Toto - Isolation

After selling over 4 million copies of Toto IV the band set about crafting a worthy follow up. It took a while and in the process Bobby Kimball exited the band and was replaced by Fergie Frederiksen. Fergie sounded nothing like Bobby which I thought was a good thing ... others not so much. As this is my bloggity thing, I get to say what I want, and yes it was a good thing. Heck, I'd go and pick up So Fired Up by LeRoux just because Fergie sang lead - oddly enough with LeRoux his time as lead vocalist would be a one and done as the band would break up leaving Fergie looking for work ... which he found with Toto ... for one album, and then Fergie was looking for work.

I'm getting ahead of myself.

I know that music is practically disposable now, but dang it this whole vinyl thing pretty much forces an active experience which I really find enjoyable. Weird how often it never used to. I'd put on an album and let it play while I fiddle farted around ... if it wasn't for the autoreturn I'd have wrecked more than a few records. 

I digress (again) 

When Isolation was released I'm pretty sure we were all in the same boat in terms of getting to hear new music. There was the radio, and if you were lucky and lived in an urban centre you could have a few stations to choose from ... then there was word of mouth (the big one), mixed tapes (which were apparently killing music, not spreading it), and records. I'm not dismissing magazines and stuff, I couldn't afford them as a kid, although I would browse through them. What does this have to do with anything ... hold my beer, I'll get there.

... wait give it back, it's my beer. 

I didn't have a lot of friends who were as goofy and borderline obsessive as I was when it came to music. There were a few, but we tended to have somewhat clashing tastes ... I respected them, and they thought I was a Luddite. More often than not when I got a record I was able to spend time with it ... unless after a cursory listen nothing was deemed Mixed Tape Worthy and then it was almost immediately relegated to obscurity. This happened a lot actually, because I really liked making mix tapes, and if an album had the goods a lot of songs would make it to a mixed tape. I was my own music programmer and I loved the hits and deep tracks. When an album clicked, it would really click. 

Which brings me to TOTO. Isolation hooked me from the beginning. I love underdog albums. Hydra, and especially Turn Back - that is still one of my favourites (I have a lot of favourites). "Live for Today" still blows my mind and the whole album is just so good. Then came TOTO IV and it changed everything. The band was now in the big time, and there were expectations to rinse and repeat the success of the big album. 

It seemed like an eternity between albums, and I was waiting for a new record. The first song I recall hearing on the radio was "Stranger in Town" and it was a wise choice. David Paich more or less sang the song and it was a pretty interesting musically. At the time I sort of knew Bobby Kimball was out and they had a new singer. 

Videos were also a big deal back in '84, and Isolation seemed to have a lot of them that I only saw once ("Angel Don't Cry") or twice ("How Does it Feel") which was a shame. ""Holyanna" was another awesome David Paich song seemed to be in fairly heavy rotation for maybe a week ... hard to remember now, it's been over four decades. I love the song, but others not so much - their loss.

A lot of people sleep on this album, but I love this one and Fergie was amazing. I have seen Toto a grand total of one time and that was at the Orpheum in Vancouver when they were supporting Isolation. I saw Mike Reno from Loverboy walking down the aisle waving to people and smiling. I remember hearing Steve Lukather on CFOX and he was hyping Fergie and the concert which was pretty awesome. Steve would seem to do a 180 later and be a little less than charitable ... the music business isn't for the faint of heart.

Back to the album though. 

If people were expecting TOTO V they were going to sit scratching their heads. Isolation was a Toto (I keep alternating between all caps and this, can't make up my mind) record, but more akin to Turn Back than IV. This was a rock record, but it also took more chances and incorporated more styles than people may have been expecting. This wasn't a collection of ten soundalike songs. There was the big Lukather ballad, "How Does it Feel" that absolutely delivers the goods, to a couple of killer David Paitch songs, "Stranger in Town" and "Holyanna" are so good. Fergie's voice is at the top of the upper register, and yeah it's high but he kills it. "Endless" is a song that should have been a hit but wasn't. Jeff's drum break in the song still gives me goosebumps when I hear it. The "Oh oh" backing vocal on the title track "Isolation" seems to be echoing "Sometimes a Fantasy" by Billy Joel. It was a wee bit distracting but that that song is still a banger. However, the deep cut that still makes the little hairs in my nose tingle is "Change of Heart." The keyboard and orchestral break in the middle is gold. I listen to the song just to hear that one section and it NEVER DISAPPOINTS. It.is.so.good.

I thought this was about as good as it got for the band. However, the record buying public voted with their wallets and there were at least three and half million people in the US who bought IV but passed on Isolation. It would go gold, but it must have stung. I mean, the guys delivered the goods, I still love this record. At the time I waited ... and waited for the followup and when the band released Fahrenheit in 1986 Fergie was out and Joseph Williams was in ... and that's a meanderamble for another day ...

Today I'm sitting alone in the basement, isolated by myself listening to Isolation.

Editorial note from me, the author with a spotty memory. If you've followed the blog you may (it's a safe bet you don't) remember when I used to do a monthly series titled "Five for Fighting" where I tried to write shorter reviews. Back in April of 2023 I actually wrote about Isolation, but had forgotten and wrote this piece. I told you I loved this album.