Who or what are the Los Lobotomys I hear you cry?! Well basically they are a bunch of muso friends that jammed together in an around LA whenever they were in town. Steve Lukather was the main guy and driving force behind it all. It’s just guys having fun, and with him is his Toto bandmate Jeff Porcaro on drums, David Garfield on keys, and Will Lee on bass, plus a host of guests on percussion and horns. Along with a couple of covers, the rest are just fleshed out jams, which in my book is just fine. I love hearing great musicians just going for it and bouncing off each other. These type of jams happen a lot, and I wish more would get released as they are great to listen to.
Other than the fusion vibe going on, there is also that Toto sound to proceedings as they were all session guys as well. I love the funky fusion of Dismemberment, and Oozer with some great percussion grooves. Big Bone is very Toto in sound with a great solo from Luke. Lobotomy Stew is a great jazz/rock crossover piece with some killer playing. The big rock out track on the record is Smell Yourself, and I would have bought the record just for this track – it smokes! Killer playing by all especially Luke, and that’s why everyone and his dog wanted him for sessions. Remember, apart from the solo on Beat It, he played all the guitar on Michael Jackson’s Thriller.
I appreciate that this is not for everyone, but if you like hearing musicians just having fun with great playing then you can’t go wrong.
8.5/10 from The Grooveman.
