tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-660808341284783109.post836960928802053877..comments2024-03-02T07:40:22.786+03:00Comments on Only Solitaire blog: Aretha Franklin: Love All The Hurt AwayUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-660808341284783109.post-45897965475772891232012-04-21T06:57:28.451+04:002012-04-21T06:57:28.451+04:00I know this is WAAAAY overdue, but I LOVE Toto! I ...I know this is WAAAAY overdue, but I LOVE Toto! I mean really, there is no reason not to love "Rosanna"- aside from the cringey lyrics, there are so many hooks and the song is so bouncy and cute it's fantastic. And "Africa"? Why, the harmonies in that one (and in PLENTY of other Toto songs) are incredible. It's one of those songs (along with "Don't Stop Believin'", "Hold On Tight" (the ELO song), and ESPECIALLY "Crazy Little Thing Called Love") that I will actively hate if I'm listening to it on the radio, but will LOVE if I'm listening to it on my own free will.<br />Now, Toto put out three really great albums- I can't decide which is best, "Toto", "Toto IV", or "Isolation". "Toto" is just so energetic and diverse- it's like an even more diverse version of a less energetic "Outlandos d'Amour"-, "Toto IV" just has SO MANY amazing songs (the singles being "Rosanna", "Make Believe", "I Won't Hold You Back", and "Africa", and the "normal" tracks being "Afraid of Love" and "Lovers in the Night") and "Isolation" has a great sound and a new lead singer and basically one flaw in the lyrics. That's it. Get these three, then proceed with caution- "Fahrenheit" started a bit of a slump, and even though "The Seventh One" kinda brought things back, "Kingdom of Desire" and the rest just bore the heck outta me. But really, just get the first five albums and see. It'll be worth it. Don't hate on "Rosanna".Ross Dryernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-660808341284783109.post-47603801947381103352010-09-23T16:42:25.046+04:002010-09-23T16:42:25.046+04:00Ok, George, you may have some point here. They mig...Ok, George, you may have some point here. They might just do here what they told to be done, to have their pocket full of cash, no more than that. Anyway i would not deliver them to a frying-pan on a basis of this little record, but i guess you have your right to be more misanthropic then i do.. After all i'm not suffering half of yours each time i hear Africa and Rosanna on the radio. I would even state, that when i heard their last record by mistake (2006), and it's not that much reminded me of a bad cheesy FM AOR rock i could imagine it might be. Some creative quality was there on some tracks, mind you ("Falling In Between" and "Dying On My Feet" anyone ? Those good heavy-jazz-prog songs alone save them from gates of Hell for me - worth checking them on youtube, if you don't believe me )... Sorry for the off top. :)Cardiac Arrestnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-660808341284783109.post-34240783157603194622010-09-22T11:53:46.650+04:002010-09-22T11:53:46.650+04:00C. A.: Far be it from me to doubt the qualificatio...C. A.: Far be it from me to doubt the qualifications of Toto; my point is not to say that if Jeff Porcaro had not played on this album, it would in any way be better. Sometimes, however, it happens that a fine session band can salvage or redeem a weak record. Here, there is nothing of the sort. They don't specifically ruin it, but they do nothing to justify their qualified presence on it. That's BAD.<br /><br />Laszlo: thank you and I'm glad the site helped you out, although "infallible" is a pretty strong term for a field as wobbly as pop music reviewing.G. S.https://www.blogger.com/profile/05848634884798924824noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-660808341284783109.post-61560129892530122622010-09-22T10:05:52.147+04:002010-09-22T10:05:52.147+04:00Dear George,
I'm so happy to found your blog.
...Dear George,<br />I'm so happy to found your blog.<br />I have been reading your old site, and you are almost infallible. Due to your site I became familiar with classic rock, like Aerosmith, Rush, Alice Cooper, The Beatles, Hendrix and more. When you said that something is good, it was indeed, and you never missed a chance to show the good things in bad, boring albums too:-)<br />Laszlo from Hungary.<br />Keep on writing!Lászlónoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-660808341284783109.post-7923328223936892802010-09-21T21:20:08.599+04:002010-09-21T21:20:08.599+04:00Nah, i don't take the final bashing part and i...Nah, i don't take the final bashing part and i'm far from being a Toto fan. With all your bias to Toto original stuff - c'mon, what's wrong with Toto people on this pop record as a session players?<br />I mean, if they were considered skilled and tasty enough to be a backing band on Michael Jackson's Thriller best f..n' seller of all times, they sure were good enough to deal with every Aretha (or others) pop poop coming from those times. (Even more - imho they were overqualified for this poop). And session work or not, at least i can hear their individual touch and punch on that Thriller record, and that's more than i can tell 'bout average professional, but bland and faceless session men of a modern pop industry..Cardiac Arrestnoreply@blogger.com