There is no doubt (in my eyes anyway) that Toto are rock royalty. In much the same way that Steely Dan got together, a bunch of session guys getting together to make music they wanted to make and not being told what to play. This short five track live album is from Toto’s first visit to Japan in 1980, and was a a RSD release.
St George And The Dragon opens up the album and it was one of the killer songs from Hydra, it’s great to hear it played live and Lukather’s guitar is just beautiful. Mama is just incredible. A superb funky vibe and Luke’s really on the money. Tale Of A Man closes out Side 1, and what a killer track this is. Jazz, funk, and Rock are all covered here and it’s my favourite track as I love this rendition – killer playing by all.
Side 2 opens up with White Sister, one of my favourite Toto songs. Great playing and this is how it should be, all playing live no overdubs or miming to tape here. The album finishes with Runaway, which I don’t think has appeared on any album before, and is an old school rock n roll romp. Just five tracks isn’t an LP but an EP, I’m not complaining as warts and all recordings don’t exist anymore.
9/10 from The Grooveman.
