t try to replace Jeff. They chose the well-established Simon Phillips, a drummer with a style and sound all his own, and struck out in a new musical direction than the previous album ‘Kingdom Of Desire’.
“Tambu” is a more polished and melancholy affair. It’s a band saying goodbye and seeking closure after the death of Porcaro, a closure they needed to find before being able to continue in the music business.

This is probably the band’s strongest album to date (at least in the lyrical sense). There’s an emotional honesty to the lyrics, weaving seamlessly with David Paich’s keyboard chops, Simon Phillips soothing beats and rhythms, and Steve Lukather’s gravelly voice which had become a mainstay since the previous album.
There’s also a natural progression to the songs as you hear the band dealing with crushing grief and a desire to move on with their lives and careers.

Tambu is a varied album as well, with stylized AOR numbers such as “Gift Of Faith” snd “Slipped Away”, the ethereal “I Will Remember”, the groovy “Time Is The Enemy”, the rocking “Drag Him To The Roof” and a jazzy-hard rocker on “Dave’s Gone Skiing”.
Of course we have the ballads on “If You Belong To Me”, “The Other End Of Time”, and the wonderful “The Road Goes On,” which has become a staple of Toto’s live shows in recent years.

Although rarely mentioned as favorite by the band fan’s, “Tambu” is one of the most inspired TOTO albums ever, both lyrically and musically. The sound design as a whole is mature, borrowing elements from different genres with the typical class of this incredible band.
The vocal melodies throughout almost the entire CD haven’t been this strong since ‘IV’. Lukather’s chief lead vocals are in such quality that it was puzzling why he hadn’t been given the role earlier. He sings here with a deep, melancholic undertone.

This superb Japanese remastered reissue of “Tambu” is the one needed to re-discover this marvelous album pretty ignored in America when it was originally released (grunge et all).
Top Class

Sony Music Japan ～ 【SICP-3118】
Ｔ Ｏ Ｔ Ｏ 『 タンブ 』
ＪＡＮ：4547366059328

01 – Gift Of Faith
02 – I Will Remember
03 – Slipped Away
04 – If You Belong To Me
05 – Baby He’s Your Man
06 – The Other End Of Time
07 – The Turning Point
08 – Time Is The Enemy
09 – Drag Him To The Roof
10 – Just Can’t Get To You
11 – Dave’s Gone Skiing
12 – The Road Goes On
－Ｂｏｎｕｓ　Ｔｒａｃｋ　ｆｏｒ　Ｊａｐａｎｅｓｅ　ｆａｎｓ－
13 – Blackeye

Steve Lukather – lead and backing vocals, guitars, bass fills, synthesizer, piano
David Paich – lead and backing vocals, synthesizer, piano, Hammond organ, string arrangements
Simon Phillips – drums, keyboards on “The Turning Point”, drum loops on “Baby He’s Your Man”, Roland TR-808
Mike Porcaro – bass, keyboards on “The Turning Point”

Guest musicians:
Lenny Castro – percussion on “Gift of Faith”, “I Will Remember”, and “The Other End of Time”
Michael Fisher – percussion on “If You Belong to Me”
Paulinho da Costa – percussion on “Baby He’s Your Man”, “The Turning Point”, and “Time is the Enemy”
Jenny Douglas-McRae – backing vocals, lead vocals on “The Turning Point” and “Baby He’s Your Man”
John James – backing vocals, lead vocal on “Drag Him to the Roof”
Phillip Ingram – backing vocals
Ricky Nelson – backing vocals on “Baby He’s Your Man” and “The Turning Point”
Steve Porcaro – drum loops on “Baby He’s Your Man”

Out Of Print
www.cdjapan.co.jp/product/SICP-3118
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