Superlatives
A Vulture series in which artists judge the best and worst of their own careers.
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By his own admission, Steve Lukather is an open book.
Im painfully honest, he says when we start our conversation.
But there isnt any need to proceed with caution.
Were getting more action than anybody fucking knows, he explains.
People are showing up and its not a bunch of people with my color hair.
Toto is a stupid name, Ill give you that.
But we contributed to a lot of music from the 70s and 80s to the early 90s.
Every record out of Los Angeles had at least one of us on it.
I didnt want to die with us being a chuckle, Lukather adds.
I dont need any awards or nothing.
Were just getting some respect before the last curtain call.
Essential song for understanding Toto
Its hard to tell.
The classic songs that everybody knows are the ones that everybody knows.
The one that best demonstrates what we really are would be Rosanna.
Everybody shines on that one.
Its a quintessential song musicianship-wise and arrangement-wise.
It was a big hit and its recognizable.
For some reason, critics nabbed Toto out of all the artists in our genre.
Its an unfair comparison on both sides of the fence.
But trying to be hipsters and stuff, critics just went after us.
And that was almost 50 years ago.
The initial shock of them going after us so hard was like, Wow, man.
We didnt really know because we started out piecemeal as a band.
It was Jeff Porcaro and David Paichs band.
There was no question about that.
So for our first record,Toto,we did this really over-the-top production.
As buffed out as you’re able to be.
We were copying the Steely Dan perfection method of making records.
We rounded off all the rough edges because that was what we thought we wanted to do.
It was a mixture of prog, funk, rock, and pop.
All of that was thrown in a blender and what came out was us.
As time went on, it got better.
We found our voice.
We started to feel more like a band in the first track we cut, Rosanna.
When the record company went, Okay, you didnt have a hit last time.
We still confused people with different singers and different grooves.Is this a pop song?
Is this a punk song?But it didnt matter.
We werent pretty boys.
There werent guys with massive bulges and perfect hair on the front cover of our first album.
Im still working on that particular look.
You know, the competitive vibe a younger person would have.
That drive would always go,You better do this now or youre going to be fucked, man.
Youll be going, Do you want fries with that?
for the rest of your life.There was a massive incentive.
And with that incentive, theres energy.
You have to be forthright, but you have to be careful not to be an asshole.
To be the No.
Like the music or not, but were a big part of it.
Most prolific session day
It would be a few days, but theThrillersessions.
I was so thrilled to be there.
Being in that room and then watching Paul and Linda McCartney come in was magical.
The songs a bit silly, but the hang was unbelievable.
They threw some chords in front of us and we came up with that.
It wasnt like Quincy Jones was writing out all the notes for us to read.
It was more like, What can you do?
The same thing happened with Human Nature.
Steve Porcaro wrote it, and originally there was no guitar.
Quincy was like, You gotta make this funky for me, man.
You gotta put some funk in this!
And I said, Yeah, cool, Q.
So I came up with that part on the spot.
Thats what we do every day.
We were like, Wow, pinch us, we get to be in the movie with Paul McCartney.
He flew us overseas and we were set up on the soundstage.
We had been told, Whatever you do, dont say anything about the Beatles to Paul.
I looked at Jeff and said, What?
We cant say anything about the Beatles?
Not even one thing?
So were on the soundstage and we had this ridiculous makeup on for the shoot.
I happened to be standing next to Linda.
Anybody that says anything shitty about her, fuck them.
We were bummed out because thats the reason why we all play.
And she goes, Who told you that?
Well, the manager guy.
And she said, Thats ridiculous.
Paul loves to talk about the Beatles.
Go ask him about the Beatles!
The Mellotron was plugged in.
So I leaned over and I played the intro to Strawberry Fields Forever.
Paul turned around, and I thank God I didnt fuck it up.
He was like, Hey, thats pretty good.
And I go, Yeah, man, its because its the greatest thing ever.
He jumped right in.
Then the whole band and the soundstage jumped in.
There mustve been about 50 people in the room jamming.
I started singing the Lennon part.
At the end of it, the place erupted in this massive applause.
He had a big smile on his face.
I thought,Man, this is a moment.
Im verklempt.But I digress.
Wed be like, We did that.
How many songs in the Hot 100 at one time could you be on?
I think I averaged out playing on 20 or 25 songs in the Hot 100a week.
And Id go, Yeah, okay, drag my amp in.
So thats the third session on the same day.
Toto song that best illustrates what only Jeff Porcaro can do
Press play on anything.
Every time he played two and four, it was magic.
Theres some cats that just have this extra magic.
You cant learn it, you cant buy it.
Jeff was a magical human being.
Hed walk into the room and the room got brighter.
He made everybody sound better.
Its the only thing I can say.
Just a remarkable interpreter of dynamics, groove, and taste.
I learned so much from him.
He brought the best out of me, always.
Even on other sessions, he could give me a look or a wink about something.
And Id go, I know what you mean.
Okay, what about this?
He had a body language that I understood.
Its been 32 fucking years.
Then I forget and I look at myself and go, Wow, whos that white-haired guy?
Oh, thats me.
And its all real hair, believe me.
Who would buy a wig like this?
That song encapsulated everything.
It caught Jeffs famous drum groove, my shit on there, and Steves famous keyboard solo.
Two different vocalists big harmonies.
Now, theres a lot of other shit that I would deem better, but theyre not as popular.
I did a solo on a Toto record from a few years ago called 20th Century Blues.
Its a nod to Larry Carlton and that whole era of Steely Dan.
Listen, I almost got to be in Steely Dan.
I almost got to do theAjatour.
I got asked by Irving Azoff but then it all got messed up.
The expenses got out of control.
It was always a dream to get a solo on a Steely Dan record and that never happened.
That was my one bucket-list thing, and Im not going to be able to have it.
But I got a chance to play with Donald Fagen and Walter Becker separately.
When Jeff passed away, we got Donald out of retirement and put Steely back together again.
He came out and we did three songs for the tribute to Jeff Porcaro in 1992.
So a very bittersweet evening.
Sad for the cause, but a great night of music and everybody came out.
Playing that shit with Donald?
My face was cracking from smiling.
There was a time when people were trying to imitate Donald and Walter.
You waste all this time and money when you really had it the first day, anyway.
Most significant full-circle session
Where do I even begin?
I walk into A&M and Joni Mitchell is playing me her new song on the piano.
Im in a session with Quincy and Stevie Wonder shows up as the keyboard player.
Its been an extraordinary ride.
Im not going to let the critics get us.
And he goes, If you hang in there long enough, itll all change.
I responded, How long am I going to wait?
He said, The Eagles had to wait a long time, so just relax.
The advice was, if you hang in there long enough, people will take a second look.
Im like, What the fuck is soft rock?
I always hated that.
It sounded like limp cock.
Toto song that best embodies the yacht rock spirit
Wheres my fucking yacht?
I played on every one of those records.
I dont mind the term.
Michael McDonald, Steely Dan, Christopher Cross, us, and Kenny Loggins.
All of us are interconnected.
So I laugh at it.
Africa fits that spirit pretty well.
Its the last song I wouldve ever thought would be the golden carrot.
It was almost a throwaway song onToto IV.
The whole yacht-rock thing has taken on a life of its own.
Those yacht-rock bands that go out and make a really good living, playing all that shit every night.
Tell me what the Devils cock tastes like, will you?
I have a great sense of humor about all this.
I go,Whatever, man.
You take this dumbass song and rewrite it, rearrange it, change the chords, and add things.
I saw a lot of guys come in and it was like, Can you handle the pressure?
Can you come up with the goods?
Can you keep doing it?
Some would just sit there staring at the paper with nothing coming out.
And these are brilliant players.
They just couldnt hang with that level of pressure.
Youre going to have an anxiety attack out there.
I saw a couple of cats who werent there the next day.
Its like, Oh, well.
Artist he was hoping would request him for a session but never did
Peter Gabriel.
Play me any track from him and Ill come up with something for the guitar.
Ive been a big Genesis fan since high school.Selling England By the Poundis a desert-island record for me.
That was the one I fell in love with, and then I went backward and forward.
I love the later Genesis stuff, too.
Im a big Phil Collins fan.
I love those cats.
Theyre big to me.
Steve Hacketts guitar playing is as virtuosic as it gets.
