Vagabond Synth Nerd’s Journal Vol. 125 - Pearl Synthesizer Solos and Ensembles - Overseas Edition

TOTO's polyphonic synthesizer solos and ensemble oddities

In the last issue, we took a look at synthesizer solos and polyphonic synthesizer ensembles from TOTO's first album.
This time, we will examine synthesizer solos and ensembles by TOTO Part II.

The golden age of TOTO was from the second album to the fourth album.

TOTO is a strong unit of top-notch studio musicians, boasting a thick sound with two keyboardists. The two keyboardists, David Paich and Steve Porcaro, along with Steve Lukather on guitar, David Heigent on bass, and Jeff Porcaro on drums, are the first callers on the West Coast. The members of this band are credited on many albums by Quincy Jones and other well-known artists, so it is no surprise that they are very good at what they do.
Jeff Porcaro and David Haigent in particular have created one-of-a-kind rhythms and grooves for us to hear..
The members formed TOTO with the goal of not only being invited to record at a record company, but also to make the music they loved..
I believe the pinnacle of this was the fourth album, Sacred Sword, and foreshadowed by the second album, Hydra. Of course, the first album is also great.

An American band that uses polyphonic synthesizers as a weapon

At the time, the band TOTO seemed to differentiate their music from others through the use of polysynths. Although TOTO is an American band that is more of a pop band, their first and second albums both have a classical feel to them.
The band's use of polysynths as a weapon is evident in their trial-and-error approach. The ability to emphasize the classical feeling is a specialty of polysynths, and I believe that the two keyboardists' ability to make good use of it is what made TOTO shine.

■ Recommended album: Hydra (1978)

The second album, Hydra, retains the progressive and classical tones of the first album, while successfully integrating polyphonic synthesizers into pop songs such as “Hydra”, “St. George and the Dragon”, “99”, and “Mama”.
Again, the polysynth sounds of the Yamaha CS-80 are a major core of the album's color.

Recommended track: “Hydra”

The SE at the beginning of the song gives it a progressive tinge. The fanfare-like sound over the live piano in the introduction is the brass sound of the CS-80. This is a tone that this polysynth excels at.
Steve Porcaro uses this sound in most of his TOTO albums.
The middle part of the song is also filled with CS-80's brass sound, and the contribution of this polysynth is so powerful.

Recommended song: “99”

This classic TOTO song from their early period was cut as a single. The classic acoustic piano intro intertwined beautifully with the pads of the CS-80. And, the riff in the middle part is impressive.
Steve Porcaro's synthesizer solo can be heard on this track, using a CS-80, and the sound is based on the aforementioned brass sound. I have not listened to all of TOTO's music, but this is the most melodious and well-written composition of TOTO's music.
The thinly applied portamento enhances the effect of the synthesizer solo.

Recommended track: “A Secret Love”

A duo ensemble piece with an acoustic piano that begins with the CS-80 polysynth.
The CS-80's brass intro is beautiful. The blurred pad sound in the background is also a specialty of the CS-80. The sound effect of birdsong in the outro section was probably created by the CS-80. It reminds me of the intro sound of Jesus' famous song “Crisis”.

■ Recommended album: Sacred Sword (1982)

TOTO's fourth album, The Sacred Sword, became a huge hit that reached No. 4 in the United States. It won six Grammy Awards, including major categories such as Record of the Year and Album of the Year.
　The single “Africa” reached No. 1 in the U.S., “Rosana” reached No. 2 in the U.S., and “Hold You Back” reached No. 10 in the U.S. The album is credited with some of the best songs in TOTO's history.
　 With this album, TOTO's trademark classical and progressive touch disappeared, and a new rock band with keyboards such as synthesizers as the main instrument was born.
　In addition, bassist David Heigent, who had been a key rhythm player, left the band, and was replaced by Mike Porcaro of the Porcaro Brothers.
TOTO sought to create a new band ensemble with two keyboardists at the forefront, and their twin-keyboard strategy blossomed with this album, as two singles featuring synthesizer solos that reached No. 1 and No. 2 in the United States.

Recommended song: “Rosana”

The song was cut as a single and reached No. 2 in the U.S. Since Steve Porcaro's synthesizer solo in the live performance uses Roland's Jupiter 8, it is assumed that the original song is also played on the Jupiter 8.
The brass synth sound, Steve's specialty, is played with a raspy tone that is different from that of the CS-80.
The pitch bend lever on the left side of the Jupiter 8 is used to control the pitch at the end of the solo. The glissando after the pitch bending down is also mixed with a bright sound, which seems to have been dubbed from multiple synths.

Roland Jupiter-8

Roland Jupiter-8 Synth, CC BY-SA 2.0 (Referenced from Wikipedia)

Roland's hit analog polyphonic synthesizer.
At the time, it was priced at 980,000 yen, making it difficult for amateurs to purchase.
The instrument split the keyboard into two zones, and each zone could be set to a different tone.
Splitting the keyboard also expanded the range of performance.

ROLAND / JUPITER-X

This 61-key flagship synthesizer has a design that’s reminiscent of the JUPITER-8 and the latest sound source.

Recommended Song: “Africa”

The single “Africa” reached No. 1 on the U.S. charts! The song loops a sound reminiscent of African drums, to which a beautiful melody line develops.
The vocalist is David Paich on keyboards, and vocalist Bobby Kimball sings from the high notes of the chorus. Having multiple vocalists is one of TOTO's strengths.
The backing for the introduction is the brass sound of the CS80. An obbligato kalimba sound is added to emphasize the African flavor. This sound is the GS1, a digital synthesizer with FM sound source (4 operators), which was followed by Yamaha's DX-7, a digital synthesizer with FM sound source (6 operators), and the DX's sound sent the world into a frenzy.
The synthesizer solo is a unison of soft analog sound (CS-80) and kalimba sound (GS1). Some silophone-type sounds were also mixed in from the middle of the solo. This sound is also one of GS1's specialties.

Yamaha GS1

(quoted from Yamaha HP)

FM sound source (4 operators) digital synthesizer based on the hit digital synthesizer DX7 (6 operators). Priced at 2.6 million yen at the time!
Like the DX7, it excelled at percussion-type sounds including non-integer harmonics such as kalimba and marimba.

Musicians, albums, and recommended songs featured in this issue

• Artists: TOTO, Steve Porcaro, David Paich
• Albums：Hydra, Sacred Sword
• Songs: “Hydra,” “99,” “A Secret Love,” “Rosana,” “Africa”
• Instruments used: Yamaha CS-80, GS1, Roland Jupiter 8

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