Toto IV

Tracks six through eight on the CD are very much 1980s American rock and roll: forceful songs far removed from the literal meaning of ‘adult contemporary.’ Yet this album is probably included because the members' work outside the band cannot be ignored. They played important parts on records by Boz Scaggs and Christopher Cross, and on Michael Jackson's Thriller (1982). Keyboardist Steve Porcaro supplied the fine ‘Human Nature’ for that album. Led by guitarist Steve Lukather, Toto were first and foremost a gathering of players representing the West Coast recording scene.

They debuted as a group in 1978. This fourth album, their last with the original members, produced three single hits: ‘Rosanna’ (No. 2 in America), ‘Africa’ (No. 1) and ‘I Won't Hold You Back’ (No. 10). The first two have moderately groovy, blue-eyed soul qualities. Lukather's ‘I Won't Hold You Back’ is a sweet ballad that sounds like a continuation of the 1970s AOR dream.